Wednesday February 10th 2010
Having been around a long time before blogs were invented, I can’t help wondering exactly what their function is. For all my life until the arrival of email, the internet, the mobile phone and assorted other questionable toys, I felt that communication was more or less covered. There were phones (albeit broken public ones), in extreme circumstances there were letters, and there was, above all, the now almost extinct act of speaking to other people. If you wanted to know stuff, there were newspapers, the telly and even books. I felt like I knew as much about other people, and what was going on, as I wanted or needed to. In many cases, that included knowing nothing whatsoever about them.
Recently I read that the forthcoming election will be the first one ‘decided by bloggers’. The organ informing me of this then cited a handful of bloggers, of whom I had, needless to say, not heard. I’m willing to wager that nobody but a small coterie of people who pride themselves on being ‘opinion formers’ and their own close families will have heard of these people. And so, rather weirdly, we have yet another example of this great global tool of communication, the computer, having made the world mysteriously smaller, enabling a small number of arrogant nobodies to feel (and for all I know actually be) important.
This leads to the question: what are blogs for? Or perhaps more importantly, who are they for? Are they simply a modern and rather risible version of the parish magazine? In which case, should I be reporting faithfully on what Dave Forristal is currently growing on his allotment or the failure of Owen Houlston’s resonator to win ‘Biscuit Of The Year’?
Or is a blog just another version of one of those awful ‘family newsletters’ that poncy folk used to send around with their Christmas cards not that many years ago? You know, ‘Roger has finally become a partner at Lickspittle & Crawler .... Annabel’s salmon terrine remains the talk of Belsize Park ..... Magda has been invaluable to us and we will miss her terribly when she returns to poverty in Romania ... Piers this year became the youngest pupil in his school to pass advanced accountancy exams ....’
Well, this time I’m going to avoid both the above approaches and write this for people who don’t know anything about the event and don’t know us. So here goes.
A room full of people gathered at the very congenial venue that is the Green Note, and were all there by 8 or so. The purpose of the event was for people to play and listen to acoustic blues music in various instrumental combinations. There is a view that perhaps the most interesting music currently happening in blues is acoustic and this event gives people a chance to hear this kind of thing done (hopefully) very well, in a relaxed atmosphere, impromptu but not at all shambolic.
Having been around a long time before blogs were invented, I can’t help wondering exactly what their function is. For all my life until the arrival of email, the internet, the mobile phone and assorted other questionable toys, I felt that communication was more or less covered. There were phones (albeit broken public ones), in extreme circumstances there were letters, and there was, above all, the now almost extinct act of speaking to other people. If you wanted to know stuff, there were newspapers, the telly and even books. I felt like I knew as much about other people, and what was going on, as I wanted or needed to. In many cases, that included knowing nothing whatsoever about them.
Recently I read that the forthcoming election will be the first one ‘decided by bloggers’. The organ informing me of this then cited a handful of bloggers, of whom I had, needless to say, not heard. I’m willing to wager that nobody but a small coterie of people who pride themselves on being ‘opinion formers’ and their own close families will have heard of these people. And so, rather weirdly, we have yet another example of this great global tool of communication, the computer, having made the world mysteriously smaller, enabling a small number of arrogant nobodies to feel (and for all I know actually be) important.
This leads to the question: what are blogs for? Or perhaps more importantly, who are they for? Are they simply a modern and rather risible version of the parish magazine? In which case, should I be reporting faithfully on what Dave Forristal is currently growing on his allotment or the failure of Owen Houlston’s resonator to win ‘Biscuit Of The Year’?
Or is a blog just another version of one of those awful ‘family newsletters’ that poncy folk used to send around with their Christmas cards not that many years ago? You know, ‘Roger has finally become a partner at Lickspittle & Crawler .... Annabel’s salmon terrine remains the talk of Belsize Park ..... Magda has been invaluable to us and we will miss her terribly when she returns to poverty in Romania ... Piers this year became the youngest pupil in his school to pass advanced accountancy exams ....’
Well, this time I’m going to avoid both the above approaches and write this for people who don’t know anything about the event and don’t know us. So here goes.
A room full of people gathered at the very congenial venue that is the Green Note, and were all there by 8 or so. The purpose of the event was for people to play and listen to acoustic blues music in various instrumental combinations. There is a view that perhaps the most interesting music currently happening in blues is acoustic and this event gives people a chance to hear this kind of thing done (hopefully) very well, in a relaxed atmosphere, impromptu but not at all shambolic.
house band
There is a house band, comprising double bass, mandolin, keyboards and percussion. These musicians, together with any instrumentalists such as harp players who turn up on the night, accompany people who play and sing and therefore ‘lead’ a short set. Those people can request which musicians they want to play with. The scary unpredictability of being put with unknown quantities just about never happens.
The sound is nice and clear, you can hear what everyone’s doing. You can also hear a very wide variety of music, the acoustic side of things being much less samey that the standard electric fare. The music may veer at any given point from prewar blues, to folk/blues, to countryish songs and any other area that might loosely be described as ‘roots’ music. The norm is three songs each, though if it’s very busy (as it was on this occasion) this might go down to two.
Ryan, Charles, Mark, Martin
The evening started with event co-host Mark Harrison kicking off with some of his own compositions, playing his ancient National. He started with a song with mandolin maestro Ryan Carr and double bass genius Charles Benfield. They were then joined by brilliant keyboard player Dave Forristal and percussionist par excellence Martin Holloway for three more numbers. The well of enthusiastic adjectives has now run dry.
First ‘act’ of the evening was Owen Houlston. Owen’s doing his own individual take on prewar blues songs and doing it very well indeed. Nothing standard issue about Owen’s gruff vocals and impassioned resonator playing, which went very well with the house band. The key word here is ‘individual’. Blues at Green Note likes individuals.
Owen
Previous, and welcome, performer James Daniel was up next. He played harp and sang, accompanied by Chris on guitar and Ian on percussion. Charles and Dave joined them too. It was a fine set, Dave’s piano to the fore. James chooses interesting material to do that never gets an outing at a blues jam, and this time he pulled out the great New Orleans song ‘Junko Partner’, definitively done by Dr John on Gumbo.
James & Chris
Good friend of the event and regular Barry Jackson was up next. Another great set, relaxed but tight, the whole house band following the lead and going to all the right places, even if those places are sometimes quite unexpected. Ryan’s mandolin tore the place up, not for the first time.
Next came a newcomer to the event, Simon. He started by declaring that he’d been expecting to play solo and was surprised to find himself wedged on a tiny stage with more people than you can squeeze into a minibus. Dan Sheehan played harp, Ben played guitar for the first time at this event, more or less the whole house band stayed up. It was a rousing set, Simon hitting the bottleneck playing hard and generating great good humour. The audience got involved.
