2015

Review Date May 2. 2012 Review By Eric Thom Location Hugh’s Room, Toronto, Canada It would appear that 65-year old Loudon Wainwright III has a lot on his mind. In fact, the title of his latest release tips the hat that he’s slightly fixated on death and decay; this comes with ageing. Yet, Loudon is now-and always has been-far from a-molderin’ in his grave. There’s too much going on in his personal life and far too much left to observe and complain about-seemingly revelling in mankind’s continual downward slide. Few singer-songwriters subject themselves to so much scrutiny and, on occasion, self-mutilation. He does it in fun but his razor-sharp arsenal of tools blur the lines between irony and sarcasm with each satirical, often cynical, observation on life. The fact that he has made every aspect of his own life and times so public through his work surely works some therapeutic wonder. If nothing else, he’s damned funny. Acid-tongued and acerbic-but very funny. Touring his latest masterwork, OLDER THAN MY OLD MAN NOW, Wainwright clearly relishes the bonus time he’s got left. This 15-track exercise in stand-up comedy would suffice based on its lyrics alone-yet Loudon is a master entertainer and his understated guitar-playing and gift for a hook turns the singer-songwriter category on its ear. He delivers, live, more than anyone might expect and the storytelling that glues the set-list together is, alone, worth the price of admission. As much as this release embraces all the touchstones of the over 60-set, so much of its content filters down from his too-personal diary, involving many of the members of his infamous family-many of whom were involved in its recording. From his late, ex-wife Kate comes a co-write on “Over The Hill” as daughter Martha contributes vocals while, despite the much-publicised rift between he and son Rufus, the two came together for “The Days That We Die” as if they “were’ family. And that’s the other side of this coin. Loudon may fear following in his father’s final footsteps but, as messed up as they all appear to be, Loudon holds his family close-as if his life depended on it. He’s never been shy about admitting his mistakes. Thankfully, it’s become his most endearing quality. It doesn’t get more naked than Loudon, alone, on a stage. Amidst his arsenal of Eastwood winces, head-shakes and tongue-curls, he strips each song to its skeletal beginnings, leaning on his guitar to dazzle between each witty stanza. Beginning with the borderline funky “The Here & The Now,” Loudon’s stripped-down version highlights its autobiographical nature-wherein his entire life is squeezed into its 3:44 length. Suffering from slight overselling, Wainwright took some time to secure the room yet, like any talented comedian, it’s simply a matter of reorganising one’s best material. A world premiere of “Haven’t Got The Blues Yet” segued into the fast-paced, hilarious “Double Lifetime,” originally recorded with Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. The title track, which featured some exceptional guitar-picking, was prefaced by Wainwright’s summation of his life’s work: the 1970s and 1980s were all about chronicling “shitty relationships’ while his focus now is on “death and decay.’ His unreleased, morgue-friendly “A Guilty Conscience And A Broken Heart” proved a side-splitter joined by an equally funny song about city life, “Man & Dog”. Two tracks from his last release, 10 SONGS FOR THE NEW DEPRESSION altered the mood somewhat until a Liberace moment drove him to the piano for a few songs, most notably the lovely “In C.” The evening also addressed the many requests tossed his way-“Five Years Old” became a singalong while “Be Careful, There’s A Baby In The House” and the gut-ripping “Hardy Boys At The Y” proved favourites. His take on “I Remember Sex” hit a nerve, albeit a funny one, while a slowed down, serious version of “April Fool’s Day Morn” hit its bittersweet, beautiful mark. From laughing “til you cry and crying “til you need to laugh, Wainwright is a master of the mood swing. At the same time, he packs a lot of evening into one tiny stage. And whether he dips back into “Red Guitar” or “Motel Blues” or moves things forward with the haunting “Something’s Out To Get Me” or the fall-down hilarity of “My Meds,” Loudon has consistently delivered beyond “the new Dylan’ tag that dogged his early career. Here’s hoping he gets to be a pallbearer. The last laugh will be his. Find out more at 

