Archive for the 'Local' Category
THE MARTIN HARLEY BAND – Worthenbury Village Hall, Friday July 16th
This was the first time that Martin Harley and his band had appeared in the region and whilst the schools breaking up that day had affected the attendance, a good crowd nevertheless enjoyed one of the best nights in Worthenbury in a long, long while.
An outstanding songwriter and vocalist, Martin played an array of guitars both conventional and lap and was backed by Pete Swatton on drums and balalaika and vocals and Jay Carter on double bass, guitar and vocals. The band is difficult to pigeon hole and whilst they are rooted in the blues, their music encompasses a wide array of styles and touches into the traditional, folk and country song books.
The gig was primarily aimed at promoting the new CD “Drumrolls for Somersaults” on an extensive UK tour and featured the tracks Love in the Afternoon, Automatic Life, and the superb Winter Coat which featured the band completely acoustic with Martin and Jay on guitars and Pete on balalaika singing in perfect three part harmony. This track has been released as a single as part of the campaign for Busking for Cancer Relief.
The catch title track from the CD Money Don’t Matter was followed by the brilliant lap steel bluesy Blues At My Window and from the band’s first CD the lovely Summer Shadows featured the wonderful harmonies that characterise the band’s appeal.
In the second lengthy set, the band dipped into the blues catalogue with Blind Willie Johnson’s Nobody Fault But Mine again featuring amazing lap steel guitar from Martin on this and Robert Johnson’s Crossroads. Finally the set came to an end when Voodoo Chile was given the same treatment.
An encore was demanded and a brilliant version of Tom Waits’s Chocolate Jesus brought to an end an absolutely superb night. This band is definitely going places and having been brought to the attention of a wider audience after the UK tour supporting James Morrison including a concert at the Albert Hall, it will be no surprise to see them break into the big time. I strongly recommend you catch them as soon as you can.
PETE EVANS
For the full set of pictures, visit the bluesinthenorthwest.com photo archive.
Photo by Ian Williams
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p001d7sk
Tom appears after about 13 minutes. Interview and live music.
Programme available for the next 6 days only.
A brilliant compilation video as made by the Linton Festival Away Team from last week’s brilliant Worthenbury Blues and Roots Festival. Thanks Martin 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1Es9f3KZGs
THE 6th WORTHENBURY BLUES & ROOTS FESTIVAL - 3 JULY 2010
The detailed planning of its indefatigable organisers consistently guarantees the success of the Worthenbury Blues & Roots Festival. An imaginative line-up of artistes is always backed up by the provision of commendable real ale options and tasty food. The added bonus on this occasion was a beautifully sunny day, which undoubtedly lifted the atmosphere even higher for the packed attendance.
Another winning aspect of the festival is the juxtaposition of the main and acoustic stages and the continuous alternating activity at those two focal points. Chief organiser and MC, Pete Evans, greeted the assembled throng warmly before introducing the opening act, Rhythm Zoo, an up and coming band from the local area. They delivered a nicely varied set that included a fine version of “Stormy Monday”, Shemekia Copeland’s “Never Going Back To Memphis” and an excellent original number, “Hook Line And Sinker”. The band, expertly fronted by the sultry-voiced Andi Jones, who chatted engagingly between songs, also boasted the talented Sophia Perruzza on saxophone.
First up on the acoustic stage, from that legendary hotbed of the blues, Llanrhaeadr ym Mochnant , was Martin Everson, a one-man-band, who accompanied his vocals on guitar, rack harp, hi-hat cymbal and bass drum. His entertaining set comprised numbers from a range of old bluesmen including Jesse Fuller, Bill Broonzy and Leadbelly and ended with a splendid version of “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out”.
The main stage then welcomed the London-based Dave Jackson Band, a power trio who performed a heavy set of blues rock, combining excellent original compositions with fine cover versions that included “When The Levy Breaks” and “Ain’t No Love In The World”. Dave Jackson delivered powerful vocals and rippling guitar work and was backed by the very effective rhythm section of Drew Ormrod on drums and Janet Clare Jackson on bass guitar.
Back on the acoustic stage, a lower-intensity local trio, Terraplane Blues, delivered a lovely set that ranged from Muddy Waters’s “I Can’t Be Satisfied” through numbers by Skip James, Robert Johnson and Broonzy to Casey Bill Weldon’s “You’d As Well Let Her Go”. Ian Johnson provided the backdrop on double bass while Ian Edwards and Paul Barnard sang and played acoustic guitar (and harp) and slide guitar respectively. Had there been one, Ian Edwards would have won the prize for sartorial elegance hands down, as he braved the considerable heat on and off stage immaculately clad in a smart suit and a tie.