Hayley got up next and sang, very well, a standard. I think it was Love Letters In The Sand, I was a bit busy sorting out how to get everyone fitted in on what was a very busy evening. We had a record 11 ‘acts’, and regular Justin couldn’t get on. He took this very well, in stark contrast to what was going on at probably exactly that point in time at a well-known electric jam not too far away, where the host was in the process of offering what used to be called a ‘knuckle sandwich’ to a stroppy bloke who’d just been told politely that it was too busy for him to get on and do his guitar solo. Blues at Green Note doesn’t encourage stroppy.
Next on stage was event co-host David Atkinson, with bandmate from Dry Bones, Steve Deller. David played his quite wonderful Fraulini 12-string, Steve played a tiple. No, me neither. It’s a rather delightful mini-guitar with 10 strings (I think) that looks a bit like a ukulele but doesn’t sound at all like one, having a very bright sound and lots of poke. David and Steve are top-quality musicians (sse their band Dry Bones if you can) and they divvied up an excellent and really interesting set, one highlight of which was a version of Woody Guthrie’s classic Deportees.
Another newcomer to the event, Phil, was on next, and his was another high-quality set, utilising the skills of various band members, especially Dave, to back up his excellent singing and playing. He was followed by yet another first-timer, John, who played and sang with his wife Jenny also singing and his son on percussion. James Daniel played harp with them, Charles was up there too. They did a version of the blues standard Motherless Child (rather in the Richie Havens mould I’d say) and a song by The Subdudes (great band, check ‘em out). A good time was had by all. And John won the Longest Beard Competition by a country mile.
Now past our usual finishing time, we still had a good crowd and so there was time for Ryan to get up and do one of his own compositions, followed by another of his audience participation numbers. Once again the audience did indeed participate without too much coaxing (nothing worse than a performer sulking because you won’t join in, but this never seems to happen to Ryan).
Ryan
Graham Hinton, regular and fine performer, rounded things off, with most of the band and with Owen also there on his resonator. It was a good way to end the evening, the quality not having taken a dip at any point, and a huge variety of music having been purveyed by all 10 acts. That’s a record, as was the number of people still there right at the end.
Charles, Owen, Graham, Martin
So, a very good one. There was a very good turnout indeed, and the usual excellent atmosphere. Some very fine music was played by some very fine people. Nuff said.
Well, that’s another blog done. I guess the answer to my question about the point of them is that there are all sorts of genres of blog, and that probably none of them matter all that much. But what about the event described in this one? Does that matter much? Hell, yes, by any reasonable measure of what’s important in life.
Mark Harrison
Next one: Wednesday 10th March
Tell as many people as you can.
Bring as many people as you can
Come and play if you want to.
Come and listen and enjoy.
Put a comment on this blog.
Big thanks to Barry Jackson for the sketches and photos.
Wednesday January 13th 2010
Not for the first time in recent months, your correspondent is obliged to report that it was ‘another quiet one’ at the Green Note. Prior to that, we had some packed houses and doubtless we will again – hopefully next month.
Attendance seems to be unpredictable, but what it depends on is anyone’s guess. I’ve never been entirely convinced by the football on TV theory, but in any case that doesn’t seem to have applied this time. Certainly, the Green Note isn’t (happily) suffering any great general downturn in trade (a couple of gigs early in the new year had seen the place rammed). Could it be the recession? The ‘January is quiet everywhere’ school of thought? Who knows? Maybe it has something to do with the Green Note being an eating place – if people book tables to eat and form an audience, it doesn’t take many to fill it up, and they just haven’t happened to book them in masses of the second Wednesday of the month. Maybe it’ll be packed next time. Just to make sure, maybe everyone concerned could try to get some folk along for the next one. We’re due a decent house.
Another point here is that, because it’s not weekly, people often forget when it’s on. Lots of musicians find anything more complex than ‘every Tuesday’ quite hard to process, even if they hold down highly responsible jobs in real life. So if you’re out and about at other jams, mention the next one to anyone you think might fit in playing-wise, or enjoy it audience-wise. Truth is, it’s not a fixture on the scene the way the weekly ones are, so a bit of effort on telling people may not go amiss. Plus, it seems to me lots of people on the ‘scene’ (or off it) who might well come haven’t heard about it.
I’m not going to bang on about what everyone played this time – I not only didn’t make a note of that, I also didn’t make a list of who was going to play and who they were going to play with; this is not dereliction of a jam host’s duties so much as not a requirement at this event. People get to go on and do their slot and they get to ask for whichever members of the bevy of alluring musicians on hand they want to play with. All of this contributes to the uniquely relaxed atmosphere of this jam, not least because there is no need to ensure that a platoon of chaps bearing lethal electric weapons can be accommodated (the churl in me would say, thank God I don’t have to work out who might spoil someone’s perfectly good act by fouling the air with a hideous pile of unwanted and very loud notes; but I don’t wholly mean to be critical of all that as I quite like making a loudish noise at other places myself, and there are plenty of guitarists out there who do know how to play with other people).
Back at the jam, we had a slightly different set of house band personnel from the last time. David couldn’t make it this time and so mandolin duties were taken up by Ryan Carr. How did anyone ever contemplate playing this sort of music without a mandolin? It is now a welcome fixture and in many ways the star of the show. This time it was Ryan’s turn to cop the ‘you only get a break when you’re bursting’ role, and throughout the evening he played quite brilliantly.
Dave Forristal on keyboards also shone, and for my money showed the way home on how to play just the right things on a keyboard for this kind of music. The sound balance was just right, with everyone clearly audible, so at any moment your ear might have been taken by a sudden burst of mandolin genius, a terrific keyboard solo or a bit of magic from Charles on the double bass. The variety of possibilities for really good moments and really good passages of playing is great.
Not for the first time in recent months, your correspondent is obliged to report that it was ‘another quiet one’ at the Green Note. Prior to that, we had some packed houses and doubtless we will again – hopefully next month.
Attendance seems to be unpredictable, but what it depends on is anyone’s guess. I’ve never been entirely convinced by the football on TV theory, but in any case that doesn’t seem to have applied this time. Certainly, the Green Note isn’t (happily) suffering any great general downturn in trade (a couple of gigs early in the new year had seen the place rammed). Could it be the recession? The ‘January is quiet everywhere’ school of thought? Who knows? Maybe it has something to do with the Green Note being an eating place – if people book tables to eat and form an audience, it doesn’t take many to fill it up, and they just haven’t happened to book them in masses of the second Wednesday of the month. Maybe it’ll be packed next time. Just to make sure, maybe everyone concerned could try to get some folk along for the next one. We’re due a decent house.