Review Date September 19, 2011 Review By Keith Clark Location The Tunnels, Bristol This was one of those gigs that underline the importance of turning up on time to catch the supporting act as you just never know when you are going to be presented with a real and unexpected treat. Laura Gibson, a singer-songwriter from Portland, Oregon, who is touring with Richmond Fontaine on this tour was certainly not someone you would have wanted to miss. Blessed with a wonderfully clear, fragile voice and accompanied by highly talented multi-instrumentalist Sean Ogilvie, she delivered a mesmerising set of mostly her own songs plus a few from the folk tradition. Her version of In The Pines owed more to Nirvana than to Leadbelly and was simply stunning. Richmond Fontaine have released a brand new album, THE HIGH COUNTRY, so it was to be expected that like most bands on promo tours their set list would probably include a small number of the new songs scattered amongst the big hits. The Oregon-based band obviously don’t believe in taking the easy route however for when they came on stage frontman Willy Vlautin informed us that actually they were going to do the whole of the new album, all 17 tracks of it including spoken narratives and instrumental interludes, before doing some of their older familiar songs. Whether in his much acclaimed novels, his short stories or his songs, Vlautin has always tended to write extremely literate but often very bleak tales of drifters, dreamers, drunks, gamblers, murderers, the disaffected and others for whom the American Dream has turned into a nightmare. The songs that make up THE HIGH COUNTRY were therefore in familiar territory. A kind of country-rock opera it told the story of the doomed love affair between a mechanic and the girl at the auto parts shop in a remote logging community and contains more killings than a Tarantino movie. That might sound far too sombre and melancholy to be much fun but actually it was a performance that completely held your interest. A lot of that was due to Vlautin’s narrative songs which were so vivid you couldn’t help feeling that you were listening to the soundtrack to a piece of Film Noir. It also helped that the songs were set to suitably sparse and very atmospheric arrangements that ranged from quiet acoustic to a restrained bar band rock swagger. Amy Boone from the Texan band the Damnations TX, who had been drafted in to provide the female leads sung by her sister Deborah Kelly on the album, produced one of the standouts of the set with the quiet Let Me Dream Of The High Country. Her I Can See A Room, a duet with Vlautin, was painfully beautiful. The sparse The Mechanic, which the singer told us was his favourite of all the songs he has written, was haunting and there was chilly horror in On A Spree. They really rocked out on The Chainsaw Sea and Lost In The Trees, while in The Eagles Lodge there was a reference to Brummie Metal Gods Judas Priest. After the shortest of breaks the band returned to the stage and played a set that was actually longer than complete gigs from some bands and included a number of more familiar songs from their previous eight studio albums, including the country punk 1968, a very well-received Post To The Wire, Making It Back, the Calexico-like Moving Back Home #2 and a superb version of Western Skyline featuring some exceptional guitar work from Dan Eccles. Amy Boone got the chance to take the lead on one of her own band’s songs, No Sign Of Water. If more than 20 songs wasn’t enough, the band returned to do Two Alone and closed with Winner’s Casino. It was a thoroughly satisfying epic of a gig by an outfit that has consistently shown itself to be one of the most creative bands on the Americana scene. Find out more at 

Review Date October 7, 2011 Review By Nick Dalton Location East Wintergarden, Canary Wharf, London Just around the corner in the heart of Canary Wharf, the Friday evening throng is in full session, thousands of office workers loudly spilling out of bars, drinks in hand. We’re in a curious but pleasing glass-roofed space snuggled between office buildings, a haven of peace and civility, as a group of 10 disparate individuals wander on to the stage. They break into what could be described as rootsy classical music, a glorious 90-minute set of riffs and soaring violin, grand piano and ukulele. It’s the first of another series of left-of-centre performances sneaking into the city workplace (another is a semi-acoustic show by melodious indie-rockers British Sea Power). Penguin Café are the child of the Penguin Café Orchestra, the dreamy, elegantly different ensemble led by Simon Jeffes until his death more than a decade ago, a group that was home to everyone from classical moonlighters to country fiddle virtuoso Bob Loveday. This version is led by Jeffes Junior, Arthur, a superb pianist, keeping alive his father’s legacy, while adding to it. Bearded and waistcoated he looks like the male lead from a Thomas Hardy movie adaptation; the chap who darts between percussion and violin wears a white cap and plus-fours, there are longhairs and short hairs and mop hairs the classic mix of classical players (a cellist who looks exactly like a cellist should, otherwordly, her long, dark hair tied back) and rock types. The music kicks off with Dirt, one of the original group’s numbers, a joyous southern states Americana romp based around violin, viola, lap steel and ukulele (or something