Voodoo Rooms
Friday 27th March 2015

On my third visit to The Edinburgh Blues Club (EBC) at the Voodoo Rooms and the following has definitely increased along with its success.  I was happy to see there was improved seating and table arrangements, but there were still not enough chairs to meet demand.  The EBC is a Social Enterprise established to create a specialised environment for the support of a monthly blues, to ensure that the people of Edinburgh city do not miss out on class-touring blues acts. The EBC is maintained on a membership subscription basis, where members pay £10 per month in return for access to all EBC events and newsletter. Tickets are also available to the general public via Ticketweb, Tickets Scotland and Ripping Records.

First up for the night were the Fifers, Lights Out By Nine who play powerhouse rhythm and blues, funk and soul and have developed a collection of their own original songs.  Signed by River Records they have released four original albums: “Moving On” along with a live set titled “The River Sessions,” “Good Morning Mr Universe” and “Make Your Own Luck”.  The bands front man is a new addition to the crew, long time friend and reputable soul and blues man – John Frame, who is accompanied by band members Alan Kyle, Dougie Hunter, George Morrison, Graham Key, John Beresford, Paul Haddow, Tom Stirling and Arthur Cook. Lights Out By Nine have a well established reputation on the live circuit, having supported Status Quo and Fish at the Rockhill Festival and opened shows featuring Dr Feelgood, Nazareth, Nine Below Zero and Wishbone Ash, as well as repeat shows with the Average White Band. In 2004 they covered festivals in Colne, The Wickerman, Skegness
and Maryport.

The first thing that struck me when Lights Out By Nine started playing was John Frame’s powerful voice, he belted out clear lyrics with a gravelly husky edge.  Supporting Frame was guitar, bass, drums, trumpets and saxophone.  The groovy tunes flowed. The horns provided tremendous fanfare solos. ‘It went all down the drain’ provided a mellow interlude before their self-proclaimed funkicology track; the guitarist provided most of the cheerful banter and encouraged the audience to take to the dance floor.  The shy audience remained in place, but there was definitely some shuffling on spot and bouncing heads!  ‘How long’ allowed Frame to master gruff vocals which was married well with the almost feminine soft backing vocals from the guitar, bass and keyboard player.  The guitarist admitted the set list was unplanned and the musicians discussed amongst themselves the order of play, but as a band they performed with ease and a relaxed manner, demonstrating a slick and professional ensemble.  ‘Laughing on the other side’ was introduced as their devil music, followed by an amusing anecdote about performing it in a church.  They told us that it was not the first time they had crossed musical paths with tonight’s headline act Gerry Jablonski and The Electric Band, they thanked them for the music gear but joked they would be getting it back!  It was explained that Frame doesn’t talk much because “he can’t get a work in” Frame interrupted, but he was actually just saving his singing voice the man with the chat – guitarist proclaimed! As time moved on and more drinks were sunk, member of the audience grew in confidence and filled the dance floor.  They finished on a funky number dedicated to James Brown, which really got people moving.  A belter of a band guaranteed to please.

After a brief interval for a raffle with an impressive set of blues CDs from past performers up for grabs, the headline act Gerry Jablonski and The Electric Band followed.  Aberdeen’s longest standing and most gifted four-piece blues rock powerhouse band.  Front man Gerry has been a performing strong in the Scottish music scene for 30 plus years and his guitar playing is well treasured. Tragically founding member, drummer and dear friend, Dave Innes, lost his fight with cancer, but the band vowed to continue performing in his memory. Gerry’s latest ensemble sees the new addition Polish blues harp phenomenon Pete Narojczyk and more recently young lad Lewis Fraser on drums who can sing too!  One member of the audience even jokingly heckled, “he sings better than you Gerry!”  Along with the bassist, Grigor Leslie they play original music in honor to the blues rock classics that have influenced this band.  With a committed work strategy the band have
totaled four massive and triumphant Polish tours, tours in Holland, Germany and Norway and played all the main UK blues festivals.

From the start the band explode onto the stage, wowing the audience with their authentic gutsy performance. Jablonski has grown into an experienced, entertaining showman. The Edinburgh Blues Club saw him and the band giving it their all.  Jablonski’s high-energy stage presence is mesmerising, he struts and strides across the stage, arms flailing and pulling tremendous facial expressions.  This comical character maintains enormous energy throughout the entire set, springing about like a newborn lamb!  The groovy music is complimented by the talented harmonica player, Narojczyk. Superb harmonica solo echoes around the ballroom filling the entire venue in soft warmth along with Jablonski’s extensive guitar solos.  The energy relaxed for a moment as drummer, Lewis Fraser sings a mellow number with just Jablonski on guitar to accompany him initially and then the drum, bass and harmonica followed on.  At one point between tracks, Jablonski increases the
guitar volume and blows into the guitar strings, sending a soft strum to wave across the audience. It was good to see a number of die-hard fans in the audience knowing every lyric and relishing the performance. An encore was commanded and Jablonski finished with an iimpressive guitar solo.

Reviewer : Sarah Lewis

Voodoo Rooms
Friday 20th March 2015

So here I return for a second instalment at The Edinburgh Blues Club (EBC). The EBC is a Social Enterprise established to create a specialised environment for the support of a monthly blues event in the fabulous Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh, to guarantee that the people of Edinburgh city do not miss out on class-touring blues acts. The EBC is maintained on a membership subscription basis, where members pay £10 per month in return for access to all EBC events and newsletter. Tickets are also available to the general public via Ticketweb, Tickets Scotland and Ripping Records.