Another point here is that, because it’s not weekly, people often forget when it’s on. Lots of musicians find anything more complex than ‘every Tuesday’ quite hard to process, even if they hold down highly responsible jobs in real life. So if you’re out and about at other jams, mention the next one to anyone you think might fit in playing-wise, or enjoy it audience-wise. Truth is, it’s not a fixture on the scene the way the weekly ones are, so a bit of effort on telling people may not go amiss. Plus, it seems to me lots of people on the ‘scene’ (or off it) who might well come haven’t heard about it.
I’m not going to bang on about what everyone played this time – I not only didn’t make a note of that, I also didn’t make a list of who was going to play and who they were going to play with; this is not dereliction of a jam host’s duties so much as not a requirement at this event. People get to go on and do their slot and they get to ask for whichever members of the bevy of alluring musicians on hand they want to play with. All of this contributes to the uniquely relaxed atmosphere of this jam, not least because there is no need to ensure that a platoon of chaps bearing lethal electric weapons can be accommodated (the churl in me would say, thank God I don’t have to work out who might spoil someone’s perfectly good act by fouling the air with a hideous pile of unwanted and very loud notes; but I don’t wholly mean to be critical of all that as I quite like making a loudish noise at other places myself, and there are plenty of guitarists out there who do know how to play with other people).
Back at the jam, we had a slightly different set of house band personnel from the last time. David couldn’t make it this time and so mandolin duties were taken up by Ryan Carr. How did anyone ever contemplate playing this sort of music without a mandolin? It is now a welcome fixture and in many ways the star of the show. This time it was Ryan’s turn to cop the ‘you only get a break when you’re bursting’ role, and throughout the evening he played quite brilliantly.
Ryan
Dave Forristal on keyboards also shone, and for my money showed the way home on how to play just the right things on a keyboard for this kind of music. The sound balance was just right, with everyone clearly audible, so at any moment your ear might have been taken by a sudden burst of mandolin genius, a terrific keyboard solo or a bit of magic from Charles on the double bass. The variety of possibilities for really good moments and really good passages of playing is great.
Mark
I kicked off on the 12-string for three songs, being joined by Ryan and then Dave and Charles as I went along, eventually switching to the National. We were joined in this set by Danno Sheehan, putting in his first appearance on harp at the Green Note and having a pretty busy night on stage. The harp being in the mix added yet another colour to the picture and a welcome one it was too. So, for large parts of the evening the line-up was guitar, mandolin, double bass, keyboards and harp. To which can usually be added drum/percussion – Martin got the dates mixed up.
After me came Barry Jackson for another fine set in his inimitable style, everything he did with the band fitting neatly together. ‘Class act’ remains the most appropriate description of Barry and everyone concerned thoroughly enjoyed his set.
Ryan did his own set next, and he’s at least partly from the bluegrass/country/folk wing of things. He’s got a very good voice indeed and some crowd-pleasing songs. For one of these, he required a fair bit of audience participation, a brave request I always think, as there is always the distinct possibility that an audience (especially a small one) will simply stare you out, leaving the artist with no hiding place and the ghastly feeling of having soiled their underwear in public. But Ryan more than carried this off, getting an enthusiastic response that made the number a riot. People with fewer crowd-appealing skills have been elected to high office.
A newcomer, Anna, came on next, and did two numbers very well indeed, backed by an assortment of the house musicians. Not having done this sort of music in public before, she was a bit nervous, but seemed to gather confidence as she noticed that it was all actually sounding pretty good. People climb over obstacles at this sort of thing, and feel the better for it.
Graham Hinton was up next, demonstrating his excellent picking and singing skills again. Quite a bit of what he does might look a lot easier than it actually is (this is true of a lot of good music of course – the stuff that looks really hard is very often rubbish).
I went back up with the full band to round off the evening. After two songs, I was wrapping things up when someone in the audience asked for another number. They had just arrived, right at the end, quite liked what they’d stumbled in on, and wanted to hear some more of it.
Now, if they could show up at the start, and bring a couple dozen friends with them ........
Mark Harrison
I kicked off on the 12-string for three songs, being joined by Ryan and then Dave and Charles as I went along, eventually switching to the National. We were joined in this set by Danno Sheehan, putting in his first appearance on harp at the Green Note and having a pretty busy night on stage. The harp being in the mix added yet another colour to the picture and a welcome one it was too. So, for large parts of the evening the line-up was guitar, mandolin, double bass, keyboards and harp. To which can usually be added drum/percussion – Martin got the dates mixed up.
Danno
After me came Barry Jackson for another fine set in his inimitable style, everything he did with the band fitting neatly together. ‘Class act’ remains the most appropriate description of Barry and everyone concerned thoroughly enjoyed his set.
Ryan did his own set next, and he’s at least partly from the bluegrass/country/folk wing of things. He’s got a very good voice indeed and some crowd-pleasing songs. For one of these, he required a fair bit of audience participation, a brave request I always think, as there is always the distinct possibility that an audience (especially a small one) will simply stare you out, leaving the artist with no hiding place and the ghastly feeling of having soiled their underwear in public. But Ryan more than carried this off, getting an enthusiastic response that made the number a riot. People with fewer crowd-appealing skills have been elected to high office.
A newcomer, Anna, came on next, and did two numbers very well indeed, backed by an assortment of the house musicians. Not having done this sort of music in public before, she was a bit nervous, but seemed to gather confidence as she noticed that it was all actually sounding pretty good. People climb over obstacles at this sort of thing, and feel the better for it.
Graham Hinton was up next, demonstrating his excellent picking and singing skills again. Quite a bit of what he does might look a lot easier than it actually is (this is true of a lot of good music of course – the stuff that looks really hard is very often rubbish).
I went back up with the full band to round off the evening. After two songs, I was wrapping things up when someone in the audience asked for another number. They had just arrived, right at the end, quite liked what they’d stumbled in on, and wanted to hear some more of it.
Now, if they could show up at the start, and bring a couple dozen friends with them ........
Mark Harrison
Sketches by Barry Jackson
Next one: February 10th
Next one: February 10th
Wednesday December 9th 2009
Sketches by Barry Jackson
Well, we’re six months into the new-style all-acoustic Green Note jam and things have settled down nicely. We’ve got some permanent fixtures, we’ve got some regulars, we’ve got some semi-regulars and we’ve got newcomers. We’re turning out the kind of music that doesn’t get anything like enough of an airing, and we’re serving it up to an appreciative audience. It’s all calm but it ain’t sloppy; it’s laid back but it ain’t lazy. We could do with a few more people showing up sometimes, it’s true. Quite why the numbers vary from pretty packed to pretty quiet is a bit of a mystery. But anyone who ever shows up seems to go away pretty glad they did.
