Monthly Archive for February, 2006

Thanks to Lionel Ross for the following review.

Phil Bates at Worthenbury Village Hall, Friday 17th February 2006

The acoustic days of the Dragon Blues Festivals invariably delivered a surprise package to delight the audience. The successor to those memorable events, the Worthenbury Blues and Roots Festival in July 2005, was equally productive in that respect in the form of Phil Bates. The lead singer of ELO Part II opened the evening session of that festival and such was his impact that he was quickly booked for a return visit to the village on the hugely popular Goin’ Up Country programme of gigs.

Phil Bates is a singer/guitarist/songwriter of immense talent. The range of musical styles at his command defies categorisation, which suits him fine, although there is a distinct leaning towards the blues in his eclectic mix. He opened his account with his own excellent composition, “House Of Blues”, which he sang and played beautifully. He followed that with three covers, culminating in a fabulous version of “The Wind Cries Mary”, complete with some wonderful guitar work. In another twist, the African-influenced “Township Tourist” and Blind Willie Johnson’s “Soul Of A Man” paid substantial homage to the blues. Then ELO’s “Evil Woman” was prefaced by some droll, self-effacing narrative before the first set was completed with another original and a blistering instrumental in honour of Adrian Legge.

The second set was similarly wide-ranging and full of surprises. A whimsical view of new technology and a splendid version of “Waterloo Sunset” paved the way for the first appearance of the evening of Phil’s wife, Jo, on backing vocals and Irish whistle – the latter lovingly warmed by a trio of Wirralian nymphs in preparation for its playing. There was also an instrumental medley of Beatles numbers, played exquisitely in finger-picking style, and a terrific, vocal rendition of McCartney’s “She’s A Woman” with marvellous, bluesy overtones. To round off the show, Jo Bates returned to sing lead vocal on a Bonnie Raitt shuffle and to excel once more on Irish whistle in support of a cracking version of “Superstition”. Surprise packages can sometimes disappoint on eagerly awaited second visits, but the superb vocal delivery and instrumental mastery of Phil Bates ensured that there was never any risk of that happening on this occasion. Brilliant.

Lionel Ross

Grahame Rhodes submitted this review….

Trafficker & Big Blue House
Hooker Blues Club at Wrexham Rugby Club: 11.02.06

After over two years away Hooker Blues Club returned to their spiritual home at the refurbished Wrexham Rugby Club – and it perhaps was fitting that the first gig back featured as headliners Trafficker, who played the last gig at the club back in December 2003.

The splendid downstairs bar was packed with a mix of regulars, many of whom never took to the venue at NEWI, and new fans drawn by the fast-rising trio, Trafficker, led by the multi-talented Tommy Allen – a maturing songwriter, singer and of course, tremendous guitarist.

Opening up the evening were the Nantwich-based Big Blue House – who delivered an entertaining hour of blues covers, warmly appreciated by the crowd. Highlights were the blues chestnuts “Hoochie Coochie Man” and “Messin’ With The Kid”, and best of all, a lovely version of Robert Cray’s “Old Love” – best known for Eric Clapton’s cover.

The current Trafficker, now a superbly tight trio, apart from Tommy Allen, feature the rhythm section of Barry Pethers (bass) and Craig Bacon (drums) – and this gig was billed as a launch for their third album, “Fade To Black” – which sees a move away from the blues to a more rock-flavoured sound.

Two great sets featured a mix of old and new songs and some choice covers – with a brace of tunes from the “Nature’s Most Wanted” release standing out in the first set, the rousing “Texas Love” and the funky “Going Crazy”, complete with lots of trademark Tommy Allen guitar fireworks!

Featured from the new release were the epic “Find You My Friend” and the crowd favourite “Be The Best” – both tunes with a rock edge, that will appeal to ‘crossover’ fans of blues and rock.

The second set opened with Tommy letting rip on the classic “Voodoo Chile”, with Robert Johnson’s “Walking Blues” given a thorough electric going-over – with the rocking “Talk To Me Baby” featuring audience sing-a-long.

A series of well-merited encores opened with the beautiful “Just For You”, followed by the classic soul of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me”, before the show ended with the crowd-pleaser “Memphis Nights” – with Barry Pethers and Craig Bacon taking extended solos to show what fine musicians they are!

This was a most enjoyable night to welcome Hooker’s back home and here’s hoping their is many more fine gigs to come in the future!

GRAHAME RHODES