Hamilton Loomis doesn’t look like a man who sings the blues, but the young guitarist doesn’t really claim to.After beginning his career confined to a more traditional blues sound on a blues label, Loomis branched out following the advice of rock ‘n’ roll legend and mentor Bo Diddley.”Bo really encouraged me to explore my own original sound,” Loomis said. “He used to tell me, ‘Innovate — don’t imitate.'” Saturday’s show at Phil Brady’s felt like a culmination of Loomis’ expanded sound, and he delivered a raw and compelling show full of the energy lacking in a normal blues show.As Loomis and his backing band strutted across the bar at Phil Brady’s throughout the night, the intensity he brings to his performance was obvious.”I’ve got such a great passion for connecting with the audiences,” Loomis said. “I bring a lot of rhythm and funk to my shows because that is the stuff that everybody, young and old, can appreciate.”The show was an amalgam of every style of music from the last 50 years. Blues transitioned seamlessly to funk. Driving guitar riffs led to 10-minute bass solos. Spoken-word vocals followed harmonicas and horn blasts. Loomis engaged in a contest with his sax player at one point, climbing onto bar tables and working the crowd.This genre-shifting is anything but the unfocused interests of an artist with no direction. “I don’t really believe in the idea of genres anymore,” Loomis said. “Since I do not feel like my music fits neatly into a genre, why not touch on all the sounds that I love to play?”Part of the thrill of Loomis’ live show is its randomness and uncertainty. He plays a tender, soft song about a legendary love one minute, and the entire bar is dancing or swaying to the music the next.The most interesting aspect of the concert was the way Loomis smoothly integrated roots music — jazz, blues and folk — into the up tempo, rock sound of his band, with the audience often oblivious to the connection.”Roots music is, for lack of a better word, my roots,” Loomis said. “But I am trying to expand the audience and style for sounds like jazz and blues, so I bring them a more modern edge in my music.”Loomis credited Diddley for instilling a sense of ambition and originality in him.”Bo was all about playing something different than people had heard, and he was really a percussionist at heart even though he played guitar,” Loomis said. “So he always               encouraged me to explore different sounds in my music while still respecting what I already know.”The rhythm and funk Loomis promised hit its thrilling peak as the show drew to a close. A nearly 10-minute drum solo, accompanied by periodic bass and guitar picks, overwhelmed the senses and created a memorable ending to a show which constantly kept the audience off balance and waiting for the next sound.”Hey, you know, my music speaks for itself,” Loomis said.–Contact Chris Abshire at [email protected]