Category: MTW Music Reviews

The Who @ O2 Dublin Saturday June 8th 2013

The Who kicked off their Summer Tour 2013 with a spectacular production of Quadrophenia followed by a blistering set of Who classics from the post Mod albums Tommy, Who’s Next & Who Are You.

 

The Who Family Gathering in Dublin ensured a full house across the generations with a whole new generation of Mods tapping into the live experience of The Who all dressed up in their finest threads.The glorious summer sunshine beaming down on Dublin all weekend also added colour and fun as we all converged on Dublin’s Docklands to celebrate living legends Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend and to pay homage to heroes gone to the great beyond Keith Moon and John Entwistle.

 

Vintage Trouble played a scorcher opening up the live action on stage with their blend of rock n soul music which has been gathering fans and rave reviews from the first leg of The Who’s American Tour in late 2012 early 2013. Front man Ty Taylor sprinted up the aisles of the vast O2 venue whipping the arriving audience into a sing a long party vibe. Acknowledging their appreciation of The Who’s support and playing a high energy set it created the perfect atmosphere for the main event. The Who have always used the support slot on their tours over the years to open the door for us to an amazing variety of bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, James Gang, Alex Harvey Band, AC/DC, Kilburn & The High Roads, Q Tips, The Stranglers, The Clash, Little Feat, Counting Crows and many many more over the years.

 

As the final few filed into their seats the atmosphere of expectation was electric a full house of joyful spirits giving a rousing reception as the skipper Pete Townshend in shades and sailing top and Roger Daltrey led the crew on stage and the massive screens reflected waves lapping on to a sea shore to the opening of Quadrophenia.This was a carefully synchronised production which The Who are no strangers to in presenting Quadrophenia but nowadays the advances in technology has resulted in an amazing interactive experience.

 

Close ups of the action on stage on a triangle of port hole video screens above the band with three huge screens back and flanking the stage ensured that every detail was visible from any angle of location in the O2.
As The Who proceeded to play the complete Quadrophenia album from start to finish in sequence clips of iconic Who images from the good old days flashed all around us.

 

 

– I Am The Sea
– The Real Me
– Quadrophenia
– Cut My Hair
– The Punk and the Godfather
– I’m One
– The Dirty Jobs
– Helpless Dancer
– Is It In My Head
– I’ve Had Enough
– 5.15
– Sea And The Sand
– Drowned
– Bell Boy
– Doctor Jimmy
– The Rock
– Love Reign O’er Me

 

Pete on Electric and Acoustic Guitars and Vocals, Roger swinging the mike reeling in every catchy number with supreme vocal authority and Simon on an array of brilliant guitars also on vocals and harmonizing with confidence and authority with the every reliable head shaking Pino Palladino on Bass, Scott Devours on Drums and a back line of keyboards and horns from Loren Gold, Frank Simes musical director, John Corey.

 

During 5.15 there was a wonderful tribute embroidered in the performance for John Entwistle watching thunder fingers playing an explosive bass solo as only John could with Scott Devours playing live in tandem before Roger and Pete and the rest of the band came back in for the finish.Bell Boy featured a similar tribute to Keith Moon which was so much appreciated by the crowd.Self evidently the Mod culture is alive and well in Dublin with Modern Fans in particularly loving every detail beaming up on the massive screens. Quadrophenia ignited a revival of interest in the music fashion and attitudes of the 60’s Mods and The Who and Quadrophenia since it first documented it all have become the gate keepers the Godfathers of the Mod scene.

 

I connected with The Who around their Woodstock, Live at Leeds, Who’s Next period expanding my appreciation backwards and forwards without the slightest hesitation ever since.The arrival of the original Quadrophenia double LP in 1973 tied in nicely with my exploration of The Who’s early to mid 60’s studio and live performances. That journey has been a continuous journey ever since with Quadrophenia forming a crossroads of sorts with infinite possibilities for fans young and old.

 

Tonight on stage in Dublin Pete Townshend who channelled the Quadrophenia concept of four personalities pulling in opposite directions inadvertently becoming a vibrant community greater than the sum of its pretty cool part is reflected as Pete the tough uncompromising sea captain and veteran of many voyages sails his proud masterpiece up the River Liffey in Dublin to dock for our edification and delight. Roger Daltrey’s role could be best described as the navigator of this big old ship called The Who as it voyages nowadays as Rogers preventive maintenance and quality control planning ensures a match fit crew on the boards with seamless production values creating an atmosphere of spectacular sound and vision.

 

There is a proud Who legacy to be maintained after 50 years and Roger and Pete are acutely in tune with that responsibility.The Who is our team and as long as Roger and Pete want our support we will gladly rally The Who Family together as so dedicated fans all around the globe and it’s a bargain the best we’ve ever had.For desert we got a selection of hits from the post Mod era starting with Who Are You the title track of Keith’s last stand with the band back in 1978.

 


– Who Are You
– Behind Blue Eyes
– Pinball Wizard
– Baba O Riley
– Won’t Get Fooled Again
– Tea and Theatre

 

Music never retires and this is rock music growing old gracefully as a robust art form that is guided by its elders and interpreted and shaped by new converts and mature students into a contemporary purpose because we have learnt from those gone much too soon that we all have to live and these great pioneers of music in our generations for over 5 decades also deserve to live with much respect.

