The combination of the stylish Triple Door and Robben Ford's renown musicianship apparently brought out a chic, well-dressed audience, in contrast to Seattle's laid-back norm. The band featured Dewayne Pate on bass and the hard-driving Hilary Jones on drums, along with ever youthful Robben Ford, who was resplendent in a mustard-colored raw-silk suit, a silk burgundy tee-shirt and two-toned shoes.

The band opened strong with Over My Head, featuring Robben on both guitar and vocals, followed by a gritty instrumental rendition of Indianola and back to vocals with The Way You Treated Me. Describing Paul Butterfield as "an inspiration to myself and many others," the band continued with a soulful version of the Butterfield¹s Don¹t Deny Your Love. A highlight in the band¹s generous set was the old Willie Dixon number It Don¹t Make Sense, with it¹s chilling and all too contemporary line "you can crush any country in a matter of weeks, but it don¹t make sense that you can¹t make peace," which generated a loud cheer from the audience. Another highlight was a rousing rendition of the Eric Clapton Cream-era tune Badge. Closing out the regular portion of the set to loud and long applause, the band came back out for an encore with a bristling version of Start It Up, ending with more applause, whistles and shouts for a beautifully performed and well received set.

The set mixed hard blues-inflected rock tunes with some roaring blues numbers, rarely slowing the pace. Hilary Jones provided a strong foundation on drums throughout. Her time was rock solid and she possesses a level of technique and creativity rarely encountered in rock and blues drumming. Similarly, Dewayne Pate proved a formidable talent on bass. Throw in Robben¹s stellar playing and the result was a trio that felt like a larger aggregation, a bigger and denser sound than many trios can produce. The arrangements were top-notch, as well, and the combination produced an enthusiastic crowd response throughout the performance.

If there is a more beautiful nightclub than the Triple Door, please send me the address. Owned by Rick and Ann Yoder, the principals at downtown Seattle¹s popular and critically acclaimed Wild Ginger restaurant, the Triple Door brilliantly restores to elegance the long-closed and discarded Embassy Theatre, a last remnant of Seattle¹s pre-World War II vaudeville era. The Triple Door stage, featuring restored original rosettes, bands of acanthus leaves, and other classical motifs, is a knockout. The quality of the club's fixtures, seating and the overall ambiance is outstanding. Look forward to many more fine local, national and international acts at this facility.