In early 1993, The Red Devils went on a short-lived and confusing tour opening for blues guitarist John Campbell.
The campaign was to go throughout February, and was concentrated around the northeast U.S., but many dates were marked by cancellations by both the Devils and Campbell. Let’s take a quick look at those dates:
FEB. 17: The tour was to kick off on Feb. 17, 1993, at the Cabooze in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Minneapolis Star Tribune writer Jon Bream previewed the show on Feb. 12, and had kind words for the Devils:
“The Red Devils, one of L.A.’s finest, play gritty, harmonica-driven blues. The group cut more than a dozen tracks as Mick Jagger’s backup band for his new solo album, but the Devils were left on the cutting-room floor. Don’t you be left out. Catch the Devils’ return engagement at the Cabooze. It’s the opening night of their tour with Campbell. … Highly recommended.”
However, Campbell was unable to perform that night, according to No Fightin’ reader mahogma, who said “the Devils put on an amazing show, one of the best I’ve ever seen at this venue.”
The next two dates come from the “live shows” page of the defunct johncampbellblues.com (archived here):
FEB. 19: The Red Devils open for John Campbell at Martini’s, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
FEB. 20: The Red Devils open for John Campbell at Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto, Ontario. (Check out this brutal preview from Peter Howell in the Jan. 30, 1993, Toronto Star.)
FEB. 21: The Red Devils were next to open for Campbell at Club Soda in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Feb. 21. But a few days before the show, the Devils were off the bill, replaced by Jimmy James. (It is unclear if The Red Devils had a replacement gig that night.) Here’s a preview from the Feb. 20 Montreal Gazette:
FEB. 23: Two days later, The Red Devils again did not perform with Campbell as advertised at the House of Blues in Cambridge, Massachusetts. From No Fightin’ reader Jason Cormier:
“Sometime probably between the 20th and 24th of Feb 1993 shows they were supposed to open for John Campbell at HOB in Cambridge (Boston). I went but Lester, I guess, was too shit-faced to do the show so they canceled. John did play tho.”
FEB. 24: The Red Devils flew solo at Sully’s Blues Bar in Dearborn, Michigan.
FEB. 25: The lineup was split again on Feb. 25. The Red Devils were to open for Campbell at The Sting in Hartford, Connecticut. They instead played that night at Ed Burke’s in Boston, Massachusetts, with an act called 100 Proof (via Boston Globe, Feb. 18, 1993). The Joan Osborne Band, meanwhile, filled in as openers for Campbell’s Hartford gig (Osborne’s megahit “One Of Us” was still more than two-and-a-half years away from release).
FEB. 26: The Red Devils open for John Campbell at Lone Star Roadhouse, New York City (via New York Daily News, Feb. 21, 1993).
FEB. 27: We have found two conflicting engagements for this date:
- The Asbury Park Press on Friday, Feb. 26, 1993, featured a story on Campbell, mentioning his concert “tomorrow” (Feb. 27) at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey, with “Nightcrawlers” and “Rumrunners.” That story does not mention The Red Devils, so it is possible that Lester Butler and Co. played elsewhere that night, while Campbell was in New Jersey.
- According to the Thursday, Feb. 25, 1993, Burlington Free Press in Burlington, Vermont, the Campbell/Devils show was to perform on “Saturday” (Feb. 27) at K.D. Churchills in Burlington. Is this where The Red Devils ended up?
Unfortunately, a short item in the Feb. 27, 1993, Montreal Gazette breaks the news about The Red Devils’ tour with Campbell falling apart:
The band bowed off the John Campbell tour when half its members quit or something, but it may be through sometime soon.
FEB. 28: It’s hard to tell if this show happened, but The Red Devils were scheduled to open for John Campbell at Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia.
Lest one think that February was an aberration, The Red Devils kicked off March with yet another cancellation. They were to play two shows on March 1 at the Jewish Mother in Virginia Beach, Virginia, neither of which happened.
As 1993 wore on, fortunes would change for both openers and headliner: About a month later, The Red Devils would head to Europe for several memorable gigs.
And John Campbell would die of a heart attack on June 13, 1993. He was only 41 years old.
No Fightin' 