 

The songs that have connected with new fans from their association with popular TV Shows enjoyed and immediate and rousing reception from the packed O2 Dublin audience because they have become household themes bringing these vintage classics well deserved recognition and acclaim.

 

Being the first gig there were a few minor technical issues with Rogers wireless mike set up and Pete’s angry outburst towards his sound effects technical support at the side of the stage lashing out with his boot at the incompetent unit behind him reminded us all of the Pete we all love but reticent about getting to close at times.Pete has been walking on stages for over fifty years and is steeped in a music family tradition that demands well practiced attention to detail with a predetermined expectation of what he wants to create on stage and when that expectation falls short over the years he is merciless taking it out on whatever caused the gap guitars, amps, long suffering but devoted aides and the audience occasionally.

 

That is why Who Gigs are legendary and this one goes from impressive to stunning as the relationship between The Who on stage and the audience in Dublin becomes a dual carriageway.There are so many anthems in The Who’s that they could have played all night long but Roger still possessing one of the most recognisably voices in rock and Pete captaining the ship with explosive authority left us zapped and satisfied exceeding all expectations.
This was a Who gig that ticked all the boxes for me but I will put my hands up as a member of The Who Family I will always reflect my heroes in the best possible light because that is what families do.
Long Live The Who
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Bobby Radcliff @ The Monaghan Blues Festival. 09/12/2007

This born American music icon Willie Nelson started his music career off as a Country music Disc Jockey back in the mid fifties moving on to become a gifted songwriter and an world famous star of stage and screen.

Willie’s earlier songs became hits for some of Country music’s biggest stars, Crazy for Patsy Cline, Funny How Time Slips Away for Billy Walker and countless others, Night Life for Ray Price who Willie started off on the road with playing bass guitar.

In the 70’s Willie blended his brand of country with rock n roll, jazz, folk and western swing forging the image of a hippie styled country music outlaw riding the range outside Nashville with fellow cohorts Waylon Jennings, Tompall Glaser, Jessie Colter, moving the concept on to The Highwaymen in the 80’s with Waylon, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson also captured on screen in the movie Stagecoach.

Willie Nelson has also appeared in Gone Fishing, The Dukes of Hazzard, The Simpson’s and Miami Vice.

Phil Guy @ Bleu Note, Dublin 24/08/2007

Phil Guy younger brother of the legendary Buddy has been wrapped up in blues music since he arrived on the planet back in 1940 four years after Buddy. Just like Stevie Ray Vaughan and his brother Jimmy, the Guy brothers have their own individual musical personality and approach to playing the blues and although Phil has stood in his brothers legendary shadow over the years he has also carved out a respectable niche for himself as a guitarist and performer.

Phil was consistently good from start to finish in this Bleu Note performance and much of the credit for this lies in the truly wonderful support provided by the Lee Hedley Band with the empathetic and marvellously inventive guitarist Blue Lou Campbell providing perfect guitar power accompaniment for this master post war Chicago Bluesman.

Lee on Vocals and Harp, Aaron on Bass, Bobby on Drums and Blue Lou on Guitar created a winning atmosphere to pave the way for Phil Guy’s arrival on stage with frighteningly good versions of Treat Her Right, On The Road Again, Tuff Enuff and Hoochie Coochie Man.

Phil makes it look easy sliding into the notes on his Fender Telecaster on classics like The Things That I Use To Do, Last Time, Sky Is Crying and Little By Little and when he settled into a slow and easy blues groove you could close your eyes and find your ears digging the same vibe as some pure Junior Wells Hoodoo Man Chicago Blues my favourite recording featuring Phil’s brother Buddy with Junior Wells , Jack Myers on Bass and Billy Warren on Drums.

The Lee Hedley Band rhythm section, Bobby Dyer on drums and Aaron Loughran on bass were at their magnificent best converting every signal from Phil into solid chunks of genuine roadhouse electric blues with the star of the previous weeks show Bobby Dixon sitting in on keyboards and taking some well executed solos.

Each song sounded fresh and vital reminding me how good the blues can be and how it should be with an appealing performer, a good time atmosphere bunch of musicians on the stage ,with a sound that is rich and full bodied, making, shaking and sharing good blues music live in Dublin.

Phil Guy’s stage persona is much different than that of his brother Buddy, whose high energy moves on stage primarily influenced a young Jimi Hendrix, whereas Phil employs a no effect’s approach to his stage demeanour preferring to let his fingers do the talking with his killing floor riffs on his Fender Telecaster.

Phil has got an experienced funkier side to his craft and its no problem for him to take it to the bridge on a James Brown tribute or Rolling Stones Miss You vibe and diversify into some ZZ Hill and Little Walter seamlessly for some down home blues shuffles.

When older brother Buddy left the family home in Lettsworth Louisiana at seventeen, the then thirteen year old Phil took down Buddy’s old acoustic and started teaching himself to play. After a few years as Buddy made his way from band to band from Baton Rouge to Chicago, younger brother Phil would fill the vacancy left behind by his talented brother, honing his skills in outfits like The Raful Neal Band and Slim Harpo and eventually joining Buddy’s Band in Chicago in 1969.