that looked like a ukulele but was a bit bigger). People chop and change as they swing through what is essentially quiet music but which acquires a lot of power when played at volume: Swing The Cat (an erudite take on Irish jigging), the pastoral sweep of Air a Danser, the medieval tinge of Paul’s Dance (Jeffes leading a four-piece ukulele ensemble) and the resonant Music For A Found Harmonium. Newer pieces such as From A Blue Temple (from the recent album A MATTER OF LIFE …) sat perfectly alongside favourites including Perpetuum Mobile. A highpoint was Telephone And Rubber Band, a tune constructed over a tape loop of telephone ringing and engaged tones, the noises played by Jeffes from his iPhone, before the exquisite Giles Farnaby’s Dream, finishing with another US-inflected composition, Bean Fields. There was the air of classical music but played with the sound and rhythm of a barnyard dance in an evening of irrepressible good humour, Jeffes beaming as he performed the music he’d grown up loving. The encore featured a piano piece he’d composed for his father’s memorial service, then the lively Salty Bean Fumble. We then left our tables at the Penguin Café and emerged into the noise of the night. Find out more at 

Review Date January 21, 2012 Review By David Knowles Location Arkenstall Centre Danny Bryant just seems to get better and better. On September 17, 2011, Danny and his Red Eye Band recorded a live DVD and CD in front of a large and very appreciative audience in Holland. Now back in England they put on an even better performance at the very friendly Arkenstall Centre. With the clock ticking past 9pm Danny, his dad Ken Bryant (bass) and drummer Trevor Barr were introduced by the lovely Sue Marchant of BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. Then as she left the stage Danny powered into his opening guitar solo to set the standard for the night. His guitar drove into the brilliant fan favourite “Heartbreaker” as Trevor pounded the skins and Ken held everything together with his solid bass rhythm. Danny was in fantastic form, his vocals matching his powerhouse guitar solos that sang, sliced, purred then scythed through this small, intimate club. “Just As I Am,” one of my faves came early on in the set, I could not resist singing along to this great song, as this guy manifests the blues into a stake and drives it hard through your heart with his no nonsense style. He then tipped his hat to some of the great bluesmen with the self-penned “Blues For Buddy,” the title referring to the legendary Buddy Guy. Another live favourite followed with his blues blaster “Master Of Disaster,” then the mood was slowed down for the power ballad “Love Of Angels” with Danny’s vocals tugging at everyone’s emotions before his guitar wept and wailed in a brilliant finale to this awesome tune. Danny is a mighty fine songwriter in his own right and performs many of his own originals, but he also slips in a few covers as well. With a couple of super versions of Bob Dylan classics “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” (that also got the crowd singing along) and “Girl From The North Country” as well as Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile” and Robert Johnson’s “Sweet Home Chicago,” proving that he is not only proud to play music by some of the greats but is also very worthy to do so. Danny finished the night off in style with the terrific “Death Letter Blues.” If Danny Bryant’s Red Eye Band keep improving on what is already a high standard of performance then hopefully their star will soon be shining very brightly and they will get the credit and recognition they richly deserve. Find out more at 

Review Date May 31, 2012 Review By John Roffey Location The Centre Stage, Bournemouth For the last gig at the Centre Stage before the summer recess, entered the delicate looking Emily Maguire with Australian husband, Christian Dunham (bass) and a string quartet featuring highly talented cellist, Beth Porter who was taking time out from playing in Eliza Carthy’s band. With her music now regularly played on BBC Radio 2, Emily has come to be noticed by a much wider audience, although she still gets a kick from performing at the Square and Compass, in the beautiful Dorset village of Worth Matravers high in the Purbeck Hills. An eventful career saw her move to the southern hemisphere where she managed to finance her music by making and selling goat’s cheese from her farm in Australia. Her battle with Bipolar Disorder is well documented but during this difficult period and whilst receiving treatment in London, some of her best songs were spawned. A prolific performer and songwriter, Emily already has three critically acclaimed albums under her belt and is now taking a break from touring to concentrate on the next. It was no surprise then, that she included a number of songs from the forthcoming album in a very strong twenty-song set. Whilst many of her songs tended to