This month sees the event migrate from the speakeasy venue downstairs, to the glittery Ballroom upstairs to accommodate for the growing audience. The EBC kept patrons waiting outside the Ballroom in suspense for 40 minutes, while they completed last minute sound checks inside. After the audience poured in to a mainly standing arena, the host apologised for the lateness and assured us they are not in a habit of this unforeseen delay. I was somewhat surprised there were so little seats since the majority of the audience was of the mature variety.

First up was a 6-piece band from Perthshire called Wang Dang Delta. The band started performing together in 2003 and focus on mainly original compositions with some classic blues and groovy numbers. Inspired by other genres such as jazz, soul, folk and country but always remaining firmly devoted to blues. The line up includes Ian McLaren on guitar and lead vocals, Pete Caban lead guitar, Jim Harcus on harmonica, Alan Sutherland keyboards, Pim Pirnie on drums and Jason Wotherspoon on bass. They have performed at some of the UK’s top blues clubs and have appeared at Perth Festival of the Arts, Southern Fried Festival, Orkney Blues Festival, Dundee Blues Bonanza, Perthshire Amber and Thunder in the Glens. The Wang Dang Delta members individually have also had guest appearances in an array of impressive bands such as Rancho Rebop, Full Moon Howlers, Radiotones, Dave Arcari, GT’s Boos Band, Dougie MacLean and Tartan Amoebas.

Wang Dang Delta possess a diverse range of songs written by lead vocalist Ian McLaren, their first number was a rocking high tempo track full of energy which really grabbed the audiences attention. Well Runs Dry, a groovy tune followed. The band demonstrates flawless, professional talent. Ian McLaren maintains good connection with the audience through friendly banter, after a mellow blues track he vowed the next song would get people moving as the audience looked like an oil painting, and boy, did they get the crowd bouncing! The slick ensemble work effortlessly together, to create top toe tapping and thigh slapping numbers one after another. You could see the bands sheer enjoyment in performing and their collective performance was second to non. Kudos goes to Ian Sutherland (sporting a pair of tan cowboys boots) the keyboard player for his breathtaking solo performances. A unique song, Caravanette, was one of the final numbers devoted to Scotland’s A9
truck road and by the last song everyone was bugging out. Live At The Royal Albert Hall, recorded by the BBC. This year, her international touring schedule increased to Festivals in France, Germany, Poland, Spain and the Caribbean, with USA beckoning, as well as theatre and major club shows in UK.

After a couple of opening songs, Harman welcomes the crowd, thanking us for making it while mentioning it took them 11 hours to drive here. Her next song, she introduces as been co-written with Andy Platts from Mamas Gun called This Is My Amnesty and you can see everything of her has been put into this song. Harman’s voice storms through styles and ranges with ease, delivering tracks with a vigor and passion. Hartman makes the Bluesy Bobby Bland classic cover Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City her own, by stretching the vocal range and the talented keyboardist Steve Watts builds a commendable keys solo. Throughout the show Harman portrays tremendous energy, with a healthy amount of hair flicking and strutting!  Harman can hold tone and melody and there’s an almost gospelstyle to  the way she holds her arm up, clawing at the air on long cords.

Unexpectedly as Harman was about commence another soulful number a gentleman fainted in the audience, presumably from standing too long in the warm environment. Thankfully he soon came to, the audience returned and Jo was able to resume her set. Returning to a somber track this time, in contrast to the majority of the supercharged rock songs. Supporting Harman we saw Steve Watts on keys, Andy Tolman on bass, Martin Johnson drums, Nat Martin on guitar and a musician standing in from Glasgow on guitar. Shortly after the evening ended with ‘Better One’. A single encore ensued where Harman obliged, holding her vibratos well once more. While I cannot fault her on her vocal abilities, my only harsh criticism would be her heeled platforms, while striking, they gave Harman an awkward and ungainly stage presence and prevented her from moving fluidly. Also where we saw Wang Dang Delta connecting with their audience, maybe it was nerves or youth, but I never
felt Harman gained full command of the audience, any banter she tried to create was inaudible or fell flat.

Upon reflection I would not regard Jo Harman especially a blues singer, she’s too loud and boisterous for the blues genre, if anything she falls into the rock or jazz category. And as Harman has confessed herself: “It’s been a joy to have people connect with the music, and of course its wonderful to have been adopted by the blues community. But to be completely honest I don’t consider myself a blues singer. There is a bit of the blues in what I do, but there is also a whole heap of soul, gospel and country in my sound.” She is quick to clarify, “You know, I’m really not fussed about the label. I’m more interested in telling a story. I want to tell my story.”

Reviewer : Sarah Lewis

Eden Court, Inverness

6th March

The concert opened with Michael Haslim,  Peter French`s musical director and accomplished pianist, beautifully playing a medley of nostalgic tunes setting the mood for the performance and theme of moon and night. Peter French`s rendition of Blue Moon, The way you look tonight and moon river were just a few of the mellow tunes he sang clearly with emotion and nostalgia. Every note on the piano only enhanced the feeling of the songs.

His informative and interesting factual stories around the history of the Jewish song writing that influenced and became part of the American culture also added a depth of interest.  Leading up to and into the second half of the performance, he continued to share the chaotic but exciting life story of Harry Nillson, adding to the audience`s appreciation of Nillson`s music.

Re-creating the songs from  the album, A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night, (from 1973) Peter French smoothly sang many melancholy love tunes, exquisitely accompanied by Michael Haslim on the piano; favourites like,  I`ll be loving you always, it had to be you, I wonder who`s kissing her now and as time goes by. Peter and Michael make a very compatible and entertaining duo. This one and only performance at Eden court was a very enjoyable and entertaining evening.

Reviewer : Stephanie McDaid