Rhythm & Booze An online music webzine created by music lovers for music lovers.

25 January, 2015

Hattie Briggs Live @ Gardeners Arms, Droitwich 11/12/14

Filed under: acoustic,folk,Live Reviews,singer-songwriter — Tags: Droitwich, gardeners arms, hattie briggs — willmunn @ 18:34

The last couple of months have been hectic around these parts, obviously I’ve had to endure another Christmas in the wonderful world of retail and then on top of that I’ve been (and now completed) moving house, so there has been little time for live music, but the one exception to that has been the Slap nights over at The Gardeners Arms in Droitwich, a once a month session, featuring the best live music has to offer. To date the pub has held host to a number of up and comers as well as a few established names from around the local scene.

December saw the turn of a bona-fide star in the making, sensational singer-songwriter and Radio 2 Young Folk Musician nominee, Hattie Briggs, a performer who’s already released a couple of critically acclaimed singles, performed across the UK and in recent times has been recording her debut album, which should see the light in the near future.

On this occasion the Gardeners had a smattering of people dotted round the bar, but as soon as Hattie opened her mouth and that stunning, soulful croon was omitted, everyone immediately focused their attention, at times during Hattie’s set you could hear a pin drop as she captured the imagination of one and all with her bewitching set.

Whether Hattie was using a sparse, strummed acoustic or accompanied herself with piano tinkerings, every song was filled with heart and passion, delivered beautifully by Hattie’s warm and tender voice. Originals such as Pull Me Down, Tilly’s Song and Old Eyes were lapped up with relish, whilst the hand picked renditions of Kathy’s Song (Paul Simon) and Fields Of Gold (Sting/Eva Cassidy) mesmerised, bettering the originals (in this scribes humble opinion) as Hattie breathed new life into weathered old material.

Hattie delivered a gorgeous, understated yet throughly engaging set, leaving the Gardeners regulars longing for more and once again proving that the regular Slap nights very much a monthly must see attracting only the very best in live music.

Since performing at The Gardeners Arms Hattie has been as announced as the main support act for folk royalty Kathryn Roberts and Sean Lakeman’s forthcoming UK tour take a look at hattie’s site for all the details www.hattiebriggs.co.uk

2 December, 2014

Claude Bourbon Live @ The Fleece, Bretforton 30/11/14

Filed under: acoustic,blues,classical,jazz,latin,Live Reviews — Tags: bretforton, claude bourbon, the fleece — willmunn @ 20:12

 

Claude Bourbon at The Fleece, Bretforton 30/11

borbon

Claude Bourbon is an enigma, he is a classically trained musician, who fuses every conceivable genre of acoustic guitar music into a master-class of a stage performance. There are Latin, Spanish, Gypsy, Jazz and Delta Blues influences throughout, and often within one seamless stream of perfection. If I had to be critical of any weakness, to an admittedly untrained ear, it is in his vocals, not the fact that they have a distinct Gallic touch, but more that Claude’s soulful voice cannot hope to match his dexterity on his well travelled Gibson acoustic guitar.

He started with a long, distinctly Spanish sound of water babbling over a rocky shallow bed, before opening to lush rolling hills, yes you can hear all this, even me! Somewhere along the way it slipped into ‘If You Go Away’, from Flemish writer Jaques Brel and lyricist Rod McKuen, an appropriately cross channel success.

Next, a nice bit of blues, ‘Did Somebody Make A Fool Of You’, probably many times, but not this evening, it was a good call! Also rather fitting, given the extensive, European and US tour, that is finally nearing its end after 170 gigs, another exceptional song from his repertoire, ‘The Road Is Long’, just a little further, back home to Portsmouth. A softly sung, but dark folk song in ‘Twelve Red Roses’ talks of a return to a lost love, and perhaps lost soul. Back to the blues with a aptly named ‘How to Stretch It’, and for sure, it was stretched and played wonderfully, Claude’s right thumb, plucking out a solid base line on the heavy top string, as his fingers sought out the intricate train of notes below, superb and I would have been happy for it to have carried on beyond this marathon stretch. I did not check my watch, its not the first thing you consider! But, I know by past reports, it can be 15 minutes long, and that’s not ‘stretching’ imagination, no part of the guitar is ignored, even flexing the body to bend those notes. JJ Cale was slipped in with ‘A Drifters Life’, before Claude needed to ease his fingers and take a short break.

