When Gilly and I set out for this gig, it all seemed like any other Saturday night out to see a band, neither of us could possibly have foreseen the events that were to follow, events that would have long reaching effects on both ourselves, and the other members of the audience, and certainly on the members of the band.... Cue: 999 theme and library footage of ambulances arriving with blue lights flashing etc.....
It had been touch and go whether we got into this one, as it had sold out weeks ago and we hadn't expected to be available, but the chance came up and with a little encouragement from front man Garry, we rolled up at the last minute, waved some money around and we were in - two seats near the back in a packed village hall, lit with quaint coloured light bulbs up in the rafters and tea-lights on the tables. "It's great to back in... Knutsford!" calls Garry from the stage and we're off with "Putting on the Style!" - Bickerton Village Hall piling on the agony! Settling down we enjoyed what is now standard fayre from the DogHouse, good songs, well performed with plenty of laughter in between, and, at times during the songs too! New material has been creeping into the set too: "Bales of Cocaine" and "Jack of Diamonds" for instance.
This was a return visit to Bickerton and many of the audience were connoisseurs, leading to much banter from the floor and Garry having to intervene: "I'll tell you when it's bloody audience participation time OK?!", and later he conceded that the group had now played so many venues around the country that they were in a position to pick and choose where to play based on previous receptions, but that didn't make it an easy ride: "Hey! It's easier to change the venue than the act you know!" he was heard to retort to yet another enthusiastic outburst from the audience.
Come the interval there was a major exodus towards the bar, and then people started returning with plate loads of food - food! Great - and it was cheese and bread and cheese and celery and cheese and tomatoes and cheese and cheese... Before the inevitable raffle was finished, the bread was long gone, but they were still coming round with trays of more cheese! There then followed an auction of ... surplus cheese.
Cue: dramatic music and Michael Burke: "The second half started normally enough, but before long, strange events would start to overtake the band and the audience..."
Maybe there were some early warning signs - "Save the Last Dance for Me" - that lovely romantic oldie was morphed into "By the Rivers of Babylon" early into the second half, then the set list was thrown away so that they could resurrect "The Ballad of Davey Crockett" - last sung many, many years ago, and soon later we had John, who may well have been the local vicar, on stage and joining in on "Rock Island Line" to riotous effect. It was probably all that cheese, there was certainly a hint or two as the word cheese was occurring more and more often in the stories AND the lyrics , Garry managed at one point to perform a link that consisted of a fraction of every other link he had already used, and "Jesse James" became a psychedelic dream with the band incorporating so many other songs into the middle that neither they, nor us, had any idea what would come next, but their rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody" seemed to sum it all up! Alan became German for the rest of the night, but Garry and Keith failed to spot that he was trying to count in the next verse in German until he had tried it at least 5 times, and he admitted later that he was more than a little worried about how the audience was coping with all this.....
From where we were sat it was great! The hall had good acoustics and the sound was loud enough yet clear, and the back row was swaying and waving, there was one woman asleep in front of them (we were worried for a while that it had all proved too much for her), and several rather excited (worse the wear from the demon alcohol most likely) women having giggling fits nearby. This was show-biz at its most dangerous, the plan long since abandoned in favour of ad-lib and improvisation, the band played on and on, still playing at 11:25pm when Keith's usual party trick of playing slide guitar with a glass of water was extended to include playing with a wine bottle, and then with a great chunk of... yes - cheddar cheese! It worked too, after a fashion. "Goodnight Irene" closed the set, the audience filed out into the waiting ambulances, many of them probably scarred for life, unable to face any kind of cheese ever again, destined to wake up screaming in the middle of the night when that recurring nightmare strikes again; "Ein, zwei, drei, vier!" yells a voice in an East-Yorkshire-German accent, and three men stumble into "Knees up Mother Brown", "It's songs like that that brought the Luftwaffe to its knees!", "Have you been to Briddlington?", "Did you have a swim...?"
