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
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