WINNIPEG -- Buddy Guy had the blues last night. Moreso than usual.

 Sure, Guy makes his living as a successful, professional blues musician, he had a gig and the show must go on and all that -- but yesterday was a bit of a special day in the small world of the blues.

 As news spread that the legendary John Lee Hooker had died, aged 80, at his home on Thursday, the fact Guy was going to be playing at the Walker caused many to realize that last night could be something special.

 They weren't disappointed.

Along with B.B. King, who is his elder, Guy is probably the longest lasting big-name bluesman now -- so last night he paid homage to the music's tradition, to its future and to the men who influenced him and taught him how to be a bluesman as he was coming up.

 "You know we lost one of the great bluesmen of all time," he said of Hooker. "He was one of those guitar players who inspired all of us guitar players that are out there doing it now.

 "Now I'm gonna get to John Lee in a while, but I want to pay tribute to some of the best players out there," Guy said before launching into a number by Guitar Slim, his prime influence and mentor as he was making his name cutting sides for Chess and blowing the doors off clubs in Chicago in the '60s.

 Such was the first hour of Guy's set. Where he usually comes on like a house on fire and barely lets up, Buddy was in a traditional mood last night. He started with a classic mojo workout, letting his five-piece band -- bass, rhythm guitar, keys, saxophone and drums -- stretch its legs while he seemed a little pensive, as if wondering how he was going to approach the evening, given the day's news.

 Then Guy lit a fuse with a marvelous workout on Sweet Little Angel, allowing the tune to rise and fall with a dynamism that is his trademark. In his freeform fashion, Guy can take a song down to a whisper and a histrionic plea for love before making the tune roar back to life with a flick of the wrist and a crank on his polkadot Stratocaster. And so he did.

 Quieter, reflective moments dominated the first part of the evening. As press time approached, the 64-year-old axeman seemed to be coming to terms with the fact he'd lost a friend and hero in Hooker. So he began to do what classic bluesmen do ...

 He let his demons out on stage. Prowled the bandstand, caressed his guitar and howled and wailed out the hurt.

 Buddy Guy heard about John Lee Hooker's death Thursday night in Thunder Bay.  

Friday night in Winnipeg he unleashed a flash of Delta lightning in honour of his friend. A blaze that exploded when he dashed to the second floor of the Theatre without missing a single note. (More on: Buddy Guy).

JAM! Rating: 4 out of 5