Pretty soon the Guy Brothers were opening for The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton on European Tours and Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead and The Band back on the American circuits.

Phil has backed up many of his contemporary blues cohorts on guitar from Koko Taylor, Big Mama Thornton, Son Seals and Albert Collins as well as deviating into soul and funk and disco outfits over the years in order to solve the commercial nature of his craft.

Phil Guy never gets to fancy and never forgets the importance of the groove and keeps the time honoured standards surprisingly fresh with plenty of stride and stomp and a real solid backbone to each tune.

Phil initially cut his teeth on Jimmy Reed and the funkier James Brown tunes and when he gets an irresistible groove going he fills the dance floor with his blend of soulful Chicago blues with gyrating hips and flailing air guitarists bouncing out of their seats including two veteran live blues supporters on the scene Southside Eddie and Southside Pat nodding on in approval.

Each song was elevated to a sublime level of intensity by the guitar, bass & drums of the Lee Hedley Band with charismatic front man Phil blowing up a storm on his solid Blues Harp measures all the way. Phil Guy’s stinging concise style along with his rough plaintive vocal style delivered a pants on fire hard driving pace on top of the Lee Hedley chassis and four wheel rollicking roadhouse tinged rhythm & soulful blues backdrop.

The time just flew in and before I knew it we were walking out the door of the Bleu Note at 3am exhausted and elated by another great live Chicago Blues performance on Capel Street, Dublin shining a well deserved light on the scintillating talents of Phil Guy and the dazzling support of the Lee Hedley Band.

“The sky is crying can’t you see the tears roll down the street”

The Rolling Stones @ Slane, Meath. 18/08/2007

The Rolling Stones have been bringing their own brand of raunchy blues based rock & roll to stages around the planet since 1962 turning up in Slane Castle for the first time on a sunshine blessed  day back in 1982. If you are a long time fan and collector of the bands music you will have 55 albums in your collection at present and also at least 37 top ten singles making up your contribution to the 200 million albums the band have sold over the years.

The current tour has been going for two years and is now the highest grossing tour of all time expected to bring in €500 million when the remaining gigs have been completed on this leg. Going back to Slane 25 years later the first difference was this time I was wrapped up like a North Sea Fisherman to combat the challenges presented by cold squally showers and ankle deep muck in the car parks and on the concert site itself.

The support acts were virtually a non event in the miserable conditions prevailing and on a daylight stage that reduced their physical presence to ant like proportions in the distance. Without the lights and screens all blazing away the 7 storey stage looked like ashopping mall under construction. Then at 9pm the reason that makes it all worthwhile, The Rolling Stones strolled onto the stage to an explosion of fireworks and dazzling screens and light beams, ripping through the cold night atmosphere with the chainsaw buzz of Keith Richard’s Start Me Up chords.

The Rolling Stones have established supremacy as the ultimate live Rock experience blasting out their well crafted repertoire of classics hits like father figures to anyone wanting to know how to achieve world wide rock & roll dominance.

The iconic original members of The Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards move about the stage demonstrating a wealth of professional experience, their forceful trenchant delivery being hammered down by Charlie Watt’s and being relayed across the Slane audience on the giant screens to a captivated 70,000 fans cheering them on from the cold muddy concert field.

Ron Wood now a recognised full time Rolling Stone since taking over after Mick Taylor left in the early 70s complemented Keith Richards trademark rhythms with fiery leads and bottleneck phrasing on new and old songs from Rough Justice from the current Bigger Bang album to Dead Flowers, Can’t Always Get What You Want, Midnight Rambler, Tumbling Dice, Honky Tonk Woman, Satisfaction, Sympathy For The Devil, Paint It Black, Jumping Jack Flash, Its Only Rock & Roll as well as tributes to James Brown.

Mick Jagger struts and skips from one side of the massive stage to the other greeting the audience with a few words of Irish and leading by example keeping the pace fast and furious for the two hour performance. Then one of the most spectacular moments was to watch  Mick, Keith, Ron,Charlie and the rest of the Band move out into the middle of the crowd on their mobile stage moving on an extended runway as they blasted out tunes like Its Only Rock N Roll as they travelled along the catwalk.

Keith Richard took over the vocals on a few of the songs adding a change of dynamic and pace before Mick Jagger bounced back on the stage and climbed up on the various secondary stages keeping everyone enthralled in his every move.

Keith and Ron strapped on a different guitar for each number displaying their personal favourites from Fender Telecasters, Fender Stratocasters, Gibson’s and various other magnificent, 6 string and 12 strings axe’s all finely tuned and roaring into the night. The rest of the musicians on stage were equally impressive in their passion and delivery from Bobby Keyes on Keyboards, Darryl Jones on Bass, back up vocalists Bernard and the Amazonian Lisa strutting out to groove with Mick Jagger in her slit skirt and high heels reminiscent of Tina Turners stage presence back in her Ike and Tina support slots on the early Rolling Stones tours.