Headlining the afternoon session on the main stage were The 44s, a high octane threesome from Leicester: “2bad” Jim on guitar and vocals, Paul “Slim” Williams on drums and Mark Kennedy on bass guitar. They hit the stage running and produced a relentless set of North Mississippi Hill Country music, starting with an RL Burnside number and dashing through “Skinny Woman”, “She’s Gonna Take Sick And Die One Of These Days” and “Shake Your Hips”. It was a musical fusion of heavy metal and bluegrass and the crowd loved it as they mirrored the band’s energy on the ‘dance floor’. The band completed their bristling set with a terrific, bouncing encore.
The evening session kicked off with a fine set from The River Devils, fronted by Blues ‘n’ Trouble stalwart Sandy Tweeddale on vocals and guitar, with Angus Rose (keyboards), Jeff Lynne lookalike Rod Kennard (bass) and Andrew Samson (drums), together they delivered a high-energy hour, highlights of which were “Tennessee Whiskey”, a tune from the last Blues ‘n’ Trouble album co-written with Tim Elliot, and “Find My Baby”, a L’il Ed & The Blues Imperials song, with obligatory slashing slide work from Tweeddale, whose guitar work was most impressive throughout the set, with Rose’s keyboards the perfect foil.
Martin Everson returned to the acoustic stage with a couple of Jimmy Rogers songs, complete with yodelling, Charley Patton’s “Banty Rooster” and Tim Lowther Peterson’s “Back Door Business” – another marvellous set by the man from the Powys Delta.
Unfortunately Sean Webster did not make it due to a serious accident at work, and the planned replacement, Scott McKeown, also failed to turn up due to car problems. However with Sean’s rhythm section on site – Tom Latham (bass) and Phil Wilson (drums), they were able to step into the slot accompanied by Phil’s brother, Ashley Wilson, on guitar and vocals – well done to the lads for that, and they delivered a spirited rocky set, highlights of which were a Hendrix-style take on Howlin’ Wolf’s “Killing Floor” and a really nice “Little Wing”. The boys got into a SRV feel for the strutting “Glow”, with Ashley Wilson’s guitar work impressive.
The final event on the acoustic stage was a splendid second appearance by Terraplane Blues, which included excellent renditions of “Last Fair Deal Going Down” and numbers by the Hokum Hotshots, Mississippi Fred McDowell and Sleepy John Estes. It will be no surprise if their performance at the festival leads to an appearance at the Worthenbury Village Hall before too long.
A highlight of the day for many, and the act that got the dancing area in front of the stage full, was the Bluesinthenorthwest Blues Band, an idea by promoter Pete Evans, to get some of the regular musicians from the monthly jam at The Red Lion in Malpas together to perform – the stellar line-up including Tommy Allen and Neil Partington (vocals and guitars), Johny Hewitt (vocals and harmonica), Ken Peace (harmonica), Steve Brown (bass), and a second turn on the drums for Phil Wilson, gallantly stepping into the band at the very last moment! A rousing hour was mainly uptempo, highlights being Lester Butler’s “Automatic”, from The Red Devils era; a funky “Black Cat Bone”, featuring brilliant guitar from Neil Partington, and Tommy Allen leading the boys home on “Back Door Boogie”, with audience participation. A top set, and an inspired idea.
If ever a band were suited to close a festival on a gloriously sunny summer’s day, before a, shall we say ‘relaxed’ crowd, it must be the mighty Cadillac Kings, and once again they were on top form, delivering their customary mix of blues and swing to the dancing masses in front of the stage. This band simply have it all – the supreme songwriting of Mike Thomas, the top musical prowess of main soloists Gary Potts (harmonica), Mal Barclay (guitar) and Henri Herbert (keyboards), and one of the best rhythm sections around with ‘Uncle’ Roy Webber (drums) and Paul Cuff (stand-up bass).
This was a ‘greatest hits’ set for sure . . . well, you know what I mean . . . highlights being the brace of James Harman tunes, “Stranger Blues” and “Icepick’s Confession”; Roy’s vocal turn on the Texas shuffle of “Tell Me Why”, with the band’s great guitar player Mal Barclay featuring on “T-Bone Boogie”. Elsewhere we had the band dedication to Bernard Matthews on “Who’s Bin Lickin’ My Chicken”, and the cover of Champion Jack Dupree’s “Shake Baby Shake” . . . all great stuff, and a fantastic end to a truly memorable day.
The best ‘little’ festival in the UK for certain now, and it is just getting better and better . . . well done to Pete, Paul and Ian and all the volunteers who helped out . . . can’t wait for 2011!
Martin waiting for next year
LIONEL ROSS and GRAHAME RHODES
Pictures from Grahame Rhodes and used with permission – check out the bluesinthenorthwest.com photo archive on Flickr for the full set.
Shertila Tony has posted some pictures of the recent Paul Cox gig to Flickr.
Pop over to Shertila’s page to see them all.