Green Note
The blues, like any other kind of ‘roots’ music, often calls into question conventional notions of the gap between an amateur and a pro. In other forms of popular music, the lines are blurred because of an equal lack of talent either side of the wire. That’s because there’s no notion of a craft, of skills to be learned and worked on, of genuine passion for a musical style, of wanting to do justice to the music. Those folk are proudly and intentionally part of the ‘anyone can do it’ culture. In that culture, it’s all about luck as to which people poke their heads out of the pack.
But in the blues and related fields, this is of course not the case. The pros just about always do something that anyone can’t do. It’s skill and a dedication to craftsmanship that separates them from the rest, as well as talent and individuality. That’s why it’s a joy to see them – they’re doing something you can’t do and that’s one of the things that excites. You see them and you know why they’re earning a living (albeit probably not much of one) doing it.
However, what the blues also has is a fair share of people who aren’t doing it for a living but, in a just world could be. Maybe they preferred to get ‘proper’ jobs and throw themselves into it as a serious hobby; maybe they had a go at doing it for money and couldn’t make a go of that (very few people ever have, in real terms); maybe they’re young and trying to work their way to do it for a living (and hopefully some of those at least will achieve their aim). Whatever, within these categories can be found some seriously good people, who could be said to bridge the gap between the amateur and the pro. There are quite a few people on the London jams scene of whom this could be said. Let’s call them pros who don’t do it for a living.
The reason for this poncy digression is that I was reminded yet again of this at the last jam, because a number of people in that category play at the Green Note acoustic jam. And unlike at electric jams, it’s entirely possible for everyone who’s there to hear how good they are. And so it was, on a quietish night audience-wise, that a small band of people, who can play a bit, sat up front listening to what their comrades on stage were doing and muttering to each other things like: ‘Christ, he’s really good, isn’t he?’ One of the nicer features of this whole blues thing is the pleasure that people take in each other’s skills and talents. And they don’t fake it for politeness either.
Anyway, what exactly was served up? As usual, I kicked off, firstly with David on mandolin for Early In The Morning and then with Charles on double bass and Martin on drum for Sneakin’ Away, Easy Does It and Highgate Hill Blues. A person in the audience asked me if they were my own songs. When I said that yes they were, he told me I should say something about them, why I’d written them, that kind of thing. It was the kind of night where people on stage just had chats with the people listening. Well, I thought of saying that explaining songs kind of takes away the point of writing them, but decided to settle for adding this to my own, not short, list of inadequacies.
Mark
Barry Jackson came on next, and Barry has a style that suggests he’s so comfortable doing this he could be in his pyjamas. Playing a Guild resonator from his seemingly endless collection of enviable guitars (haven’t seen a gleaming Strat anywhere near Barry yet, and the sight just wouldn’t seem right), he launched, with the band, into Walking Blues (in the style of Son House), Fred McDowell’s great You Gotta Move, Junior Parker’s much covered (but surely seldom like this) Mystery Train and Ry Cooder’s Crazy ‘Bout An Automobile. The latter brings me back to the previous point. Ry Cooder’s early 70s albums are among my favourites of all time, and they haven’t been diminished one iota by time. But Barry’s renditions of the material lose nothing in comparison.
First-timer Steve Lyons was next up and he did three originals – There’s A Place For The Blues, Can’t Be Satisfied and Out On The Road, with David on mandolin for the first and Martin and David for the last. For the second number he brought in a welcome first for the jam – violin, in the person of Mary. Steve had clearly got exactly what the jam was about, ringing the changes for accompaniment, doing originals and widening the range of instruments. His was a fine set and fitted right in.
Barry Jackson came on next, and Barry has a style that suggests he’s so comfortable doing this he could be in his pyjamas. Playing a Guild resonator from his seemingly endless collection of enviable guitars (haven’t seen a gleaming Strat anywhere near Barry yet, and the sight just wouldn’t seem right), he launched, with the band, into Walking Blues (in the style of Son House), Fred McDowell’s great You Gotta Move, Junior Parker’s much covered (but surely seldom like this) Mystery Train and Ry Cooder’s Crazy ‘Bout An Automobile. The latter brings me back to the previous point. Ry Cooder’s early 70s albums are among my favourites of all time, and they haven’t been diminished one iota by time. But Barry’s renditions of the material lose nothing in comparison.
First-timer Steve Lyons was next up and he did three originals – There’s A Place For The Blues, Can’t Be Satisfied and Out On The Road, with David on mandolin for the first and Martin and David for the last. For the second number he brought in a welcome first for the jam – violin, in the person of Mary. Steve had clearly got exactly what the jam was about, ringing the changes for accompaniment, doing originals and widening the range of instruments. His was a fine set and fitted right in.
Steve
Then came the much mooted and eagerly awaited acoustic debut of jam luminary Pete Vardigans. Demonstrating admirable guts in doing something that can fill the electric player with dread, he did an excellent set on Barry’s guitar. Kicking off with an instrumental version of When The Saints .., , he then played and sang (very well) the staple See See Rider, Chuck Berry’s Roll Over Beethoven (a nice twist on a familiar electric number – acoustic versions of such material can come over really well) and I Need To See You. The odds on Pete turning up soon with a rather nice new acoustic guitar have now been slashed by the bookies.
David then did a set of his own. I think it would be fair to say that David was, not for the first time, the star of the show. Indeed, with the exception of one number, when he had to exit for a ‘comfort break’, he was on stage the whole night, showing just how good a mandolin player he is. The house sound we’ve now got going has evolved largely due to his mandolin, and it’s now an integral part of something rather special. Now he switched to guitar for a couple from his own repertoire of terrific covers of prewar blues. First came Furry Lewis’ Judge Harsh Blues, and then a rendition of Charley Patton’s Jinx Blues (or at any rate, a variant on that strand of Charley’s stuff). The other musicians purred their admiration of these numbers and there were murmurings at the many bits of wonderful guitar business David was divvying up. Great, if brief, set from a top-notch musician.
Then came the much mooted and eagerly awaited acoustic debut of jam luminary Pete Vardigans. Demonstrating admirable guts in doing something that can fill the electric player with dread, he did an excellent set on Barry’s guitar. Kicking off with an instrumental version of When The Saints .., , he then played and sang (very well) the staple See See Rider, Chuck Berry’s Roll Over Beethoven (a nice twist on a familiar electric number – acoustic versions of such material can come over really well) and I Need To See You. The odds on Pete turning up soon with a rather nice new acoustic guitar have now been slashed by the bookies.