follow a similar pattern-a mellow introduction before she belied her diminutive stature by belting out powerful and always thought provoking lyrics-this took nothing away from a faultless performance which had the near full house spellbound. Highlights of a terrific first set were “Keep Walking” and “The Real World” (a commentary on modern society), the beautiful “Wanting Time,” in which Emily switched from acoustic guitar to piano, and “Bird Inside A Cage,” which was inspired by Times journalist, Melanie Reid who was badly injured in a horse riding accident. It was more of the same for the second set, with her new songs “Not The Only One” and “Stardust” as well as “Golden And Gorgeous,” (a tale of commuting by train), and “I’d Rather Be” from her current album, BELIEVER. Closing with another new song, “This Love Affair,” Emily returned to encore with “Start Over Again,” which recounted “her whole life in three and a half minutes.’ Emily possesses a wonderful stage presence and keeps chatter to a minimum, preferring to delight her audience with as much top quality music as possible. With her string quartet performing admirably, and Beth Porter chipping in with some great backing vocals, it proved to be a wonderful evening’s entertainment. Find out more at 

Review Date April 22, 2012 Review By John Roffey Location The Centre Stage, Bournemouth A veteran of over forty years, award-winning singer-songwriter Steve Tilston played the Centre Stage to another healthy gathering and concentrated largely on his most recent releases RECKONING from 2011 and ZIGGURAT from 2008 whilst injecting a few surprises along the way. An all-round entertainer, Steve wowed the Bournemouth Folk Club regulars with his trade mark anecdotes and simply gorgeous music. Wizz Jones’ “Weeping Willow Blues” was first to get the Steve Tilston treatment but having messed around with both lyrics and music, he re-titled it “Weeping Willow Replanted”-but it was still great blues. “Fisher Lad Of Whitby,” taken from Holroyd’s Collection of Yorkshire Ballads, related the harrowing story of a boy being press ganged into the navy to fight in the Napoleonic wars and he followed this up with his own composition “Rocky Road” which has of course, been adopted by electric folk legends Fairport Convention. Then came three great numbers from RECKONING, “Rio de la Miel,” a tale of the Spanish Civil War, the title track and an instrumental medley of “Davy Lamp,” which paid homage to hornpipe impresario James Hill, and “Fruit Fly” a lovely reel. Incredibly, the first set was drawing to a close and Steve finished with the classic “Let’s Face The Music And Dance” which he chose to sing at his daughter’s wedding. The second set got underway with ST’s only “happy’ song “Jacaranda,” a beautiful blue flower growing mainly in South America, “Doubting Thomas,” another from RECKONING and Big Bill’s “Been Here And Gone,” a tribute to bluesman Big Bill Broonzy. It was then time to delve into the vast back catalogue with the beautiful “Sometimes In This Life” and then come right up-to-date again with the haunting “Sovereign Of Tides.” “Pretty Penny,” a song about bankers written before the current crisis, “Oil And Water” which Steve performed on Later with Jools Holland and an audience request, “Slip Jigs And Reels” brought this terrific second set to a close. Thunderous applause brought Steve back to encore with the autobiographical “Road When I Was Young.” This was another superb performance from a genuine class act whose songs have been recorded by many of the greats in the folk world. It was no surprise that extremely brisk business was soon being conducted on the merchandise counter. The evening had got underway with a short set from highly talented local musician Bob Burke. Find out more at 

Review Date August 17, 2013 Review By Andrew Heaps Location The Rock at Maltby Surely anyone who sees (and hears) Lisa Mills for the first time will be blown away by that voice, and although this was by no means my first time, that voice is reason enough to drive an hour and a half over the Woodhead pass in the rain to Maltby. Having spoken to Ian Jennings a few weeks earlier at The Sage in Gateshead when he played in Mud Morganfield’s backing band at this year’s SummerTyne Festival I learned that Lisa would be playing only two UK dates on her way over to mainland Europe from her base in Mobile, Alabama. Following excellent support from locals, Roy Machin & Mick Miller, Mississippi raised Lisa Mills took to the stage with her usual UK ‘backing band,’ Ian Jennings on double bass. And trust me, that’s all the band she needs. You really wouldn’t think there were only two instruments on stage. Opening with a couple of self-penned songs, “Eyes So Blue” and “Rain In The Summertime” (‘written about my first ex-husband’!) Lisa then dipped into 2005’s I’M CHANGING album for “I Need A Little Sunshine” (written in Kidderminster whilst missing the weather back home in