Shar Baby with Steve Payne, and Johny Hewitt at Appleton Thorn Village Hall preforming the old Classic, Dimples.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOavbeFvS9I
RORY ELLIS
‘Going Up The Country’ at Worthenbury Village Hall: 11 June 2010
It was a widely-held opinion that Rory Ellis’s two half-hour sets at last year’s Worthenbury Roots and Blues Festival were the highlights of the day – therefore it was a delight to catch the big man from Melbourne back to do his full show in the intimate surroundings of the village hall – the two lengthy sets confirming again what a performer this guy is, his rootsy songs cover many topics, from growing up, to politics and many observations on modern life that are usually led into with some observations and stories.
Again partnered by the supremely talented Alex Roberts from Poole in Dorset, on guitar, lap slide and bouzouki and occasional backing vocals, Ellis’s deep, low rumble of a voice, together with his guitar and banjo playing, was on top form on a selection of material from his five albums, with a healthy portion of new material from his recently-released “Perfectly Damaged” . . . . as he said “I’m not getting old, I’m just perfectly damaged”!
The two sets were a joy, opening with the brooding “Passenger”, and the lovely title track from “Two Feathers” . . . . a delightful tale of his childhood ‘bolt-hole’, with the excellent “Home Tonight”, about getting lost on the Leicester ring road, another first set standout – all embellished by the quite marvellous guitar work from Alex Roberts . . . a star in his own right! The new “Jesus Lane”, about a street in Cambridge, was also a highlight.
The very long second set contained a fair sprinkling from “Perfectly Damaged” and a few old favourites. “The Gift” was preceded by the background to the song, about a drugs bust gone wrong in Somerset; the wry “Waiting For Armaguard”, the Australian equivalent to Securicor, and his visions to get rich quick; and his take on internet dating, the great “PC Love”. He dipped into racial tensions on the great song “Suburban Soldier”, written about a riot near Sydney, and another fine song.
Elsewhere, we had a sing-along on the chorus of his anti-John Howard song, “Work”, and a couple of personal favourites – the epic, sweeping “Road Of No Return”, written about the never-ending highways in his native Australia, and the gritty “Railway Parade”. He touched on his time working doors in Melbourne with “The Victoria Hotel”, and how after being shot at four times decided it might be a good idea to move on . . . indeed!
This was an early date in a very lengthy tour, with an appearance next weekend at The Linton Festival, near Hereford, and also a slot at the Maryport Blues Festival in July. A couple of hours in Rory Ellis’s company come highly recommended – a truly engaging performer and great writer, especially caught live in such a nice small venue.
GRAHAME RHODES
Pictures from Ian Williams (only one letter different from the BBC’s lovely Sian Williams) www.ianwilliamsphotography.co.uk
Smokin’ Hogs
True Blues Club
Earlestown Conservative Club
Newton-le-Willows
12 June 2010
A note from Graham Woodhouse
Friday 7th May saw Steve Nunn and CROSSFIRE once again mesmerise the audience with their amazing talents. With many tracks from their new CD “Just the Trick” they gave us 70 minutes of fantastic sounds.
Mick Walsh and SLY FOX continued the evening with two sets of self penned/covers and didn’t let us down.
The next exciting Blues Night in the True Blues Club unique “Blues Lounge” will take place on Saturday 12th June when another of Suffolk’s premier Blues bands “SMOKIN HOGS” visit us to headline the evening.
As always, our resident band CROSSFIRE will open the evening’s entertainment at 8.00pm.
Doors open at 7.15pm and tickets are £10 each
Earlestown Conservative Club
17/19, Earle St
Newton le Willows
WA12 9LW
Check us out on www.truebluesclub.co.uk
Here’s The Backbones from their stunning performance last year at Liverpool Marina.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNfnODlC1Vc
Sorry it’s short – I guess you’ll just have to get over there on the 20th to see the band for real. See you there!
Here are some pictures from the recent gig from Blue Bark and Crossfire at the True Blues Club, Earlestown.
Crossfire
Blue Bark
I already published Lionel’s review of the recent Smokehouse/Tom Doughty gig in Lymm.
Now Shertila Tony has published some pictures from the event.
There are more, follow the link.
Pictures from the gig on 12 March. Posted by Shertila Tony.
Paul Lamb
Ryan Lamb
For more, visit Shertila Tony’s Flickr page.
There is a great atmosphere at the monthly blues jam at the Red Lion in Malpas. The Tommy Allen band provide great backing to a great night. The atmosphere is lovely with good playing and no monster egos.
This month we were graced by a regular visitor – one of the finest blues musicians in the country Johny Hewitt from Runcorn whose great playing and monster tone is an aspiration to all us harp players. There was also a great slide guitarist hailing all the way from Leicester – my apologies though, I don’t remember the name.
Second Thursday of every month. The next session is Thu 08 April.
A couple more pictures on the bluesinthenorthwest.com Flickr page.
Nina Marie Louise Gibson has posted some pictures from the excellent King King gig last sat night at Telford’s Warehouse, Chester.
The pictures are on Facebook but they are public. Follow the link.
A video from last week’s gig.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-94Owsr5Z7k
Thanks to Groundhog56 for posting
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