26 October 2015 (gig)
02 November 2015
Well we have two contrasting but complementing blues based artists at the Jazz Café tonight and an indicator of how vibrant the genre is in this country at the moment.
First up were Federal Charm from Manchester who have that certain swagger and confidence that you know is genuine. And by gum they have the songs. Playing blues based 70’s rock, it’s brought right up to date with a crunchy sound that wouldn’t annoy daytime radio, possibly because the singer has a bit of an American accent. A powerful set, crisply delivered and we are going to hear more from this band.
Joanne Shaw Taylor has been around a while now and according to her latest album and onstage comments, through an emotional wringer too. So we had an impassioned set of blues covering all stages of her career to date. Opening with Mud, Honey we are off down the highways and byways of the blues. Covering the rockier side, traditional and its myriad of sub-genres, Ms Shaw Taylor is well versed and deftly handles them all. The guitar playing almost goes without saying but what sometimes gets overlooked is her voice. Whether handling the groovier, funkier Wrecking Ball, or the more grounded and exposed acoustic numbers she proves to have resonance and a rich timbre.
And there is an acoustic interlude mid-set which may have been to act as a break, and as if to say I’m done relaxing she tears out an outstanding solo during Watch ‘em Burn. Trouble is she does this again in the following song Time Has Come and it rather bloats the latter part of the set. She gets away with it but its bordering on self-indulgence. The solos are reigned in as we draw towards the end of the main set and with a feral The Dirty Truth as an encore, that’s yer lot. All told a very satisfying performance, that left the sold out crowd very happy indeed.
Photo courtesy of Andy Sampson.