David then did a set of his own. I think it would be fair to say that David was, not for the first time, the star of the show. Indeed, with the exception of one number, when he had to exit for a ‘comfort break’, he was on stage the whole night, showing just how good a mandolin player he is. The house sound we’ve now got going has evolved largely due to his mandolin, and it’s now an integral part of something rather special. Now he switched to guitar for a couple from his own repertoire of terrific covers of prewar blues. First came Furry Lewis’ Judge Harsh Blues, and then a rendition of Charley Patton’s Jinx Blues (or at any rate, a variant on that strand of Charley’s stuff). The other musicians purred their admiration of these numbers and there were murmurings at the many bits of wonderful guitar business David was divvying up. Great, if brief, set from a top-notch musician.
David
There was time for me to get up for a couple more of mine – Five Thousand Days (I was actually able to say something about this one – see, that thing was gnawing away at me) with Charles and David, and Hard Work with Martin joining us. The latter took flight in that ‘more than the sum of the parts’ way that gives a musician a real kick – you think you’re listening to a really great band and then you remember that apparently you’re in it. Lest we forget, it’s worth repeating just how good Charles and Martin are too.
Barry rounded the evening off with a couple more, the last being a Mexican-type song about going to Tijuana. This featured a chord sequence way, way beyond the remit of any jam. Undaunted, Barry called out the changes for the Charles and David as he went along, and undaunted they made those changes. It was a master class in real musicianship (and I have to add that anything like this would have induced a fit of the vapours among the vast majority of electric jammers). ‘Now the minor 7th .... now the 3rd’ said Barry as asides, while rendering the actual public consumption bits of the song. With little more than the odd slight furrow of the brow, the band went right along. If there’s a better bass player than Charles around, I’d be seriously surprised, and here he was demonstrating once again what a fine all-round musician he is.
There was time for me to get up for a couple more of mine – Five Thousand Days (I was actually able to say something about this one – see, that thing was gnawing away at me) with Charles and David, and Hard Work with Martin joining us. The latter took flight in that ‘more than the sum of the parts’ way that gives a musician a real kick – you think you’re listening to a really great band and then you remember that apparently you’re in it. Lest we forget, it’s worth repeating just how good Charles and Martin are too.
Barry rounded the evening off with a couple more, the last being a Mexican-type song about going to Tijuana. This featured a chord sequence way, way beyond the remit of any jam. Undaunted, Barry called out the changes for the Charles and David as he went along, and undaunted they made those changes. It was a master class in real musicianship (and I have to add that anything like this would have induced a fit of the vapours among the vast majority of electric jammers). ‘Now the minor 7th .... now the 3rd’ said Barry as asides, while rendering the actual public consumption bits of the song. With little more than the odd slight furrow of the brow, the band went right along. If there’s a better bass player than Charles around, I’d be seriously surprised, and here he was demonstrating once again what a fine all-round musician he is.
The band
It’s that sort of thing that put me in mind of the point I was making at the beginning of this gibberish. The line between the pros who don’t do it for a living and the pros who do can be a very thin one indeed.
A few years back I spent some time talking to the terrific American acoustic blues artist Paul Rishell. Talking about guitar skills, he pointed out that what separated him and the likes of me was time spent doing it. I, he suggested, could easily play like him if I hadn’t spent so much time doing the earning a living thing. The difference was time available to hone the skills. Well, I’m not sure he was right in my case, but the point is a valid one generally. Paul’s definition of success was that he had managed to go all 40-odd years of his adult life earning a living from music. He counted it as a triumph that he’d never had a ‘job’ job. So do I.
So there you have it. The pros who don’t do it for a living are only not pros in that sense. When they’re doing it, they think, act and play like pros. It’s just what they do the rest of the time that’s the difference.
Mark Harrison
Feel free to put a comment on here. I and a sense of futility are old pals, but it would be nice to think that someone was actually reading this swill.
It’s that sort of thing that put me in mind of the point I was making at the beginning of this gibberish. The line between the pros who don’t do it for a living and the pros who do can be a very thin one indeed.
A few years back I spent some time talking to the terrific American acoustic blues artist Paul Rishell. Talking about guitar skills, he pointed out that what separated him and the likes of me was time spent doing it. I, he suggested, could easily play like him if I hadn’t spent so much time doing the earning a living thing. The difference was time available to hone the skills. Well, I’m not sure he was right in my case, but the point is a valid one generally. Paul’s definition of success was that he had managed to go all 40-odd years of his adult life earning a living from music. He counted it as a triumph that he’d never had a ‘job’ job. So do I.
So there you have it. The pros who don’t do it for a living are only not pros in that sense. When they’re doing it, they think, act and play like pros. It’s just what they do the rest of the time that’s the difference.
Mark Harrison
Feel free to put a comment on here. I and a sense of futility are old pals, but it would be nice to think that someone was actually reading this swill.
Wednesday 11th November (ctd)
In addition to the exciting report below, here are some excellent sketches Barry Jackson did on the night ....
Mark
Graham
In addition to the exciting report below, here are some excellent sketches Barry Jackson did on the night ....
Mark
Graham
Charles
Wednesday 11th November
Well, the general consensus of this one, from audience and musicians alike, was that it was a wonderful evening of music and possibly the best one yet (in what is already becoming a tight competition for that title). From start to finish there was a great vibe and there can be no doubt that the event is showcasing some of the highest quality, and most original, blues music of any kind in London.
The thing about acoustic, or acoustic-ish, stuff, as I keep saying, is that it brings out the individual. There’s no volume to hide behind, no mass of sound to form a barrier between you and the listener. You can be yourself – in fact, you have to be yourself. That’s why it can be a scary prospect for some, and a big challenge. That’s also why it’s so good. There’s just about no such thing as a standard issue acoustic blues artist, and there was certainly no such thing as that at the Green Note, where every artist had something a bit special, and a bit different to offer.
As has become usual, I kicked things off with my own material on the National, starting with an instrumental and then bringing on David Atkinson to join me on the mandolin for Big Mary’s House (a juke joint in 30s Mississippi). Then the band – Dave on keys, Martin on percussion and Charles on upright bass, came up for Itch That Can’t Be Scratched and Hard Work. For both of these we were joined by the very welcome presence of Rick Webb, demonstrating again just how good a harp player he is. 
This band set-up, squeezed onto the stage like the people crammed into Groucho’s cabin in that Marx Brothers movie, stayed up to play with Barry Jackson. Barry made himself right at home from the off, and set off on a journey through a marvellous set, the music stretching out in various directions, everyone getting a good go in the foreground, all parts of each song thoroughly examined. A high spot was How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live?, delivered in an extended version that might have got Ry Cooder a bit worried about his own excellent version in comparison.