The night the DogHouse went surreal - we know, 'cos we were there and we had one fantastic evening - or was it just a dream induced by too much cheese????
The Doghouse Skiffle Group
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
ELBOW JANE at Standish Folk Club - 28/1/2006
Mark Dowding, webmaster for the North West Confederation opened the evening to good sized audience, starting with Bernie Parry's Man of the Earth, a lovely tale of an old bloke who takes to growing when the iron mill has finished with his services, the tale coming full circle when the singer reveals in the last verse that he too is off to the iron mill each day while he is still needed. Mark continued with a good selection of songs: "The Heights of Alma", regards the Crimea War, "Joseph Cross", by Eric Taylor and Harry Robertson's "Little Pot Stove". Changing gear, Mark treated us to a poem by Harvey Kershaw "Drawing Rent" - truly a cautionary tale. It was back to singing then with Bert Lee and Bob Weston's "Rawtenstall Annual Fair", comedy in the form of "With 'er 'ead Tucked Underneath 'er Arm" and concluding with Jake Thakery's "On and On". Mark is a more than competent singer and guitarist and his set was nicely traditional, mixing the comedy with the drama, and it was nice to hear an old dialect voiced poem too.
ELBOW JANE were stepping out for the first time with new recruit Joe Topping in guitar, vocals, harmonicas and mandolin, and it was interesting seeing how the band reacted to performing with this much feted newcomer on board, especially with local Folk godfather Tom Topping sat watching his boy in the audience. Mike Silver's "Reaching out for love" was the chosen opener, a duo featuring the 2 guitars of Richard and Kevin, followed by The Beatles' "Long and Winding Road" and their own "Soul Survivor." Richard and Kevin have known each other since they were 7 and the harmonies and understanding between the two of them shows it, and it was good to hear that when Joe joined in the vocal harmonies, things still sounded good. "Silent Angers" showed how keyboards can be used to good effect, and during Richard's solo I looked over to see his proud parents watching from the side of the audience. Sting's "Shape of my Heart" featured Joe Topping on harmonica. The song always sends shivers down my spine, and it was well done, but it also served to point out that Elbow Jane do not yet have that special something that would move them on a notch, while another of their own songs "Ecclesiastes" featured 2 guitars and 3 part vocal harmonies was really good and it may be their writing that provides that very thing. Similarly, on another own penned song, "The River", Joe played mandolin, Richard on Bouzouki and Kevin on guitar and they produced a good driving sound.
In part 2 the band chose another of Mike Silver's songs to get going: "Pretoria", then called on Joe Topping to play no less than 3 harmonicas on Simon Garfunkel's "Still Crazy After all Those Years", followed by "Higher" (their own song) and Gary Christian's "Ideal World". Then there was a change to the planned set - there had obviously been some pressure put on the band to give Joe Topping a solo spot and Joe as the remainder of the band fled to the bar, Joe put down all his instruments, took a deep breath and launched into "Last of the Great Whales" - sung unaccompanied and with immense passion and power, which left the audience holding its breath and led to a heavy pause at the end of the song, followed by huge, well deserved applause. It was as if Joe had laid down his marker to the rest of the band - "Look at me - I can do this!" There was a happy exchange when Richard led the band back on - I'm sure that moment put Joe firmly "in" the band and they seemed more integrated after that.
They continued with their own "It's Your Day" and then Richard's favourite James Taylor's "Shower the People", Joe then led vocals on "Lean on me" - the Bill Withers classic, the band finishing with Norma McGuiness's "When I'm Dead and Gone", and encored with their own "Be Home Soon" - which isn't quite true because they have so much equipment to pack up it must take them hours!
All in all it was a very enjoyable night, and look forward to seeing and hearing how things change as Joe slots into his new role. I managed to speak to him later in the week and he admitted to being reserved during the performance, not wanting to make too many mistakes on his first day, and that he hoped to play on more songs as he gets to know them. I hope it works for all of them, and the fusion of Joe's blues and powerful voice with Richard & Kevin's writing and musicianship could lead to something even greater than the sum of the two parts!