The Rolling Stones are all about human contact, raw rock n roll energy and excitement and the keep it simple open chord magic of Keith Richards is still as potent today as it was four decades ago and continues to inspire guitarists all over the planet. Their sound is identifiable by its cohesive locked down bass and Charlie Watt’s drum sound followed by Keith’s momentarily delayed open chords and lead lines that have gone on to become the template for that raunchy southern rock sound that has been associated with the Stones since the late 60’s.

Keith Richard guitar style is loose but incredibly powerful and catchy with its sense of rhythm and dynamic’s. Very few people have been able to emulate the guitar style of one of rock music’s greatest showmen often just down to trying to hard to capture the slashing mean sound Keith produces as he wanders about off handed on the stage with his jacket sleeves rolled up and a fag hanging from the corner of his millennium featured face.

Keith’s loose limbed pendular right arm flailing across the Delta influence opened G tuning has produced the trademark Keef Riff for the past four decades always reappearing refreshed and full of relentless energy driven along like an locomotive by Charlie Watts drumming from Honky Tonk Woman to Brown Sugar to Start Me Up to Tumbling Dice all rolling off the Slane stage like a runaway steamroller.

There is no doubt that after all these years these musicians still need to play and hopefully that need will continue because the sheer joy and excitement evident around me on the faces of young and old was that of being in the presence of living legends who can still exceed the expectations.

The sound mix was excellent for anyone in the central bowl of the site but the lack of speakers within range of the D Block of seating meant the visuals were hugely diminished by a weak-kneed and wavy sound percolating from the stage speakers hopelessly out of range for fans in that location. The performance ended with a massive fireworks display as the crowd started slipping and sliding back up the hill towards the exits to make their way home with the treasured memory of having seen the legendary Rolling Stones live on stage.

Will they be back, well the Stones have built their reputation on setting fashion and not following it over the years so anything is possible, I just hope I don’t end up hosing an inch of top soil off my boots and trousers over the front garden when I get home the next time.

“And they go on rocking, goin round and round
Yeah reeling and rocking what a crazy sound
And they never stopped rocking
Till the moon went down”

Bobby Dixon & All Star Band @ Bleu Note. 17/08/2007

Willie Dixon was a legendary songwriter, bass player, record producer and influence on the development of Chicago Blues Music as it has evolved to the present, through his work with Chess Records and artists like Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, Chuck Berry and contemporary modern interpreters of the blues like Led Zeppelin.

Willie Dixon’s songs appear on every blues rock set list on the planet from Jimmy Reed’s, Big Boss Man, Close To You, Muddy Waters, Shake for Me, Stevie Ray Vaughan, My Babe, Little Walter, Spoonful, Howling Wolf to I Just Want To Make Love To You, Etta James and countless more fantastic tunes. Willie Dixon’s son Bobby came to the Bleu Note with a top notch group of musicians to pay tribute to the music of his father and share some memories on Friday night in what turned out to be a spinechilling demonstration of passion and musical talent from the assemble musicians on stage.Bobby Dixon was on Keyboards flanked by Larry Taylor son of another legendary bluesman Eddie Taylor on superb drumming duties, Nathanial Peterson 5 string electric bass and smokey soulful vocals, Bobby Fields bluesy funk trumpet and the amazing Johnny O on tube screaming soul blues magic.

All the old standards provided a vehicle for each of these talents to display their ample wares, I’m Ready, The Thing’s That I Use To Do, I Should Have Quit You Baby, Let The Good Times Roll, Sex Machine as well as selections from their own individual recorded material.This was the children of the blues paying homage to their parents and heroes with a groove that represents everything that is good about contemporary blues when in the hands of a talented group of musicians. Johnny O is an exciting and talented guitarist comfortable with tradition and the connections with its neighbours Soul Avenue and Funky Rock Crescent proving his dexterity throughout with his well timed contributions.

All of these experienced musicians possess a natural entertainer’s flair with a confident warm and appealing air infusing the atmosphere, and the collective was sheer joy for the full house dancing out of their seats from the minute these guys walked on to the stage in the Bleu Note on Capel St in Dublin’s fair city. Johnny O’s blistering blues rock rhythm delivered with a proficient soul side salad was a joy blending forceful Albert King snarling bends with some wailing Albert Collins style squeals that had notes ricocheting off every wall in the Bleu Note.

Each song when handed over to the band by Bobby was constructed with controlled brilliance, fire and fury, each band member contributing his share with efficiency and class and never overstaying their welcome with spicy intense solo’s only constrained in its potential by Bobby’s rambling intro’s.The fleet precise rhythm section provided by Larry Taylor, the towering Nathaniel Peterson and Johnny O was a potent back drop for Bonie Fields walkabout trumpet solo’s through the delighted crowd which included Southside Eddie and Bluestrain 103.2 FM presenter Charlie Hussey.

This was a sturdy presentation from the Bleu Note who have brought some great music to the Northside of the Liffey over the past year with multiple attractions on offer on the main stage upstairs as well as offering a showcase to a new generation of talented musicians emerging from music colleges and studies in the jazzier downstairs lounge.

