Almost 12 months to the day the Irish Blues Club opened its doors once again to the amazing Carvin Jones from Phoenix, guitar player extraordinaire and one of the happiest guys ever to walk into a room with a guitar around his neck.
With his long time buddy Will Troxell on Bass and stage management duties and new black leader clad Drummer Pino Liberti from Rome in top form fresh from a string of dates up the road at the Warrenpoint Blues Festival, Carvin tore up JJ Smyths with his high energy guitar blazing mix of Rock n Blues.
Recently voted as one of the top 50 guitarists in the world its easy to see why as Carvin in white cowboy boots and black hat turns the entire floor area of JJ Smyths into a stage, playing fast and furious at the end of a 100 foot lead through a tube screaming Fender amp.
All the crowd favourites are present Hideaway, Mary Had A Little Lamb, Red House and Boom Boom Boom Boom played back to back with Drum solos, Bass Solos, in the fast lane hardly coming up for air in-between the intense and powerful shuffles.
Carvin Jones name is synonymous with guitar showmanship and his stage antics are the ultimate celebration of blistering good time entertainment, acquiring accolades from Eric Clapton,Buddy Guy and BB King.
If you want to make a decent living at this business then you have to make the people listen to you and most of look at you and send them home feeling like they had the time of their lives.
If you go to the trouble of opening a store you can’t just stock the shelves with all the things you like yourself, you have got to put what the public want on the shelves as well or else you go out of business, and that’s why Carvin has his store jam packed with all the goodies, SRV, Hendrix, Jimmy Reed, Chuck Berry and ZZ Top on top of his own classics.
His new CD I’m What You Need is full of the fiercest sounds to come from a six-string guitar, exquisitely presented on a bed of humorous lyrics, Drowning On Dry Land, Ya Drive Me Crazy,Born To Win and my own favourite Wanna Walk Wicha Baby.
His biting attack and stinging axe work is a roller coaster ride for the audience in JJ Smyths, The Sky Is Crying, All Along The Watchtower, and Voodoo Chile are giving the bone fide classic treatment as Carvin assembles his lexicon from a variety of sources, traditional blues, classic rock, R&B tapping into the bone chilling adrenalin rush of the 12 bar blues progression.
Carvin lets it all hang out on Johnny B Goode which was sent into deep space many years ago by NASA as a representation of life on Earth aboard the Voyager as a message of good will to other alien civilisations and if you wanted them to witness what a good time fuel injected rock n blues show is all about then Carvin is the ideal ambassador.
Carvin creates a compelling web of guitar tones wielding his battered black Strat around the back of his neck, bouncing it off the floor, playing with his teeth, sending it flying down the floor in full volume with a smile of devilish excitement beaming from ear to ear.
The atmosphere is solid gold entertainment, is magically unpredictable and intoxicating with non stop excitement as someone remarked,
“I don’t know whether to eat it, drink it or ride it.”
Just like last years performance there are no barriers between the artist and the audience at a Carvin Jones gig, just the feeling that you are in the presence of supreme confidence, natural friendliness and a super talent.
Its excellent guitar skill given freedom of expression, driven by passion by one of the happiest guys on the planet backed up by a pile driving rhythm section.
It was the best fun as always, vital and interesting at the Irish Blues Club on Tuesday night, and that’s probably the best complement you can pay someone at the end of the day.
Well done Carvin Dublin loves you.