What came next I find hard to describe, an almost endless amalgam of different influences, melting into each other as we moved from classical openings, across a whole continent of cultural roots, from the Balearic’s to the Balkans, and then across to the Mississippi Delta, and shoehorned into all that was music that would not have been amiss in the courts of emperors and kings.In all of that, I must give mention to a beautiful rendition of Gershwin’s ‘Summertime’, there are of course, many interpretations out there, but this is up with there with the best. Its not easy to begin to describe the breadth or mastery of the music you will hear if fortunate to catch one of Claude’s gigs, he sort of finished ‘Sitting On A Cliff’, but of course its not that simple, its a sort of sensory experience, those of you who have seen him will know. Do look out for a return, you will be richer for the experience.

Words & Photos Graham Munn

 

28 November, 2014

Sons Of The Delta Live @ Prince Of Wales, Ledbury 23/11/14

Filed under: acoustic,Americana,bluegrass,blues,Live Reviews — Tags: ledbury, prince of wales, sons of delta — willmunn @ 20:48

 

Sons Of The Delta at Prince Of Wales Ledbury 23/11

sons of delta

Back at my Sunday haunt, The Sons Of The Delta appeared in duo form, Mark Cole, powerful vocalist, harp player, and sometime guitarist! and Rick Edwards, guitarist and sometime vocalist. Their music is an eclectic selection of blues, finely crafted classics, sit alongside original music. There is also the odd dip into related genre, bluegrass, and Americana.

Here on a Sunday evening, the blues is coming over strongly, Mark is in fine voice, ‘Key To The Highway’, starts us rolling. Not too far down the road, we slide nicely into a bit of Booker White, with prison song, ‘When Can I Change My Clothes’, obviously not recorded in Booker’s teenage years! We are not going to progress much further without a bit of a nod to the great Howling Wolf, the boys delivered an excellent ‘Smokestack Lightning’. Both pick up a slide, to use with some old ‘mail order’ guitars, earning their keep, a lovely old Teiso in the hands of Mark, with Rick selecting an even more nondescript, but tuneful hollow bodied guitar.

A Jimmy Rogers inspired song suggests of drinking muddy water, but wisely I stuck to the ale, before an unusual bit of gospelling. Written by Tom Waites, and given air more recently by Beth Hart, Mark tucked into a ‘Chocolate Jesus’, interspersed with some nice harp touches and a bit more slide from Rick. Superb, its a wonderfully quirky song, again presented very much in their own style.

Another unusual choice from the Chuck Berry song book, ’13 Questions’, not sure about the answers, because it led to a folk song and turn toward Americana before switching back into blues mode. Tampa Red this time, and ‘It Hurts Me Too’. I thought we were going for a Pink Panther riff, but those opening bars took us into one of their own songs, ‘Its Me’. A quick bit of jump jive blues, ‘Skin ‘n Bone’, was squeezed in before more Americana, with Mark taking to his sweet sounding mandolin, and Rick picking up his acoustic Martin guitar. All climbed aboard for a harp simulated train ride, is their any instrument more suited to that sound? I doubt it. While back in first carriage, Curtis Mayfield implored all us ‘People Get Ready’, there was more to come. This pub is a music lovers haunt, and the gathered crowd was not going to let these boys leave easily, a few more songs were extracted before they could desert their seats.

From their first CD, ‘I’m Going Out’, seemed the only suitable way for the Sons Of The Delta to be allowed to leave. An excellent evening of entertainment, rumour has it, the full band will return in the near future, I will be their for that.

27 November, 2014

Babajack/The White Feather Collective Live @ The Cube, Malvern 22/11/14

Filed under: acoustic,blues,Live Reviews,rock,rock n roll — Tags: babajack, malvern, The Cube, the white feather collective — willmunn @ 22:07

 

Babajack at The Cube, Malvern 22/11

+ The White Feather Collective

This was to have been an evening with Babajack and special guests, Lloyd Grossman’s New Forbidden, however Lloyd was ill so unable to bring his band. Local new boys, The White feather Collective, were duly called up for duty, a band with only 6 months behind them, the big stage awaited. The line up was Josh Lambe on an acoustic guitar and vocals, Will Turner, electric guitar, Roo Macphee on bass, and Chris Reynolds on drums.