During the break I dropped downstairs to hear some laid back jazz from the charming Edel Meade Band featuring some fine fretwork from Scott Kohlmann who reminded me of a young Dixie Dreg Steve Morse supported by Steve Kohlmann on Drums and Bass Man Kevin Higgins physically countenancing each note as Edel seduced us all with her impassioned vocals on tunes like Black Coffee, You Don’t Know What Love Is and appealing lines like “softly as in the morning sunrise, as in the evening sunset”.

Although the technical proficiencies of Jazz is a slippery slope for my ears the genuine warmth and youthful energy of the Edel Meade Band permeate and it’s a delightful pleasure to relax in the comfortable lounge in the Bleu Note and chill out to groovy vibe while these young guns of the future cut their teeth. Back upstairs we finished the night off with Bobby Dixon’s All Stars with a real party atmosphere in the air on the eve of the Rolling Stones Slane Concert with two tickets raffled by the Bleu Note for local charity. Johnny O unleashed some wicked solo’s and guitar genius as the groove turned into a party and the front of the stage was cooking to a musigasm of excitement and dance and camera phones capturing the magic from this truly breathless funky Chicago Blues tour de force live in Dublin.

“The things that I used to do, Lord I won’t do no more
The things that I used to do Lord I won’t do no more
I use to sit and hold your hand baby
Cry baby do not go”

Carvin Jones Band @ Madison Bar, Dublin 28/07/2007

A musical tornado blew into Rathmines on Saturday night all the way from Phoenix Arizona and treated the full house of delighted music fans to some tube screaming roadhouse tinged Texas Blues Rock.

Carvin Jones is an ace guitarist and a broad brimmed fun charismatic front man who mixed time honoured classics from Hooker, Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan with his own originals and several tributes to our own Rory Gallagher during the performance.It was high energy solid gold fun from the minute the sequined Carvin stepped on stage with Carvin repeatedly bringing the stage down to the audience with ecstatic reactions from the spellbound audience in the tightly packed Madison Bar as he weaved his way through the crowd with his Fender Stratocaster screaming into the stratosphere.

A Carvin Jones gig is the ultimate participation event for the audience, if you leave your pint out of your hand for a second there is a good chance Carvin will lay his tortured Strat on top of it and commence to play it lap style.Nothing stands between the artist and the audience at a Carvin Jones gig, there are no barriers, and it’s a wonderful feeling and a testament of his self confidence and natural friendliness on stage or off that leaves one and all thoroughly entertained.

Carvin is an ace player and delivers the set of classic covers and medleys with an uncompromising muscular brass knuckled style on his Black Fender Strat, that takes you to the hearts and hands of the essential bluesmen enhanced with some tube screaming sound effects. The guitar – bass – drum line up delivers the rollicking roadhouse rockers with Carvin’s dark brooding vocals teasing the audience.The classic bar room favourites are delivered in rapid succession with Carvin’s fluency imagination and versatility being grounded by his long time stage partner Bill Troxell and the help of an Italian rhythm section on this leg of the tour.The audience were amazed at his playing and it’s great to see such ability and talent being harnessed by such a fun loving entertainer and it’s good to feel so much fun in the atmosphere.

The Carvin Jones gig had us all exhausted at the end but the crowd could have gone on all night long because of the up beat enjoyment. Carvin said at one stage “I am a man who knows what he wants, get up and dance, you know its cool” and that about sums him up perfectly”. Promoter Pat Cannon strapped on a bass guitar and joined the band on stage for the final encore. There’s no messin with the kid.

Aerosmith @ Marley Park, Dublin. 26/06/2007

Aerosmith regarded as America’s Greatest Rock & Roll Band brought their high energy, high voltage, high decibel, riff driven classic rock performance to Ireland on Tuesday night and put on a spectacular show to the capacity crowd. The bad boys from Boston going strong since the early seventies are the best selling American Rock Band of all time having sold over 150 million albums to date as well as the record for more gold, platinum and multi platinum records than any other American group.

Aerosmith were one of the archetypal road bands putting in a punishing touring schedule to build their fan base rather than depend on airplay and record sales and broke into the vast American market state by state with their no frills rock and heavy duty boogie.The band would often set up on the grounds of Boston University and play a free show if they had no paying gigs lined up in the local clubs and bars.They have a loyal following around the world referred to as the blue army many of them visibly in attendance around us having travelled from England and Europe to Marley Park on a cloudy but thankfully dry night.

The support acts The Feeling and Chris Cornell had picked up many new fans with two fine performances warming up the crowd ahead of the rapturous reception that greeted Aerosmith arriving on stage like ancient Gladiators. Steven Tyler on Vocals, Joe Perry and Brad Whitford on Guitars, Tom Hamilton on Bass and Joe Kramer on Drums have been together now for 37 years except for a brief split in the camp in the early 80’s. The radio friendly powerful mix of classic rock guitar driven hits came one after the other and the response from the audience was swift and ecstatic.