ELBOW JANE were stepping out for the first time with new recruit Joe Topping in guitar, vocals, harmonicas and mandolin, and it was interesting seeing how the band reacted to performing with this much feted newcomer on board, especially with local Folk godfather Tom Topping sat watching his boy in the audience. Mike Silver's "Reaching out for love" was the chosen opener, a duo featuring the 2 guitars of Richard and Kevin, followed by The Beatles' "Long and Winding Road" and their own "Soul Survivor." Richard and Kevin have known each other since they were 7 and the harmonies and understanding between the two of them shows it, and it was good to hear that when Joe joined in the vocal harmonies, things still sounded good. "Silent Angers" showed how keyboards can be used to good effect, and during Richard's solo I looked over to see his proud parents watching from the side of the audience. Sting's "Shape of my Heart" featured Joe Topping on harmonica. The song always sends shivers down my spine, and it was well done, but it also served to point out that Elbow Jane do not yet have that special something that would move them on a notch, while another of their own songs "Ecclesiastes" featured 2 guitars and 3 part vocal harmonies was really good and it may be their writing that provides that very thing. Similarly, on another own penned song, "The River", Joe played mandolin, Richard on Bouzouki and Kevin on guitar and they produced a good driving sound.
In part 2 the band chose another of Mike Silver's songs to get going: "Pretoria", then called on Joe Topping to play no less than 3 harmonicas on Simon Garfunkel's "Still Crazy After all Those Years", followed by "Higher" (their own song) and Gary Christian's "Ideal World". Then there was a change to the planned set - there had obviously been some pressure put on the band to give Joe Topping a solo spot and Joe as the remainder of the band fled to the bar, Joe put down all his instruments, took a deep breath and launched into "Last of the Great Whales" - sung unaccompanied and with immense passion and power, which left the audience holding its breath and led to a heavy pause at the end of the song, followed by huge, well deserved applause. It was as if Joe had laid down his marker to the rest of the band - "Look at me - I can do this!" There was a happy exchange when Richard led the band back on - I'm sure that moment put Joe firmly "in" the band and they seemed more integrated after that.
They continued with their own "It's Your Day" and then Richard's favourite James Taylor's "Shower the People", Joe then led vocals on "Lean on me" - the Bill Withers classic, the band finishing with Norma McGuiness's "When I'm Dead and Gone", and encored with their own "Be Home Soon" - which isn't quite true because they have so much equipment to pack up it must take them hours!
All in all it was a very enjoyable night, and look forward to seeing and hearing how things change as Joe slots into his new role. I managed to speak to him later in the week and he admitted to being reserved during the performance, not wanting to make too many mistakes on his first day, and that he hoped to play on more songs as he gets to know them. I hope it works for all of them, and the fusion of Joe's blues and powerful voice with Richard & Kevin's writing and musicianship could lead to something even greater than the sum of the two parts!
Sunday, March 05, 2006
African Soul Rebels at Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall - 4/3/2006
We managed to break with tradition tonight and arrived at the venue with time to spare, so Gill and I had time to enjoy some decent food at the Everyman Bistro at the other end of Hope Street. Sauted potatoes with oyster mushrooms in garlic and parsley, fresh fruit salad and coffee in case you were wondering. The menu at the Everyman always has a good number of veggie meals on it, and there were several marked gluten free as well tonight. The food is always good and there is a well stocked bar if you fancy a drink - avoid the busiest times though, it can be too crowded for comfort.