Mobile). Followed by the opener from 2010’s TEMPERED IN FIRE, “Tennessee Tears” then one of several songs she’s recorded written by the urban legend that is Macclesfield’s ‘Guitar’ George Borowski, a good friend of Lisa’s and an excellent British songwriter. Check him out! George’s “I’ll Never Fall In Love Again” led to another cover, Barbara Lynn’s “You’ll Lose A Good Thing.” Lisa Mills knows her Southern soul, and certainly has the voice to suit. Comparisons with Janis Joplin wouldn’t be far off the mark either, given that she spent three years touring with Big Brother & the Holding Company. Wanda Jackson’s “Mean Mean Mama” morphed onto “Kansas City” giving Ian Jennings every opportunity to display his rockabilly slap bass prowess, and Lisa is no slouch on guitar either. Opening the second set with two covers from Southern Rock band, Wet Willie, firstly their 1974 top ten single, “Keep On Smiling” and then “Countryside Of Life” (both from TEMPERED IN FIRE which features the guitar of Andy Fairweather Low) we were then treated to a couple of Jimmy Reed influenced covers in “Bright Lights, Big City” and an acapella “Honest I Do” before Lisa’s own song tribute to Freddie King. Bringing the set to a close with Lazy Lester’s “Sugar Coated Love” (learnt from playing with Austin’s Lou Ann Barton) and an encore featuring a personal medley of ‘songs my Daddy taught me.’ One of my favourite discoveries of recent years, it’s always a joy to watch the faces of audience members who haven’t seen Lisa Mills before. What a voice, and enhanced by superb microphone technique. If you like your Americana with some southern soul and blues, and a big, big voice, then this is the singer for you. Find out more at www.lisamills.com

Review Date January 28, 2012 Review By Alan Harrison Location Cluny II, Newcastle I shouldn’t have been too surprised to find a queue stretching down three flights of stairs to the basement of Cluny II following Madison Violet’s fantastic performance last year at the tiny Central Bar. All of the seats were full and people were still filing in when Rebecca Pronsky and her guitarist Rich Bennett took to the stage, with the New Yorker chatting non-stop as she tuned her guitar. The duo filled the 45 minute support slot very well with a quaint mix of folk and country-noir that was missing “something;’ possibly the rest of her band. Bennett’s slick guitar playing lifted most of the songs, but a few still felt as if they needed padding out a little bit. Perhaps that was just me. Brenley MacEachern and Lisa MacIsaac aka Madison Violet made their North East debut last year as part of the Jumpin’ Hot Clubs 25th Anniversary Celebrations and “stole the show’ when they performed before 150 or so people in a room designed for 80! Looking around the room everyone who had been there that night appeared to have brought along two friends tonight. The set opened with a gorgeous version of “If I Could Love You” from the recent THE GOOD IN GOODBYE album which was followed by “The Ransom” from 2009’s NO FOOL FOR TRYING. As the evening progressed I soon became engrossed with the girls’ skills with their instruments as I was already in love with the songs anyway. Lisa’s fiddle and mandolin playing could easily win her awards at folk festivals and Brenley’s guitar skills would be shouted from the rooftops if she was a man; but she isn’t so I’ll not mention it again. Already impressed I was open-mouthed when Lisa managed to swap her mandolin for the fiddle without missing a beat during “Never Saw The Ending.” Come on-that’s impressive! It always amuses me when “pretty young things’ write “heartbreakers’ but McEachan’s story leading up to “Stuck In A Love” made it actually sound believable; but I still think she was using some artistic license in there too. Madviolet then managed to delight me with a pretty radical version of one of my favourite songs-“Come As You Are” which, with Brenley’s slightly gravelly voice and raspy harmonica had a bit of a Neil Young vibe to it tonight which is no bad thing in my book. By this stage in the show Mrs H would playfully nudge me whenever the girls implemented their very own Shadows step-over/dance during the quiet bits in songs. It took a while and I was even starting to think that they might be going to keep it for the encore as it’s so good; but when Lisa started telling a story about a grandmother who used to be a lighthouse keeper I began grinning like a ninny. On first hearing “Christy Ellen Francis” last year it instantly went into my Top 10 songs of all time and after tonight’s magical version it will stay there until my memory finally gives up. For some reason I’m a sucker for a love song and this ode to a 100-year-old grandmother makes me come out in goosebumps every time I hear it; so seeing and hearing Madison Violet perform it only feet away from me was a delight I’ll never forget. The girls performed another couple of songs but they paled into insignificance compared to that opus; until the final song of the evening-“The Good In Goodbye” which was the perfect finish to a wonderful performance. Following a noisy standing ovation Madviolet returned to sing a delicate song about another tragic relationship; “No Fool For Trying” then turned the gas right up for the bluegrass foot stomper “Cindy-Cindy” that had the crowd clapping along with delight. Brenley and Lisa left the stage and were immediately swamped at the merch table by happy fans congratulating them in the best North Eastern fashion-buying stuff! Find out more at 

