Another long and hot Blues at Bridgetown has come and
gone, and don't I know it! For 14 years Keith
Cramond's Audex Sound has provided sound production
for this Festival, and I've been there every time,
mostly as soundman for the Blue Owls' Nest, one of the
two main tents.
22 Acts in a row over 3 days, and, according to the
programme, no change-over times(!?)
Every year there are some good surprises (like the
excellent Adelaide's "The Others" 2 years ago), and
this time the standout for me was Brisbane's Mojo
Webb. His guitar was Buddy Guy-like in it's wildness,
resonating with the past but also super-excited about
it.
At the same time his band rocked, swaggered and slid
about the place and, oh yeah, Mojo plays great harp
and sax as well!
The other big treat was to hear Liz Stringer, she's
from Melbourne and has a duo with drummer Adam May. If anyone calls her music 'roots', that wouldn't
really cover it fully.
Although the texture of her voice is in the same
territory as Mia Dyson's, Liz has a haunting
mysterious quality that reminds me of English folkie
John Martyn, one of my all time favourites.
I found Liz's way of playing and singing so evocative,
it even made me choke up a couple of times; why, I
don't really know, all I know is this is some powerful
stuff!
Kyla Brox, whose glorious voice has graced the Perth
Blues Club stage a few times lately, was another
Bridgetown highlight, she's soulful like Nina Simone
or belts it out like Chaka Kahn and positively beams
with all the enjoyment of it! Her band was tight and professional, and included some inspired bassplaying by Danny Blomely.
The Bridgetown closer was once again a magical
performance by local greats the Blue Shaddy Band, a
band that knows how to light the fuse and rock like no
other!
The sparse but effective lightshow got some help from
the dust kicked up by the dancing throng, showing of
the beams beautifully (remember all the venues were
smoke free this year). To say the crowd went off would be an understatement, they danced like maniacs!
Bass p_layer_ Sandy kicks some serious botty in that
band, and of course everyone is great, electrifying
harmonica, bristling double percussion and great
voice, guitar and stomp by Jim McLelland.
Whenever these guys play the Perth Blues Club we know
that we are in for a good night!
Again, the BB organizers (all locals) worked hard and
produced a great line-up, may the Blues at Bridgetown
go on for many years yet!
Here's a few MySpace _link_s:
http://www.myspace.com/mojowebb http://www.myspace.com/lizstringermusician http://www.myspace.com/kylabrox http://www.myspace.com/blueshaddy
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