Get on with the music! The lights went down on the auditorium with 2/3 of the seats filled and a band came on and played 3 or 4 songs before they even spoke - not a word of introduction for either the band or the songs, so what follows is partly deduction and partly guesswork! According to the RLPH website, the lineup was changed to include Natacha Atlas instead of Souad Massi but anybody who didn't look it up might never find out! So we assume it was Natacha Atlas and her band that sloped on and started playing - there was a bass player, a rock style drummer, an African drum player, a lad playing a bodrhan type drum, somebody's uncle playing synth and 2 female vocalists. The first song was vaguely reminiscent of Talking Heads' "Its all right" at times, featuring a regular western drum beat with the other 2 percussionists adding more eastern rhythms on top, while the synth player pressed every button he had on a fairly small keyboard to produce a vast array of instrumentation, strings, horns and so on. The second song might have been called "Anna" or "Only a matter of time" but short of trawling through her discography (its rather long, she is quite prolific), we may never know. There were some interesting rhythms behind this band, but they seemed out of kilter somewhere - Gill wondered if they had all had a row before they came on and the performance lacked any life - the sound was a bit muddy too. I'm no great fan of synthed instrumentation either, and we had plenty of that, often with instruments being switched on the fly which felt even more artificial.
Natacha - if was she, put in a couple of dances as things went on, and after a while they seemed to warm up a bit. The only song we recognised was a rather lacklustre version of "I put a spell on you" and it was only towards the end of their set when Ali put in an African drum solo that the audience really began to respond more than politely and things did improve.
When they left the stage and the lights came back up we were still none the wiser and to be honest I didn't feel like I wanted to find out any more either. Its a shame because I think on a good day the band would be really good.
A quick change on the stage (plenty of room on this stage which is usually home to an orchestra) and an icecream for us and on came Emmanuel Jal - a young man I have heard of and he made sure we knew what he was about: "I believe I survived for a reason, to tell my story, to touch lives" - Jal's band consisted of himself on vocals, a set of decks and associated dj, a female vocalist and an electric guitar player - and a laptop computer - and the sound coming through was energetic and fluid, the lyrics clear enough and the female vocalist's contributions were strong and confident. The guitarist seemed to be playing more than I could clearly make out, but what I could hear was great, a good backing track for the vocals and electronics coming from the decks. Again the songs where not really introduced, and may have melded into each other, the next vocal theme being "Love Revolution", then "Hiya" or "Howa" which was introduced with a strong story about a young man who was saved from suicide by a smile from a schoolmate. This song featured acoustic guitar and keyboards, a small child plucked from the audience to help with the dancing and by the end of this short set the whole audience was on its feet - the Philharmonic rocked! Band introductions informed us that the female vocalist was called "Araya" (I'm not sure of this name, but I'll try and find out and update this when I do), and that the guitarist (sorry, I missed his name) was really black despite his white skin!
No icecream in this break, but we were soon seated and ready for the main event - down went the house lights again, and running on came Amadou and Mariam's band running! It was as if they had picked up the energy from Emmanuel Jal and ran on with it, launching into their set at a higher level. I can hardly read my notes, such was the frenetic pace of the show, but I can tell you that it was wonderful, energising, exciting and hmmm, excellent!
For the fashion conscious, Amadou and Miriam were wearing matching powder blue suits and the ever present dark glasses, while the djembe player featured a fantastic black shirt with huge white polka dots, and sported a good set of dreadlocks!
There was a very energetic bass and acoustic guitar player - who threw himself around the stage and provided the rock and roll poses whilst playing some lovely deep rich bass parts.
Part way through the set Miriam went off and left Amadou to it, playing first a rocker with a fine guitar solo, then a slower number to acoustic guitar, before Miriam came back on and turned the wick up even higher - leading on to some marvelous percussion solos, a dj spot and so on and so on- we were too busy dancing to write much down, but my last entry says "Soul Fire" then "Just Marvelous!"
For the encore there was a party with everybody on stage - including Emmanuel Jal and his band, then we all went home with big smiles on our faces.
Sorry there isn't much detail here - I would just say that if you get the chance, go and see them - if you don't, buy the CD!