Next up was the always welcome Laine Hines, surely a prime contender for best solo acoustic bluesman in London (prewar division). Kicking off with a solo version of Robert Johnson’s Come On In My Kitchen, for which the adjective ethereal was invented, he was then joined by various elements of the band for the rest of his predictably fine contribution to the evening.
James Daniel was next, joined by the band, with David moving from mandolin on to my National. Again, James’ set provided a contrast with much of what had gone before, a slightly, louder and harder edge, with his harp and Dave’s piano coming to the fore very effectively. He was followed by Justin for another of his excellent sets on 12-string, reminding us (not that anyone needed it), that every change of set would bring a change of style and atmosphere, keeping musicians and audience from assuming that anything would get samey. Indeed, one feature of this event is that the interesting music going on actually cuts down the amount of musician chat going on at the bar – rare praise indeed.
Graham Hinton and Owen Houlston were next, for another polished set, this time Graham’s fingerpicking skills complemented by Owen on my National (fearing it was on the way to becoming ‘house guitar’, it decided to retaliate by presenting Owen with some unpredictable behaviour tuning-wise). Their set covered a range from the rollicking to the smooth and went down very well indeed. The band and myself then went on to close the evening with a couple more of mine.
There was a very good-sized audience, and response and comments afterwards indicated that again the whole evening was much enjoyed. You often get a sense of people in the audience at the Green Note discovering this music for the first time and being quite thrilled by the discovery. And then there are people not discovering the music, but thrilled at discovering that it exists in London, played by very good people indeed.
I think it was generally agreed too, that the single most important ingredient in the evening as a whole was David’s mandolin playing. At how many blues jams do people ever say, ‘Hey, I can hear the mandolin really well’ and get a smile on their faces because of it? David’s playing in the band, and in the other combinations, raised the music to another level.
So, men and women of the London blues scene who do the electric jams but have yet to test yourselves at The Green Note acoustic night? Are you person enough for the challenge? If so, come down some time, sip of the atmosphere and be yourself on a stage. If not, come down and watch the rest of us being ourselves.
Well, the general consensus of this one, from audience and musicians alike, was that it was a wonderful evening of music and possibly the best one yet (in what is already becoming a tight competition for that title). From start to finish there was a great vibe and there can be no doubt that the event is showcasing some of the highest quality, and most original, blues music of any kind in London.
The thing about acoustic, or acoustic-ish, stuff, as I keep saying, is that it brings out the individual. There’s no volume to hide behind, no mass of sound to form a barrier between you and the listener. You can be yourself – in fact, you have to be yourself. That’s why it can be a scary prospect for some, and a big challenge. That’s also why it’s so good. There’s just about no such thing as a standard issue acoustic blues artist, and there was certainly no such thing as that at the Green Note, where every artist had something a bit special, and a bit different to offer.
As has become usual, I kicked things off with my own material on the National, starting with an instrumental and then bringing on David Atkinson to join me on the mandolin for Big Mary’s House (a juke joint in 30s Mississippi). Then the band – Dave on keys, Martin on percussion and Charles on upright bass, came up for Itch That Can’t Be Scratched and Hard Work. For both of these we were joined by the very welcome presence of Rick Webb, demonstrating again just how good a harp player he is.
This band set-up, squeezed onto the stage like the people crammed into Groucho’s cabin in that Marx Brothers movie, stayed up to play with Barry Jackson. Barry made himself right at home from the off, and set off on a journey through a marvellous set, the music stretching out in various directions, everyone getting a good go in the foreground, all parts of each song thoroughly examined. A high spot was How Can A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live?, delivered in an extended version that might have got Ry Cooder a bit worried about his own excellent version in comparison.
Next up was the always welcome Laine Hines, surely a prime contender for best solo acoustic bluesman in London (prewar division). Kicking off with a solo version of Robert Johnson’s Come On In My Kitchen, for which the adjective ethereal was invented, he was then joined by various elements of the band for the rest of his predictably fine contribution to the evening.
James Daniel was next, joined by the band, with David moving from mandolin on to my National. Again, James’ set provided a contrast with much of what had gone before, a slightly, louder and harder edge, with his harp and Dave’s piano coming to the fore very effectively. He was followed by Justin for another of his excellent sets on 12-string, reminding us (not that anyone needed it), that every change of set would bring a change of style and atmosphere, keeping musicians and audience from assuming that anything would get samey. Indeed, one feature of this event is that the interesting music going on actually cuts down the amount of musician chat going on at the bar – rare praise indeed.
Graham Hinton and Owen Houlston were next, for another polished set, this time Graham’s fingerpicking skills complemented by Owen on my National (fearing it was on the way to becoming ‘house guitar’, it decided to retaliate by presenting Owen with some unpredictable behaviour tuning-wise). Their set covered a range from the rollicking to the smooth and went down very well indeed. The band and myself then went on to close the evening with a couple more of mine.
There was a very good-sized audience, and response and comments afterwards indicated that again the whole evening was much enjoyed. You often get a sense of people in the audience at the Green Note discovering this music for the first time and being quite thrilled by the discovery. And then there are people not discovering the music, but thrilled at discovering that it exists in London, played by very good people indeed.
I think it was generally agreed too, that the single most important ingredient in the evening as a whole was David’s mandolin playing. At how many blues jams do people ever say, ‘Hey, I can hear the mandolin really well’ and get a smile on their faces because of it? David’s playing in the band, and in the other combinations, raised the music to another level.
So, men and women of the London blues scene who do the electric jams but have yet to test yourselves at The Green Note acoustic night? Are you person enough for the challenge? If so, come down some time, sip of the atmosphere and be yourself on a stage. If not, come down and watch the rest of us being ourselves.
The next one's on 9th December. Don't miss it.
Mark Harrison
Photos by Rick Webb
(only a couple this time but they're good ones. Future blogs may not have any, unless someone wants to put their hand up for taking them ....)
Wednesday 14th October
No two of these nights is ever the same, as has become clear since we started them up back in July. The acoustic brand of blues perhaps lends itself more to individuality than its electric sibling. So each time, the flavour of the evening depends on who comes to play and on the combination of those people. Once again, the standard was extremely high and the variety great, and once again we had a mixture of regulars and first-timers at the event. It was an evening of very good music indeed.
It was also a very laid-back one, especially as the Green Note was pretty quiet on the night. For some bizarre reason I will never be able to fathom, this apparently has some connection with a football match on telly. Well, anyone who didn’t show up because they preferred to watch that can send me a written explanation.
