Four stars

Blues leave you buoyant when Tad Robinson invites you into his repertoire of hoppin’, swingin’, glidin’, swivelin’ commentaries on empty glasses, rained on holidays, absent loves. When there’s nothin’ left to lose, it’s Robinson’s philosophy to just kick back and have fun with a superlative combo backing and interspersing his vocals and harmonica with its own take on mellow with bite. On a cool-ish half-moon evening following the stress of holiday hoopla, flash storms and a backhoe mauling a huge downtown electrical system, it’s comforting to reflect on how “The blues surround me” and “Some of my best friends are the blues.” Bravo to IHC’s Mark Szobody for placing Robinson in the lineup. Robinson is a regular at Daddy Jack’s Mondays, 8 p.m. Aug. 1-2 he’s in Norway for their Blues Festival. Log on to www.TadRobinson.com for his albums.