Get on with the music! The lights went down on the auditorium with 2/3 of the seats filled and a band came on and played 3 or 4 songs before they even spoke - not a word of introduction for either the band or the songs, so what follows is partly deduction and partly guesswork! According to the RLPH website, the lineup was changed to include Natacha Atlas instead of Souad Massi but anybody who didn't look it up might never find out! So we assume it was Natacha Atlas and her band that sloped on and started playing - there was a bass player, a rock style drummer, an African drum player, a lad playing a bodrhan type drum, somebody's uncle playing synth and 2 female vocalists. The first song was vaguely reminiscent of Talking Heads' "Its all right" at times, featuring a regular western drum beat with the other 2 percussionists adding more eastern rhythms on top, while the synth player pressed every button he had on a fairly small keyboard to produce a vast array of instrumentation, strings, horns and so on. The second song might have been called "Anna" or "Only a matter of time" but short of trawling through her discography (its rather long, she is quite prolific), we may never know. There were some interesting rhythms behind this band, but they seemed out of kilter somewhere - Gill wondered if they had all had a row before they came on and the performance lacked any life - the sound was a bit muddy too. I'm no great fan of synthed instrumentation either, and we had plenty of that, often with instruments being switched on the fly which felt even more artificial.
Natacha - if was she, put in a couple of dances as things went on, and after a while they seemed to warm up a bit. The only song we recognised was a rather lacklustre version of "I put a spell on you" and it was only towards the end of their set when Ali put in an African drum solo that the audience really began to respond more than politely and things did improve.
When they left the stage and the lights came back up we were still none the wiser and to be honest I didn't feel like I wanted to find out any more either. Its a shame because I think on a good day the band would be really good.
A quick change on the stage (plenty of room on this stage which is usually home to an orchestra) and an icecream for us and on came Emmanuel Jal - a young man I have heard of and he made sure we knew what he was about: "I believe I survived for a reason, to tell my story, to touch lives" - Jal's band consisted of himself on vocals, a set of decks and associated dj, a female vocalist and an electric guitar player - and a laptop computer - and the sound coming through was energetic and fluid, the lyrics clear enough and the female vocalist's contributions were strong and confident. The guitarist seemed to be playing more than I could clearly make out, but what I could hear was great, a good backing track for the vocals and electronics coming from the decks. Again the songs where not really introduced, and may have melded into each other, the next vocal theme being "Love Revolution", then "Hiya" or "Howa" which was introduced with a strong story about a young man who was saved from suicide by a smile from a schoolmate. This song featured acoustic guitar and keyboards, a small child plucked from the audience to help with the dancing and by the end of this short set the whole audience was on its feet - the Philharmonic rocked! Band introductions informed us that the female vocalist was called "Araya" (I'm not sure of this name, but I'll try and find out and update this when I do), and that the guitarist (sorry, I missed his name) was really black despite his white skin!
No icecream in this break, but we were soon seated and ready for the main event - down went the house lights again, and running on came Amadou and Mariam's band running! It was as if they had picked up the energy from Emmanuel Jal and ran on with it, launching into their set at a higher level. I can hardly read my notes, such was the frenetic pace of the show, but I can tell you that it was wonderful, energising, exciting and hmmm, excellent!
For the fashion conscious, Amadou and Miriam were wearing matching powder blue suits and the ever present dark glasses, while the djembe player featured a fantastic black shirt with huge white polka dots, and sported a good set of dreadlocks!
There was a very energetic bass and acoustic guitar player - who threw himself around the stage and provided the rock and roll poses whilst playing some lovely deep rich bass parts.
Part way through the set Miriam went off and left Amadou to it, playing first a rocker with a fine guitar solo, then a slower number to acoustic guitar, before Miriam came back on and turned the wick up even higher - leading on to some marvelous percussion solos, a dj spot and so on and so on- we were too busy dancing to write much down, but my last entry says "Soul Fire" then "Just Marvelous!"