Nevertheless, we had a good atmosphere and a room of people enjoying the evening. This has a lot to do with the Green Note’s unique vibe, and I very much suspect that all concerned would have had a good time even if there had only been three people in the room.
David
David then did a couple of solo numbers on my National, Furry Lewis’s Judge Harsh Blues and Blind Willie Johnson’s Nobody’s Fault But Mine (later to get another outing in a wholly different form), showing just what a great musician and interpreter of pre-war blues he is. Top-notch picking, slide and vocals were all on display.
Charles, David, Martin, Dave & Mark
The band came on then, with David going back on mandolin, and we did three of my originals (Sneakin’ Away, Highgate Hill Blues and Your Second Line). Dave Forristal played organ on these, Charles was on his double bass (minus one string – he is currently selling whatever valuable possessions he can find to raise the funds required for a new one, they ain’t cheap) and Martin was on percussion. The combination of those with the National and David on mandolin made for the kind of sound you don’t come across that often. And the chance to play in such combinations is what the evening is all about.
Next up was a welcome first appearance at the event by the excellent Barry Jackson, who played a rather nice Gibson and did terrific versions of songs from the canon of the greats, including Muddy’s She’s Nineteen Years Old. He had Charles’s bass and David on mandolin with him, and this ad hoc trio, with Barry’s accomplished playing and vocal delivery, served up a terrific set.
Barry
Laine Hines was next and his was another predictably high-quality set. Laine is a very good example of the individuality I was talking about – he sounds like himself and nobody else sounds like him. He’s got his own vocal and playing style and he takes listeners along with him to wherever he’s at. He was joined by Charles on bass and (literally) a visitor on mandolin – Chris, an Australian passing through London on his way to Canada, as far as I could follow the complex narrative. He showed himself to be a very fine player, leaning towards the bluegrass side of things. He and Charles acquitted themselves very well in keeping up with Laine’s not-always-predictable chord changes and this trio’s set was another very fine one indeed.
Chris & Laine
Another regular, Justin, came next and he did another excellent set on his 12-string, Chris staying up with him on mandolin and Charles and Martin providing rhythm section. Justin’s take on all this seems to be to corner the market in acoustic versions of uptempo numbers usually done electric, and he does this very well. Numbers the blues fan might be very familiar with are turned into something quite different in this acoustic rendition.
More first-timers at the event came next, in the form of James on vocals and harp and CJ on guitar, backed by the full house band of Dave (on piano this time), Charles and Martin. This set was completely different from anything else on the bill all evening, one of the great joys of the event. Blues and boogie piano took centre stage, working very well with James’ very strong vocals and harp playing, CJ’s guitar and the rest of the band. This was a barrelhouse set, a really interesting version of what would elsewhere be an electric set, except that with this you could hear everyone.
The final set came from Graham Hinton and Owen Houlston, in duo form for the first time at this event. Owen played his resonator with a combination of great skill and wild abandon, complementing Graham’s subtle picking very well indeed. Joined by Charles and Martin as rhythm section, they swapped lead vocal duties – Graham’s polished singing contrasting with Owen’s vocal style, for which the word’ gruff’ may very well have been invented. It was excellent, fun stuff, relaxed but tight (well, tightish). Their set had pace and life and closed the evening on a high.
So, another good one. The next one’s on 11th November. If you want to come and listen to what must surely be the best acoustic blues on offer in London, get yourself down for the next one. If you’re coming to play, bring your mates. And doubtless, the next one will be different from the last one.
Mark Harrison
No two of these nights is ever the same, as has become clear since we started them up back in July. The acoustic brand of blues perhaps lends itself more to individuality than its electric sibling. So each time, the flavour of the evening depends on who comes to play and on the combination of those people. Once again, the standard was extremely high and the variety great, and once again we had a mixture of regulars and first-timers at the event. It was an evening of very good music indeed.
It was also a very laid-back one, especially as the Green Note was pretty quiet on the night. For some bizarre reason I will never be able to fathom, this apparently has some connection with a football match on telly. Well, anyone who didn’t show up because they preferred to watch that can send me a written explanation.
Nevertheless, we had a good atmosphere and a room of people enjoying the evening. This has a lot to do with the Green Note’s unique vibe, and I very much suspect that all concerned would have had a good time even if there had only been three people in the room.
David & Mark
David Atkinson and I kicked things off with a number of mine, Early In The Morning, with me on the National and David on mandolin. Personally, I’m a great lover of the mandolin and particularly like it played in the blues style, which David is very good at indeed. Mandolin became a main feature of this particular evening, and it was the better for it.
David Atkinson and I kicked things off with a number of mine, Early In The Morning, with me on the National and David on mandolin. Personally, I’m a great lover of the mandolin and particularly like it played in the blues style, which David is very good at indeed. Mandolin became a main feature of this particular evening, and it was the better for it.
DavidDavid then did a couple of solo numbers on my National, Furry Lewis’s Judge Harsh Blues and Blind Willie Johnson’s Nobody’s Fault But Mine (later to get another outing in a wholly different form), showing just what a great musician and interpreter of pre-war blues he is. Top-notch picking, slide and vocals were all on display.
Charles, David, Martin, Dave & MarkThe band came on then, with David going back on mandolin, and we did three of my originals (Sneakin’ Away, Highgate Hill Blues and Your Second Line). Dave Forristal played organ on these, Charles was on his double bass (minus one string – he is currently selling whatever valuable possessions he can find to raise the funds required for a new one, they ain’t cheap) and Martin was on percussion. The combination of those with the National and David on mandolin made for the kind of sound you don’t come across that often. And the chance to play in such combinations is what the evening is all about.
Next up was a welcome first appearance at the event by the excellent Barry Jackson, who played a rather nice Gibson and did terrific versions of songs from the canon of the greats, including Muddy’s She’s Nineteen Years Old. He had Charles’s bass and David on mandolin with him, and this ad hoc trio, with Barry’s accomplished playing and vocal delivery, served up a terrific set.
BarryLaine Hines was next and his was another predictably high-quality set. Laine is a very good example of the individuality I was talking about – he sounds like himself and nobody else sounds like him. He’s got his own vocal and playing style and he takes listeners along with him to wherever he’s at. He was joined by Charles on bass and (literally) a visitor on mandolin – Chris, an Australian passing through London on his way to Canada, as far as I could follow the complex narrative. He showed himself to be a very fine player, leaning towards the bluegrass side of things. He and Charles acquitted themselves very well in keeping up with Laine’s not-always-predictable chord changes and this trio’s set was another very fine one indeed.