Review Date July 13-15, 2012 Review By David Knowles Location Cambridgeshire This was the first year that things had worked out right for me. I could finally go to the whole three days of this wonderful festival that is only a 20-minute walk from my home. One thing I did not bank on though was the British weather, as it had been raining since the start of June. As the festival weekend got closer I feared that it might well be cancelled, as others like it had already fallen by the wayside. However, massive credit to the organisers and a very big well-done to all involved as they never gave up and managed to defeat both the rain and the mud to put on the best Ely Folk Festival that I had been to. Friday evening, I made my way to the site and what I was faced with wasn’t what I was expecting. As I went through the gate the usual grass entrance was now a muddy, boggy, puddle-laden mess. The box office was situated along this path and I managed to get to it without getting too muddy, but that didn’t last very long, and I knew that wellington boots would have to be called upon for the rest of the weekend. 2011 BBC2 Horizon Award winner, Ewan McLennan was my first act of the festival and he put on a fine show. Next up was a trio by the name of Lady Maisery, comprised of Hanna James (vocals, accordion)-who delighted the wet crowd with a wonderful clog dance near the end of the set-Hazel Askew (vocals, harp, concertina)-who played such heavenly harp solos-and Rowan Rheingans (vocals, fiddle, banjo), who at one point took up a strange looking instrument that looked like a banjo with two music horns extending from it. It was in fact a ban-sitar and gave out a lovely sound, as was demonstrated on the tune, “Nottamun Fair”-the three brightening up the dull weather with some excellent musicianship and sweet harmonies. I thoroughly enjoyed this talented trio and for me the festival was now well and truly underway! It was then the turn of one of my favourite comics, Richard Digance. I hadn’t seen him in concert for quite a few years, so was really looking forward to his show at the festival. He set the tone straight away with the brilliant “Saga Lout” that had the whole audience singing along to the chorus. “Sod’s Law” kept the laughter going with many tongue-twisting lines, proving how good a guitarist he is with a wonderful blues guitar instrumental. A Richard Digance show wouldn’t be the same without him having a dig at someone or something and “Jobs” is a fantastic song, having a pop at would-be celebrities and talentless people who always seem to be in the news. I agreed with the ones he mentioned. “The Ballad Of Johnny Puller” is a young soldier’s perspective of the war and his involvement in the famous story of the football match between the British and German soldiers on Christmas Day in 1914. Richard also spoke about Leyton Orient Football Club who lost 3 players in the Battle of the Somme. Orient supporters have made pilgrimages to the Somme and on July 10, 2011 an O’s memorial was unveiled in the French village of Flers. Richard also performed my favourite number, “Remembers” in which he lists 200 sweets, toys, adverts etc. from the past. Richard Digance is a comic genius! Thank-you Ely Folk Festival for booking him. Friday was brought to a close by Jez Lowe and The Bad Pennies, getting people dancing with the lively polka tune “Barnstorming,” amongst others, plus band member Kate Bramley took the occasional lead vocals on songs such as “Jesse Owens’ Shoes,” inspired by the legendary American sprinter who dominated the 1936 Olympic Games. More rain followed on Saturday as I wandered into Marquee 1 to see Jez Lowe again, this time as a duo with Kate to do songs from the RADIO BALLADS. I then decided to stay in the main tent-especially as I had a front row seat-to see out the rest of the afternoon session. Monroe’s Revenge were next up, a British group consisting of Dave Plane (guitar, vocals), Roger Blackbourn (banjo, vocals), Richard Partridge (fiddle, vocals), Dick Embery (double bass) and Joe Hymas (mandolin, vocals) that played some scintillating bluegrass, comparable with many of the American bands. Great music and very entertaining, although I would’ve preferred Joe to have ceased talking in a fake American accent; it wasn’t needed, with music of this quality. Elvis Fontenot & The Sugar Bees was an infectious and supercharged Zydeco