Love In An Elevator, Same Old Song and Dance, Sweet Emotion, Dream On, Eat The Rich, Living On The Edge, Crying, Jaded and Walk This Way with a scorching version of Baby Please Don’t Go and a slick blues spot by Joe Perry demonstrating some highlights from their Blooze Rock album Honkin With BoBo. Steven “The Demon Of Screaming” Tyler, was festooned with multi coloured scarves which he parted with as the show progressed working the entire stage and wings area of the stage like the seasoned front man pro that knows not only how to rock but how to roll as well. One of the most enduring and influential Rock Bands of all time with a set full of timeless rock anthems in a well organised outdoor concert in Marley Park made this a truly spectacular evening of superstar entertainment.

This Aerosmith performance captivated the capacity audience with one show stopper after another for the 90 minute set delivered with confidence and received enthusiastically.

The Aerosmith sound is a surprisingly agile but muscular rhythm section fronted by twin guitars howling and snapping like whips around Steven Tyler’s melodic vocal lines and remarkably memorable tunes. The sound was fantastic from my position perched up at the railings in front of the mixing desk with the sound pendulum swinging from the characteristic tough sound paired down to the bone one minute to a full throttle roar off the stage with unparallel venom showcasing the classic rock configuration.

Joe Perry’s astonishingly fleet fingered riffs and solo’s were played on a rotating number of fabulous guitars including a double neck 12 string and 6 string using his fingers pick and bottleneck with Brad Whitford nailing down the rhythm passages and alternative leads with seamless cohesion. It was a fine night of wrinkle free entertainment with ample doses of classic rock, boogie and blues for the assembled masses. Aerosmith are an exemplary rock band demonstrating their utter mastery of the larger rock event, flamboyant front man with a forceful personality and a band behind him that put on a splendid show, well paced, visual and thoroughly professional.

Thirty seven years of constant touring has honed Aerosmith’s live act to a razor sharp edge with Steven Tyler’s tireless pyrotechnics strengthened by the sparks flying off Joe Perry’s fretboard with the same dynamic chemistry that exists between Mick Jagger and Keith Richard’s, and my own favourite duo Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend. With my own heroes The Who the absolute masters of the ultimate live rock performance arriving to play the same stage in Marley Park on Friday night and moving on to Cork’s Marquee on Saturday night, its been an absolute magic week for live music in Ireland.

Blues Up Front @ Madison Bar, Dublin.16/06/2007

Have you ever walked by posters in your city for years with the intention of hooking up with a bands performance and between one thing and another, time passes by, anti social work shifts prevail and then when you do get to finally see the band years later its like, wow what have I been missing here.

Promoter Pat Cannon had sent me a text alerts earlier that he had a night of no nonsense rhythm & blues in store in Rathmines and so it was when I walked into the Madison Bar and felt the insinuating groove of Blues Up Front reverberating around the venue. With Pat’s typical customer care and professional approach we had a table and chairs set up within seconds of arriving that gave us a premium view of the musicians on stage.On Stage Joe O Keeffe on vocals, Pat Kilty with a vintage red Stratocastor guitar through a Session amp, Peter Cleary on Bass, Dave Gorman on Drum and all around us in the Madison a joyous and upbeat crowd with a 40th birthday party dynamic off to one side contributing to the ambiance.

Pat Kilty has incorporated his influences well into a hot, fluid and inventive style and tone of his own with the great King Trilogy, Albert, BB and Freddie mapped down to perfection seamlessly within, the kind of player who knows how to put a smile on your face.Blues Up Front play electric Chicago urban blues with a tinge of Southern fried soul and they deliver a blow out bar room rhythm & blues performance that had the shapely punters singing, dancing and indulging in aerobatic air guitar histrionics on the dance floor in front of the stage from the get go.

Blues Up Front have the timeless essential blueprint for rocking rhythm & blues, pumping bass lines, thumping drum rhythms and guitar riffs and bottleneck phrases flying off Pat Kilty’s fretboard like sparks while Joe O Keeffe’s explosively dirty canned heat vocal soars on top with authority while he prances around the stage like a Hell’s Angel doing gatekeeper in a boozy barroom roadhouse off Highway 61.These are Muddy Waters musical grandchildren and they nail down the old favourites with respect and enthusiasm with tunes like, Hot Spot, High Cost Of Love, Hoochie Coochie Man, Southern Man, Blues Before Sunrise, Shake Your Money Maker, Goin Down, Love Me With A Feeling all demonstrating a passion for the roots of the blues tradition and determined to leave the audience satisfied.

Joe O Keeffe has a warm and winning vocal presence on stage with a blue heart and a rock solid soul, and can lift the roof when the occasion demands with a towering raging vocal and a full throttle delivery on one of my classic rock favourites Wishing Well and a commanding collaboration with the audience on Looking Back.

“I was looking back to see
If she was looking back
To see if I was looking back at her”

Blues Up Front have only recently reassembled for a few gigs and after a holiday break in July will review their future live performance schedules. Blues Up Front also featured another notable musician, Thin Lizzy’s Brian Downey on Drums for many years and Pat informed me afterwards that Brian is touring with Gary Moore at the moment. I wasn’t long after a delightful Indian meal of lamb and coconut spices next door in the Monsoon so I was thirsty when I arrived and when the barman misheard my request for an orange juice and supplied me with a cool pint of Coors it complemented the hot rhythms coming from within and the powerhouse rhythms without.