BBJ1

Their style is really planted well and truly in the early raw rock/blues era of the 60’s, and that is reflected in the sound, which is raw and edgy, helped by the use of valve amps and analogue equipment. A nice blues riff going on with ‘Writing A Novel’, with Josh changing his guitar for a harp, before finishing with a restructured and renamed song ‘Keith’, played in the manner of some bloke who used to be in a band called the Stones!

An excellent start, and I’m not sure Lloyd was missed too much, though he may have been peaking through the key hole to see how they managed. One thing is certain, we will be hearing more from this Collective.

BBJ2

Babajack, have certainly evolved over the years I have been watching them, a duo sometime trio, with their own brand of roots music, has become an established ‘main stage’ band, gaining drums and bass, not to mention a very strong following. They have collected numerous awards on this journey, but retained that unique touch to their form of blues. Tosh Murase’s right fist, smashed down on his Floor Tom, booming out the start of ‘Running Man’, and away they went, Becky in full flow, freed from the roll of sole percussion, Trevor, as ever, testing his wine box guitars to the limit. Slipping in to the group for the evening, Julia Palmer-Price, brings her cello to stage, as she did in the recording studio for the album. Bassist Adam Bertenshaw along with Tosh, lay the foundations for Becky and Trevor to weave their web through to the fabulous ‘Falling Hard’, before the boys take a break. Trevor’s slide and harp are kept busy, as Becky writes her ‘Death Letter’, their take on a song they have made their own, but crafted by Son House. They continued into one of (for me) the choice songs from their ‘Running Man’ album, Trevor on harp, accompanying Becky, as she sings the lovely ‘Hammer And Tongs’, great vocals and superb harp, it does not get better than this.

The band rejoin, and the music rolls on, examining Babajack’s catalogue of songs, slipping in the yet to be recorded, ‘Back Door’. Aired on Paul Jones R2 show, and taken from the live sessions at The Albert Hall recently, now presented to us.

Julia is giving everything on her Cello, enjoying the evening, teasing Trevor as he works his strings, Tosh is hitting those big drums like never before, and Becky is on fire, auburn hair flying, as the evening reaches its crescendo. Gallows Pole, a well used old folk song, is a a portent to the musical explosion that is ‘Skin and Bone’, Trevor resonating like a tuning fork, teetering on the edge of his seat, Becky, slapping her cahon, that hair tossing back and forth. BUT, there is only one way to finish a Babajack gig, the false end, the audience participation, it is of course, ‘Black Betty’, ‘nough said’.

Words And Photos Graham Munn

 

20 November, 2014

Ben Vickers Live @ The Gardeners Arms Droitwich 13/11/14

Filed under: acoustic,folk,Live Reviews,reggae,ska — Tags: ben vickers, Droitwich, gardeners arms — willmunn @ 13:02

We originally set out to the Gardeners expecting to see the compelling and unique singer-songwriter Rod Branigan but due to unforseen circumstances (or something that effect) Rod was unable to make it down to Droitwich but luckily regular Gardeners Arms open mic head honcho Ben Vickers was not only in attendance but also happened to have all is gear with and heroically stepped into the breach, making a number of friends along the way.

Prior to watching Ben take to the boards I had done a little research to discover that the singer-songwriter performed in a number of different bands including Nestah, who won a competition by ice cream supremos Ben And Jerry’s with a compelling and contagious Bob Marley cover. So with that in mind it wasn’t too unexpccted when Ben opened his set with a brilliant Three Little Birds followed shortly by a cover of I Shot The Sheriff, both showcased Ben’s effortless ability to strum and pick his guitar with the best of them, whilst vocally, Ben’s soulful croon instantly seduced those that were listening with intent.

Ben continued his set with a mixture of further Marley covers (Redemption Song, One Love, etc), a ska/reggae inspired take on The Beatles and nice homage of Sweet Home Chicargo before delivering the only original of his two sets, a catchy ode to Black Cherry (Strip club in Lowesmoor) entitled Sixty Bucks, which sat proudly alongside the covers without sounding out of place, as well as proving that Ben is more than capable of penning a cotagious melody or two of his own.

After a well deserved break Ben returned to the stage area to send us off into the night with a glorious interruptation of disco classic, Staying Alive, a funk fuelled Supersitious and a song lifted apparently from both Matilda and Ice Age, leaving the assembled more than content with their fun night out.

We may have originally come to see a guy play two guitars at the same time, but we left with a smile and a song in our hearts, whilst vowing to catch Ben again real soon.

Rhythm & Booze Rating 8

 

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