For the encore there was a party with everybody on stage - including Emmanuel Jal and his band, then we all went home with big smiles on our faces.
Sorry there isn't much detail here - I would just say that if you get the chance, go and see them - if you don't, buy the CD!
Martin Simpson at Northwich Folk Club - 3/3/2006
What a night! It started with a very late decision to attend - we were so lucky to get tickets following a cancellation, we were delayed by accidents in the snow down the local lanes, but managed to get in just after Martin started. Finding the last two adjacent seats in the theatre we were delighted to find ourselves sat next to Arthur and Linda and settled in to see how Martin Simpson sounded on his own. We have seen him several times before with Eric Bibb and in the Four Martins tour, but this was our first "all Simpson" experience, and boy was it an experience.
The audience was so attentive, the hush and lack of popping out to the bar was really noticeable as Martin went through his 2 sets. We missed most of "Louisiana 1916", but after one of his many stories, Martin played us "Bareback to Bullhassocks" and then did something that sounded akin to Robert Fripp, holding a device over the two or three top strings and playing slide on them, while picking the others, producing a marvelous ethereal sound I've not heard anywhere else, a tune that led into ""Just Can't Keep From Cryin' Sometimes" by Blind Willy Johnson. I just said "played us" because this was such an intimate performance that it felt like Martin was playing just for us, I wrote down words like deft, light, atmospheric, we were all transfixed.
Returning to all out picking, we got "Buckets" and then, after a good word for the BBC Radio Ballads series and a with touch of concern for the animals, "Granmore Hare" followed by a great version of "Matty Groves". We joked later that Martin Simpson plays better tunes when he is just tuning up (which happens a lot) than most of can manage at all, and so after more tuning, he finished the first half with "The Flying Cloud".
Its obvious that Martin Simpson spends a lot of time with his two guitars, and that he is very intimate with them, talking to them and making many minor adjustments, some even mid-song, and his playing reflects this time and effort - its just fabulous - Gill commented on his ability to weight each note in the chord and allow some notes to sustain longer than others, a truly gifted performer with the guitar, and his voice has several different identities that allow him to give an added authenticity to his Southern U.S.A. songs alongside his more native folk songs.
In part two there was talk of still getting culture shock when on the Isle of Lewes followed by one of my favourites "When First I Came to Caledonia" and then an up tempo, "Been on the Job Too Long" and the moving "Icarus".
Martin exhorted folk who play guitar to try something new every day, then proceeded to play a tune he wrote while doing just that, with the de-Goded hymn "For Love and for Valour" inserted in the middle. "Creeping Jane" was next from his CD "Kind Letters", then "Pretty Sarah", followed by Richard Thompson's "This is a Strange Affair". To close the second half, we were told that the last 2 or 3 songs would all be from "The South" and that it's all true - and so we heard "Barratt Street Stroll" - an instrumental based on the way folks walk down there, "Easy Money" about a guy who's funeral Martin says he attended by accident and sounded to me like a banjo tune, and finally "Love Never Dies".
By way of an encore, there was "Fair Annie/Lord Thomas" and Martin took his bows and vanished backscene of this tiny theatre until we had all stopped clapping! It was quite a night -intense and pleasing - watching a master of his craft perform at such close quarters is a privilege indeed. I have heard mutterings in the past about Martin Simpson being a touch superior, but as we left the venue, there he was in the sub-zero weather, helping drivers navigate out of the car park that was now an ice-rink.
Highly recommended.
The audience was so attentive, the hush and lack of popping out to the bar was really noticeable as Martin went through his 2 sets. We missed most of "Louisiana 1916", but after one of his many stories, Martin played us "Bareback to Bullhassocks" and then did something that sounded akin to Robert Fripp, holding a device over the two or three top strings and playing slide on them, while picking the others, producing a marvelous ethereal sound I've not heard anywhere else, a tune that led into ""Just Can't Keep From Cryin' Sometimes" by Blind Willy Johnson. I just said "played us" because this was such an intimate performance that it felt like Martin was playing just for us, I wrote down words like deft, light, atmospheric, we were all transfixed.
