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“The best guitarist you’ve never heard of.” That’s how I describe Shorty to people. Then I explain that he’s Jimi Hendrix’s brother-in-law, and that Jimi used to go AWOL from the army to hear Shorty play. And that a good bit of Jimi’s style was based on Shorty’s playing. All of that helps a bit for the uninformed. But the truth is — you’ve just got to see him to believe how good this guy is.

I had seen him a year ago at a blues festival at the Chameleon Club in Lancaster, PA, and he just Ripped It Up. My jaw hit the floor. So when I heard he was going to be at Klinger’s Tavern in Hanover in October, I had to go see him. Hanover is about 45 minutes from Lancaster, and my bud Jim Phipps and I set out to take in the show.

Klinger’s is famous for its wide selection of foreign and domestic brews, and justly so. But the thing that really grabbed my attention was the size of the venue. Tiny! Not much room for the band to set up, and if you sit at the bar, you’re about 10 feet away. I just shook my head in amazement. Here is arguably one of the best guitarists living, and he’s playing this tiny little place in Hanover, PA. Nothing against Klinger’s, but you compare Shorty and his body of work to, let’s say Nickelback, and it just isn’t fair.

He’s got a 5-piece band: rhythm guitar, bass, keyboards, and drums (plus Shorty). We chatted with the keyboards guy and found out that their drummer was pretty new, the previous one having walked off the week before. He sounded pretty good considering. The band has enough funk and groove to back Shorty’s guitar fireworks, and that’s really what a Shorty concert is all about.

If you want to hear a good sample, I’d recommend his latest CD, Watch Your Back, on Alligator Records.

How to describe his playing? He uses all G&L Strats through Fender Twins, and it’s a massive sound, sharp and fat. It’s probably more towards the rock end of the spectrum than the blues. He’s also a pretty good blues vocalist and shouter. And he can work a crowd, usually taking a long set to walk through the fans and “talk” to them via his wireless guitaring. And he is LOUD.

In between sets, he signed CD’s and talked to fans. I wanted to bring my 15-year-old son, who is a guitarist, but Klinger’s being a bar, that wasn’t possible. So I bought a CD and asked Shorty to sign it for Chris. When he heard I was from Canada, he wanted to know where, and told me he had lived in Vancouver for a few years. Then he signed the CD for Chris, making sure that he spelled Chris’s name right, and wrote, “Keep picking that thing, Chris.” He was a real gentleman. What made it even more remarkable was that I had to wait in line behind someone who asked Shorty to sign about a dozen items: a guitar, books, CD’s, a clock… Man, I lost track after a while. And was losing patience. I mean, think about the musician and the other people waiting in line! But to his credit, Shorty was an absolute gentleman about the whole thing, signing everything in his slow, methodical handwriting.

After the second set, we left (it being a school night; we’re both teachers). I had three thoughts which still stick with me: 1) This guy is a guitar monster. 2) He’s as good a person as he is a guitarist. and 3) How is it he’s playing in a small bar to at most 50 people? There ain’t no justice in the world, but I guess that’s just the blues.

If you get the chance to see Guitar Shorty, run don’t walk, and go see him. And buy his CD while you’re there!