and Cajun band from Staffordshire, having played in festivals all over Europe and America. They were hugely popular with the audience, playing dance tunes such as “Dirty Old Dog,” “Hot Tamale Baby” as well as a cover of the Otis Gibbs song, “Caroline.” With washboard and accordion solos a-plenty, this was entertaining stuff but the vocals were a bit weak. The afternoon was brought to a close by the incredible guitar playing of Blues Band member, Dave Kelly. I was lucky enough to catch one of Dave’s rare solo, acoustic gigs once before and it was nothing short of amazing. Picture this: Big stage at a music festival with one guy sitting on a chair with a microphone and a guitar. He starts to play “Cross Road Blues” by Delta blues man, Robert Johnson. You could hear a pin drop; the whole audience mesmerised by his phenomenal slide guitar playing. This set was like an anthology of blues legends as Dave played Skip James’ “Hard Time Killing Floor Blues,” followed by John Lee Hooker’s “No More Doggin’”. The chap sitting next to me commented on what a great voice Dave Kelly has and I had to agree with him, as a fan, but also as he’s one of the greatest British guitarists around. I was in absolute heaven when he played a brilliant slide solo

Review Date November 4, 2012 Review By Keith Clark Location Thekla, Bristol The last time that Julia Stone played in Bristol it was as one half of a duo with her younger brother Angus but this year the Australians have put the family business on hold for a while to concentrate on their own individual projects. For Julia Stone that includes releasing a new album under her own name and embarking on the current lengthy solo European tour. Well, not quite solo for she’d brought along a band and a support act. Opening the gig was Ryan Keen from South Devon who headlined his own gig at this same venue only a week ago. It was an impressive performance by a singer-songwriter who has been attracting a lot of media attention of late. His guitar playing was percussive and while there were instrumental tricks he didn’t overdo them. Indeed on his standout song “Focus,” he kept his playing relatively simple. His songs were well-crafted, he had an interesting breathy voice and the harmonies, with his percussionist and backing vocalist Lee Levant, were well thought out and tightly executed. On his closing song, “Trouble,” he had no trouble at all in getting the appreciative audience singing along. He has already been dubbed “the next big thing’ by some music writers and Radio 1 DJs, which might be over-hyping things, but you never know; they may be right. Angus and Julia Stone have always attracted such exaggerated praise from the music press and on the basis of this gig Julia Stone could easily find herself on many of those New Year “One’s to watch’ lists as a performer in her own right. Accompanied by Russ Owen from Cat Empire, bassist Josh Kaufman and Ray Rizzo on drums she stepped on stage clutching her trumpet and opened with “The Shit That They’re Feeding You” which she released on an EP earlier this year. Most of the songs however were taken from the new record, BY THE HORNS, although there was at least one nod to the duo’s back catalogue with a version of “And The Boys” that she reminded us was usually the point during their duo gigs when Angus left the stage and left her to it. In many ways she has taken a new direction, the new songs being more indie rock with the 1960s flower power folksiness, replaced by a new heaviness, particularly on the new album’s title track “By The Horns,” the dramatic “Somehow” and “Let’s Forget All The Things That We Say.” One of the biggest reactions was to her version of “Better Shape Up” from Grease, and surprisingly the only too familiar song worked extremely well in this slowed and stripped down form. It wasn’t the only cover, for there was a very different version of the rather surreal “Bloodbuzz Ohio” by Brooklyn band The National and a jolly jazzy reworking of “Just Blew In From The Windy City” that sounded a world away from the Doris Day original. Her voice is quirky, breathy, undisciplined but has a surprising range, her performance was full of drama and the songs were loaded with even more anguish, heartbreak, betrayal, vulnerability and pain than you’d find on a Joni Mitchell CD. She sang from the heart with such honest emotion that you couldn’t help but empathise and wish that someone close to her would give her a big hug. It was not however a downbeat performance and between songs she was very funny; her stories were mostly self-deprecating and the closing number, a close-harmony version of the old Temptation’s classic “My Girl,” was full of giggles. The brother and sister duo have stated that this is only a temporary hiatus and that they will be back and recording together but whatever the future holds for the family duo, Julia Stone has more than enough class to make it as a performer in her own right. Find out more at