Chris & LaineAnother regular, Justin, came next and he did another excellent set on his 12-string, Chris staying up with him on mandolin and Charles and Martin providing rhythm section. Justin’s take on all this seems to be to corner the market in acoustic versions of uptempo numbers usually done electric, and he does this very well. Numbers the blues fan might be very familiar with are turned into something quite different in this acoustic rendition.
More first-timers at the event came next, in the form of James on vocals and harp and CJ on guitar, backed by the full house band of Dave (on piano this time), Charles and Martin. This set was completely different from anything else on the bill all evening, one of the great joys of the event. Blues and boogie piano took centre stage, working very well with James’ very strong vocals and harp playing, CJ’s guitar and the rest of the band. This was a barrelhouse set, a really interesting version of what would elsewhere be an electric set, except that with this you could hear everyone.
The final set came from Graham Hinton and Owen Houlston, in duo form for the first time at this event. Owen played his resonator with a combination of great skill and wild abandon, complementing Graham’s subtle picking very well indeed. Joined by Charles and Martin as rhythm section, they swapped lead vocal duties – Graham’s polished singing contrasting with Owen’s vocal style, for which the word’ gruff’ may very well have been invented. It was excellent, fun stuff, relaxed but tight (well, tightish). Their set had pace and life and closed the evening on a high.
So, another good one. The next one’s on 11th November. If you want to come and listen to what must surely be the best acoustic blues on offer in London, get yourself down for the next one. If you’re coming to play, bring your mates. And doubtless, the next one will be different from the last one.
Mark Harrison
Wednesday 9th September 2009
Another excellent night for what must surely be one of the best events on the blues and acoustic scene in London. A big turnout of quality musicians once again showed just what variety this kind of music can offer, and it was enjoyed by another good-sized audience. All kinds of styles were in evidence and they were served up with a wide range of instrumental combinations.
The house band of myself, Charles Benfield on double bass, Martin Holloway on snare/percussion and Dave Forristal on keys kicked off with a few of my originals – Early In The Morning, Thinkin’ About Nothing, Changes Coming Here and Your Second Line, and I played my oldish Yamaha 6-string and very old National Trojan. The rest of the band were then gainfully employed with the vast majority of performers, adapting to everything asked of them and proving yet again just how good they are. Special mention here perhaps for Charles, who was giving his double bass a debut, and terrific it was too.
Mark, Charles, Martin and Dave
Then came regular visitor Laine Haines, with a predictably top-notch set of his versions of songs by the greats – Blind Lemon Jefferson’s Easy Rider Blues, Pete Wheatstraw’s Preacher Blues and Ishmon Bracey’s Cherry Hall Blues. Laine was joined throughout by harp playerJohnny Appleyard, who gelled instantly and served up some terrific playing.
Laine and Johnny
Johnny stayed up to join Clayton Denwood and the rest of the band for a rousing set comprising Tough Town Blues, Got It Bad For You Baby and Runaway Train. By the time everyone had got to full steam in this set, it was possible to believe my brash suggestion at the start that listeners might not realise that everything was unrehearsed.
Clayton
Established blues artist Big Joe Louis came on next, kicking off with two solo acoustic numbers,Tailor Made and What’s The Matter, and ending with a nice version of the venerable Catfish Blues, for which he was joined by the band andPaul on sax. Big Joe (nice to see such an established artist braving an acoustic set), was followed by first-timer Simon, whose two numbers, one solo and one with the band, kept things going just fine. In what was a packed night, next came Laura Castle, who was joined by the house band, Will Greener (of whom more later) on harp and Tom on a resonator forMovin On and Mighty Tight Woman, Damian Green taking the drum role on the second number. Laura’s set motored along and was much enjoyed.
Big Joe
Simon
Laura
She was followed by another newcomer, Ryan Carr, a Canadian who dropped by to serve up two terrific murder ballads, Butcher Boy and Darling Corry, delivered with panache and humour. This accomplished musician and performer then announced that he had a mandolin concealed about his person, and was instructed to get the thing out and play it in the next set, which he duly did.
Ryan
Good friend of the jam and unique performer Will Greener (aka Captain Bliss) was next up and his set was a real highlight, showing just what the event is about and the heights an acoustic jam can reach. Together with Charles, Martin, Justin on keys and Ryan on mandolin, he led a wholly spontaneous but totally together set that was hugely enjoyed by everyone present. Will’s just the right kind of showman, and he led from the front with Louisiana Red’sWhose Ol’ Funky Drawers Is These? (not the tender love song you might expect from its understated title), Elmore James’ Must Have Did Something Wrong, and the second Sonny Boy’s Bye Bye Bird. Ryan showed that he could play the ass off the mandolin and at one point the interplay and unison thing he got going with Will’s harp was about as good a blast of music as you could hope to stumble on.
Will
Justin followed this with the welcome sight of a 12-string and his highly effective and very individual take on that very same Sonny Boy’s classic Fattening Frogs For Snakes (one of the great blues lyrics) and the much-heard-done-electric but really-good-done-acoustic Messin’ With the Kid, Junior Wells’ signature number. The band joined him on these and together they cooked up something rather fine.
The closing performer was regular and good friend Graham Hinton, who, as it has been remarked before, is a class act. He was exactly that again, running through excellent versions of Robert Johnson’s Steady Rollin’ Man and Driftin’. Graham’s set proved yet again just how good this music can be when a very good singer and player gets together with a very good band of musicians. There’s no doubt that the band and the various configurations of instruments available on the night make for all sorts of great things.
Graham
OK, everyone’s been name-checked now (I might abandon that in future!) and how long it’s taken me to do that is a measure of how popular the event seems to be getting. We had no fewer than 9 sets aside from mine at the start, and it’s great to see how many good people are showing up. This time we had a nice mixture of regulars and first-timers, and long may that continue. We definitely seem to have got something a bit special going here.
A slight downside of that was that I had to cut some sets to 2 instead of 3 numbers to fit everyone in, so we’re looking into maybe starting at 8.30 instead of 9. Another factor this time was that a number of people had left before the end to get their trains to the various far-flung places where they live. This happens at every live music venue in London of course, though it doesn’t always happen at the Green Note. It’s maybe another reason to start earlier, as it’s a shame for things to go off the boil before the end. Maybe we should ask for a show of hands at the start (‘Who commutes from Belgium?’, that sort of thing – I’m not sure I’m joking) so that we can work out the best schedule.
Anyway, it was another terrific evening, with another feel-good vibe and many appreciative responses. A lot of this has to do with the venue itself, which is ideal for this sort of event, and the support and input from Risa and Emilia is much appreciated. Big thanks too to Agneta for doing the door and taking the photos on what was a pretty hectic night.
See everybody at the next one, on 14th October.
Mark Harrison