Returning to all out picking, we got "Buckets" and then, after a good word for the BBC Radio Ballads series and a with touch of concern for the animals, "Granmore Hare" followed by a great version of "Matty Groves". We joked later that Martin Simpson plays better tunes when he is just tuning up (which happens a lot) than most of can manage at all, and so after more tuning, he finished the first half with "The Flying Cloud".
Its obvious that Martin Simpson spends a lot of time with his two guitars, and that he is very intimate with them, talking to them and making many minor adjustments, some even mid-song, and his playing reflects this time and effort - its just fabulous - Gill commented on his ability to weight each note in the chord and allow some notes to sustain longer than others, a truly gifted performer with the guitar, and his voice has several different identities that allow him to give an added authenticity to his Southern U.S.A. songs alongside his more native folk songs.
In part two there was talk of still getting culture shock when on the Isle of Lewes followed by one of my favourites "When First I Came to Caledonia" and then an up tempo, "Been on the Job Too Long" and the moving "Icarus".
Martin exhorted folk who play guitar to try something new every day, then proceeded to play a tune he wrote while doing just that, with the de-Goded hymn "For Love and for Valour" inserted in the middle. "Creeping Jane" was next from his CD "Kind Letters", then "Pretty Sarah", followed by Richard Thompson's "This is a Strange Affair". To close the second half, we were told that the last 2 or 3 songs would all be from "The South" and that it's all true - and so we heard "Barratt Street Stroll" - an instrumental based on the way folks walk down there, "Easy Money" about a guy who's funeral Martin says he attended by accident and sounded to me like a banjo tune, and finally "Love Never Dies".
By way of an encore, there was "Fair Annie/Lord Thomas" and Martin took his bows and vanished backscene of this tiny theatre until we had all stopped clapping! It was quite a night -intense and pleasing - watching a master of his craft perform at such close quarters is a privilege indeed. I have heard mutterings in the past about Martin Simpson being a touch superior, but as we left the venue, there he was in the sub-zero weather, helping drivers navigate out of the car park that was now an ice-rink.
Highly recommended.
Joe Topping at Wrexham Offa Folk Club - 2/2/06
Upstairs at the Nag's Head was crammed full to see Joe in his solo guise, onlookers including his father Tom and Colin Henderson. Joe seemed pleased with the turnout and rewarded the faithful with a fine set, starting with a slide guitar blues accompanied by his own harmonica, an instrument he excels at.
Joe played many of his current favourites including "Dancing Flame", "Caged Bird", "Last of the Great Whales", "Throw me to the Winds" and "My Last First Kiss". Returning to the blues, he treated us to Clapton's "Walking Blues" and it occurred to me that the audience was not as responsive as they might have been, although this could have been down to the hot and stuffy room, most remaining quiet until the end of the evening.
This enjoyable performance was rounded of by Colin Henderson's song written for Tom Topping's retirement: "Swan Song" and Joe got a great round of applause. He is certainly very popular, and he has the charisma and the talent to go on to much better things – stardom beckons!
Joe played many of his current favourites including "Dancing Flame", "Caged Bird", "Last of the Great Whales", "Throw me to the Winds" and "My Last First Kiss". Returning to the blues, he treated us to Clapton's "Walking Blues" and it occurred to me that the audience was not as responsive as they might have been, although this could have been down to the hot and stuffy room, most remaining quiet until the end of the evening.
This enjoyable performance was rounded of by Colin Henderson's song written for Tom Topping's retirement: "Swan Song" and Joe got a great round of applause. He is certainly very popular, and he has the charisma and the talent to go on to much better things – stardom beckons!
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