Blues Up Front have got a rhythm section in Peter Cleary and Dave Gorman, that takes possession of the ball confidently allowing Pat Kilty to run with it and deliver big time with his well informed scorching technique on the fret board that’s well paced, full of muscle, sounding as vintage as BB King’s Live At The Regal and as fresh as tomorrow morning.

Boo Boo Davis @ Irish Blues Club, JJ Smyths. 29/05/2007

It was standing room only in JJ Smyth’s for the weekly gathering of the Irish Blues Club to witness and welcome Boo Boo Davis from the heart of the Mississippi Delta for a performance on his Irish tour.

Boo Boo Davis started off touring the Delta taverns and juke joints with his musician father and brothers before joining up with one of the hottest bands in St Louis in the sixties providing back up to Little Walter Sonny Boy Williamson Elmore James and Little Milton.This was a class set from a class act with Boo Boo Davis in bowler hat and sartorially sharp suit blowing up a storm on his harps with a solid professional band of musicians providing support.

Boo Boo Davis combines the traditional elements with modern grooves very effectively with the whole band on stage skilfully mixing their talents in a cohesive electrifying spectacle with the guitar, bass and drums being played very nicely instead of just plodding along in the background allowing Boo Boo Davis receive recognition for his talents and well paid dues.

The consummate Dutch blues band consisting of drums, bass guitar and an excellent guitarist shone through clearly behind Boo Boo who certainly pleased the crowd with a clutch of new blues songs and new approaches that are indicative of a welcome potential rejuvenation of genre when in the right hands.Boo Boo Davis‘s unpretentious skill and ability, coupled with the overall quality of the musicianship on stage invigorated the audience creating an exciting and electric atmosphere in JJ’s.The most startling aspect for me was Boo Boo Davis’s vocals because you could close your eyes and you’d think it was Howling Wolf in the room as he enthralled the audience and bounced about the stage.

Humorous sexual innuendo together with Boo Boo’s unique blend of traditional blues and hip hop phrasing keeps this mans blues strident, engaging, alive and kicking and appealing to all the young listeners around me in the audience and scores with a futuristic vision in the mix akin to Chris Thomas King and RL Burnside.

The harp and guitar breaks were sharp and concise but Boo Boo’s, Howling Wolf flavoured approach with subtle inventive arrangements and intelligent rhythm work was first rate and a winning formula for the Irish Blues Club audience.This experienced entertainer lets the songs breathe and demonstrates he is aware that space is a crucial element in the dynamic and as important as the notes.

This was a classy performance from Boo Boo resplendent in his bright suit and bowler hat effortless cranking up the tempo and towelling away the sweat pouring profusely from his efforts.He is a true ambassador of the blues and the fun and enjoyment on the stage was evidently transmitted to the crowd with shapely gyrations being attempted in the most constrained spaces.

Boo Boo Davis proved himself a big favourite with a big turnout of local blues musicians and fans like Pat Mc Sweeney from the Chillhouse Blues Band, Peter Moore and Karl O Byrne from The International Blues Band, Tommy Grimes and Tony Poland from Parchman Farm, DJ Charlie Hussy from Dublin City Anna Livia FM 103.2’s weekly Sunday night Bluestrain program and veteran live blues supporters like Southside Eddie and Sean Williamson.

The repertoire was drawn from his new CD, Drew Mississippi and previous releases like Can Man , East St Louis and The Snake with powerful and well conceived covers like Little Red Rooster all displayed with superb musicianship in a tightly integrated format.Boo Boo Davis is a genuine blast from the past giving a high energy performance and the general consensus was “what a brilliant performer” as we grooved along to two encores well past bedtime and headed for home with out our hands stinging from the suitably appreciative and well deserved applause.

Boo Boo Davis is in Ireland for a few weeks with a good spread of gigs over the Bank Holiday Weekend and into June before he returns to the American Festival circuit so if you get a chance to groove to the blues, go for it you won’t be disappointed with Boo Boo Davis, this man’s got style and a highly recommended set.

“Dogs begin to bark now
And the hounds begin to howl
Watch out little stray cat
The little red roosters on the prowl”

  • May 23 – Cooperative de Mai – Clermont Ferrand – France
  • May 24 – The Cherry Tree – Walkinstown Dublin – Ireland
  • May 25 – Droichead Arts Centre – Drogheda – Ireland
  • May 26 – Blues on the Bay – Warrenpoint – N-Ireland
  • May 27 – The John Hewitt – Belfast – N-Ireland
  • May 29 – JJ’s – Dublin – Ireland
  • May 30 – McKenna’s – Monaghan – Ireland
  • May 31 – Ardhowen Theatre – Enniskillen – N-Ireland
  • June 1 – Sandinos – Londonderry – N-Ireland
  • June 2 – Island Arts Centre – Lisburn – N-Ireland
  • June 3 – Rory Gallagher Festival – Ballyshannon – Ireland
  • June 6 – Colfers – Carrig on Bannow – Ireland
  • June 7 – St John Arts Centre – Listowel – Ireland
  • June 8 – The Barger Rooms – Ennis – Ireland
  • June 9 – Jazz & Blues Festival – Limavady – N-Ireland
  • June 10 – Seamus Ennis Center – Naul – Ireland

Ray Wrights Portrait Of The Blues Exhibition @ Blue Note, Dublin. April 2007

Portrait Of The Blues Exhibition @ Bleu Note, Capel Street Dublin 18th April until 29th  April 2007

Every picture tells a story and Ray Wright’s collection on display in the Blue  Note is the story of theDublin Blues Scene.

