Pick, slide and twang: time travelling with the blues. There's some old, some new, some borrowed and all blue, tinged with alt.country, swing...
From 1920s blues on a Hawaiian guitar to Melbourne's own Nicky Del Rey & the Snowtown Social Club, Clinkerfield, Miserable Little Bastards and Brothers Grim & the Blue Murders, we closed with an early Robert Randolph to segue into his latest T-Bone Burnett–produced release. And thanks, Matt, for the borrowed component!
‘Rain on the vein’, Clinkerfield, Wash Willie’s winter away with whiskey VI is from Clinkerfield's album a head full of rain & a heart full of puddles. This version recorded live on PBS at the Tote gig on 25 July.
The charismatic Jimmy Stewart, back from NYC and WA, continues his never-ending Tuesday-night solo residency at Collingwood's Gem Bar & Dining Room, with his 100th Gem show looming in September. Great food and we like the jugs of Lil Creatures too. Long a favourite of the Rainbow's Chick Ratten, Stewart is a performer with an encyclopaedic song book; he trolls through a century of musical styles in a night and, as we've shown in our first track with his band Clinkerfield, he has a fine songwriter's ability to speak the unspeakable. Jimmy Stewart, please cut that solo CD.
Two cautionary tales followed.
First up, ‘Don’t sell it – don’t give it away’, from Oscar 'Buddy' Woods, Slidin’ on the frets: the Hawaiian steel guitar phenomenon (Yazoo), who was inspired to take up the steel guitar after hearing a travelling Hawaiian troupe in his hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana.
Second, Jimmy’s other band, Miserable Little Bastards, with ‘Leave it alone’,
Wash Willie’s winter away with whiskey VI.
Brothers Grim are 'four blues hounds reviving ’20s blues in an unwholesome, moon-howling, sweat-dripping, groin-shaking fervour'. We heard ‘Dirty Dog’, Brothers Grim & the Blue Murders, Wash Willie’s winter away with whiskey VI.
Last Saturday night we caught the Moonee Valley Drifters turning 25 at the Old Homestead Inn, now the Recreation Hotel. Next week they're at the Lomond and Craig Horne & the star-studded Hornets take the baton at the Recreation.
‘Down yonder’, Nicky Del Rey & the Slowtown Social Club, Dead pig heaven – We caught up with Drifters guitarist Nicky Del Rey, so couldn't resist a track from his new outing, and even more specially cos it's penned by Louisiana's dearly departed Snooks Eaglin.
‘Calypso’, from pedal-steel maestro Robert Randolph & the Family Band, came from his 2004 Grammy-nominated album Unclassified. I remember him at the New Orleans Jazzfest when Sacred Steel was new in the steel-guitar lexicon, leaving the crowd first open-mouthed then standing and hollering for more.
Next show Wednesday, 15 September
