20 October 2010 (gig)
25 October 2010
Dwarfed by an enormous Gretsch White Falcon guitar Luke Doucet put in a terrific set at the Luminaire on Wednesday.
He was supported by a simple bass and drums backing but his voice and persona were both big enough to carry the set and his guitar playing was just terrific.
He opened with ‘Memphis’ and you could tell that the crowd – pretty good for a very cold Wednesday – was well into him and indeed he has played there in the past so he has begun to build a good following and they went away more than satisfied nearly an hour and a half later.
The Whjite Falcon guitar is one of the classics of Rock & Roll but all too often it is just used as a prop and not really played but Doucet rips sounds out of his that you don’t quite expect – the off-tune scales he features in ‘Emily’ have a wonderful resonance but he also manages to get some real jazzy licks out of the thing as well as some surprisingly good slide.
His songsthough are his genuine strength and the variety in the 16 or so numbers he played showed just how good he really is.
‘Monkeys’ from the latest album - 'Steel City Trawler' - with the White Falcon band was terrific as was ‘Dirty Blonde’ but older numbers like ‘Long Haul Driver’ show that he can do pathos as well as sleaze and ‘Cleveland’ - from the ‘Blood’s Too Rich’ album – had the audience in raptures. He really is a good writer and singer and guitarist – I’d hate him if he wasn’t also a good guy!
There is a huge amount of real talent coming out of Canada at the moment and Like Doucet is right at the forefront – if he is playing in your zone catch him because he is a find.
I was a little unlucky to miss the first half of Tori Sparks set but what I did see convinced me to make a point of checking her out next time she is over – she has a wonderfully tuneful and rich voice and her guitar playing is excellent. Her songs have great melodies and considering she was opening and on her own she got the audience well into her country-tinged stories.
Deer Park were also an excellent support band - something that the Luminaire seems very good at - and the harmonies between Mark Grassick and Steph Green were terrific. Their old-school protest songs were excellent and they have the sound of a band that will go far, given the chance - another one I will be revisiting.