Ray Wright a big fan and supporter of the music assembled thirty musicians who have been stalwarts of live music in Dublin over the years to sit for portraits in a city centre studio.

The fruits of that project were unveiled last night with an opening reception in the Blue Note Blues Soul & Jazz venue on the corner of Capel & Parnell Street.

Among the 30 images on display are all my favourite local guitarists all of them present and chilling out and appreciative of this gesture of recognition such as Pat Farrell, The Business, Pete  Mc Gowan, Parchman Farm, Junior Hynes,  Hollywood Slim & The Fat Cats, Gerry Hendricks, Don Baker Band, Peter Moore & Johnny Reynolds, International Blues Band, Ben Prevo, Dermot Byrne and Brian Meakin.

The portraits on display all around the walls of the Blue Note are wonderful and capture not only the personality, spirit, emotion and energy of each individual performer but also reflects a portraiture of the passionate endeavour each brings to their music on the stage.

What you see is a labour of love for the musicians and the music and is a glimpse into this distinct and powerful mode of music and a rich soup of talented musicians who give
expression to the deeply emotional content of the blues on the stages around Dublin and abroad over the years.

Derived and distilled from traditions of Gospel, European and African music and rhythm the Blues is appreciated the world over for its hard truths, collective soul, humour and
depth of spirit often referred to as the premier musical format of the disenfranchised and downhearted but also a joybringer for audience and musician alike within the small, tight knit and supportive community very similar to our own Irish traditional music community.

Its extremely difficult to solve the commercial nature of playing blues music and as such it becomes obvious to fans and observers that these musicians are driven by a passionate
motivation, an earthiness, honesty and desire to play sing and participate with other musicians and the audience with the likelihood that they won’t get their reward in this life.

From a fans point of view it’s a much more accessible environment with none of the ego and pretence that unfortunately surrounds the more commercial mainstream formats.

At a blues gig you can join together with the band, meet and greet the musicians and support the musicians directly by buying CD’s from the band itself.

Ray Wright has done an excellent job of using the subjects in his large portraits to tell his thoughts by bringing together the diverse talents of these local heroes and masters of
the craft.

On the walls of the Bleu Noteand as well as the guys I mentioned earlier for the next two weeks you can see Mary Stokes, Bree Harris, Nigel Mooney, Jimmy Faulkner, Kevin Morrow, Deko Kennedy, Pat Kilty, Tommy Carney, Steven Mc Loughlin and Tommy Grimes, Drummers Brian Downey and Shane Atlas, Bass Players Brendan Priestley, Bill Bergin and Neil Partridge, horn player Karl O Byrne, harmonica players such as Tony Poland and Brian Palm who also has some of his own creative talents on the walls of the Blue  Note.

Music for the occasion was provided by Pat Farrell on Guitar, Tommy Moore on Bass and Fran Breen on Drums. Pat  Farrell playing a hollow bodied Gibson 335 through a Fender
amp revealing his versatility offering up excellent biting guitar solos and chord phrasing to the assembled roomful of his peers.

Tommy Moore is an impressive musician who performs with colour and variety on Bass & Vocals supported by Fran Breen’s propulsive percussive style but its Pat Farrell’s scintillating fretwork that bursts into pants on fire boogie and is marked by an experienced inventiveness.

Happy Birthday Blues, Barefooting, Red House, Further On Up The Road and Need Your Love So Bad were sure fire winners, loaded with solid blues feeling and golden age  tradition.

Bree Harris a top class entertainer joined the band on stage for Stormy Monday and Talk To Me Baby for a swinging energetic top flight performance assisted by Dermot Byrne and Tony Poland on harps demonstrating a musical portrait from these Irish Ambassadors of the Blues.

It was a night of celebration and collaboration and the Blue Note laid on food and a  supportive party atmosphere that makes it all worthwhile for the fans and especially for the musicians and as long as we have artists like Ray Wright and our local Blues
Musicians helping each other project their mutual talents we will keep the music alive.

Ray also has some great pictures on his site www.raymondwright.org  particularly of Thin Lizzy and Philomena Lynott was in the Blue Note to support the launch.

I walked down the street with my body still vibrating to the wonderful version of Willie Cobbs You Don’t Love Me, a song I have worn out playing on many albums over the years from the Allman Brothers to Ike & Tina Turner and such is the catchy indelible nature of these tunes I never grow tired listening to alternative interpretations.

“You don’t love me pretty baby

You don’t love me yes I know

You don’t love me pretty baby

You don’t love me yes I know

Well if you leave me pretty baby

Don’t you know your gonna hurt me so”