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.

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.

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.

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.

Wednesday 11th November (ctd)

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.

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 & 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

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

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

Wednesday 12th August

A big thanks to all those who came down for the second all acoustic jam at the Green Note last night and helped make it such a great evening - specifically Charles, Martin and Dave who provided most of the accompaniment for the night and to Helen for looking after the sound and the door.

Professor Forristal and I kicked things off with some guitar and piano versions of Howlin' Wolf's Shake It For Me, the gospel standard Walk With Me, and Save That Money, a current favorite of mine originally by Rufus Thomas. We were then joined by Steve Van Deller on mandolin and tore through a couple of Mississippi Sheiks tunes and a tasty original of Steve's, for which he swapped to a Puerto Rican cuatro - surely a first for a blues jam!

Matt Milton provided some dark and wryly humorous originals and a great reworking of the Leadbelly classic In The Pines on guitar and banjo, making the most of the ambiance and the rapt audience. Then Dan Raza played and dropped in a great versions of Hank William's I Saw The Light and Leadbelly's infamous Goodnight Irene. You wait years for some Leadbelly songs and then two show up at once. I might bring my twelve-string next month... Anyway, it showed how versatile and broad the scope of the new acoustic jam can be.

Graham Hinton, good friend and long-time supporter of the GN jam barely had chance to take his coat off before we pushed him on stage. He was joined by holidaying scandinavian Jacob on harmonica who had walked past, saw there was a jam and dashed off to buy a harp especially for the evening. I then accompanied Graham on my National for a tasty Robert Johnson tune and - I think - a Spencer Davis Group number!

Down to two guitars on stage now, which allowed Lane Hines to do his idiosyncratic selection of delta blues, invoking Son House and Bukka White with his free-flowing style and haunting voice. I tried to keep up on slide while thinking we sounded as good as a recently unearthed Paramount 78 record...

The night rolled on and most people made it back on stage for another number or two. We romped our way through Charley Patton's mercurial Screamin' and Hollering The Blues to end the night and it was immensly gratifying how many people made a point to say how much they had enjoyed listening to everyone who played.

So far so good then. Next month Mark Harrison will be back from holiday and we shall continue to welcome players and listeners who are disposed to this sort of sublime mix of bluesy music. It was wonderful having banjos, mandolins and harmonicas plunking, chiming and tootling along respectively to such a consistently high standard; and with the piano too, it was definitely the vibe we were after. It would be nice to hear some violin or accordian, or even a washboard...

See you next time - on the 9th September.

David Atkinson

PS - I'm toying with the idea of introducing a theme song - probably based on Big Bill Broonzy's tune Saturday Night Rub.

Wednesday 8th July 2009

Well, we kicked off the new-look Blues in London jam at the Green Note on Wednesday 8th July. As acoustic jams are not exactly thick on the ground and we’re keen to start something new, it was anybody’s guess what would happen. In the end, the evening was something of a triumph, showing that the idea of an evening of acoustic blues has lots of good possibilities for both players and audience.

I kicked off with an instrumental on the 12-string and a solo number on the National. Rick Webb (Blues in London founder) came up next for a duo number and then the house band joined us for three numbers, all originals. The house band comprised Charles Benfield on bass and Martin Holloway on drums/percussion – one of the fundamentals of the evening is that the drumming isn’t full-volume full kit, but brushes, snare, some bass drum and some things to shake and hit with the hand. It was also meant to include ‘Greasy’ Dave Forristal on keyboards (and hopefully it will in the future), but an injury ruled him out this time.

Six singer/guitarists came to play, four of whom were not familiar faces at previous jams. They each did three numbers. First up was Clayton – nice voice, good player, interesting repertoire. He gelled well with Charles and Martin from the off. Then came Dan (pictured above with Charles and Martin), again excellent, with rack harmonica adding something to the mix and again playing with the house rhythm section. Justin came next, with the band and on a 12-string, doing his own take on the blues and augmented by Lindsay on electric guitar. Lindsay played sparingly and tastefully through the very small amp, showing that the idea that electric players can fit in as sidemen with the main acoustic fare can work.

The excellent Graham Hinton was next, a class act doing traditional blues songs with polish. The house rhythm section and ‘Harmonica Phil’ blended very well with him. He was followed by Made Jay, a newcomer to the venue, who brought the house down thrashing the hell out of a metal National and doing Son House and Robert Johnson songs with every bit as much passion as the originals. He was a compelling act, breaking two strings such was the seeing-to the guitar was getting, and carrying on regardless like a man possessed. The standard didn’t take any kind of dip at all when he was followed by Laine Hines, a terrific, quieter performer with a fine voice. The house band were back on now, having had a brief break and together the three of us rounded the evening off with another couple of my originals.

The venue was full from the start, with a listening audience that responded very well to the music dished up. The sound was nice and clear, and people could talk at a normal volume, without having to bellow over the music. But the evening put paid to any idea that acoustic means quiet or twee. There was just as much power and presence as with electric blues, just not as much volume. Everyone could hear everything.

So we uncovered some very good people and we kind of proved a point. There was a feel-good air to the evening and it was agreed by audience and players alike that it had been a great success.

No disrespect to any of the electric jams all over town (and we’re all participants in those too). But what we’re trying to establish here is something different, where acoustic players can do their thing, which is every bit as valid as anything with lead guitar solos in it.

If this takes your fancy, come down to the Green Note every second Wednesday of the month. And bring your friends. If you want to hear something different in the blues, including some people doing original material, come and listen. If you play and sing, the only thing to remember is: keep the material reasonably simple for people to pick up straight away – you’ll be with some fine musicians, but too many chord changes are going to end up with furrowed brows and reduced audience enjoyment. At its best, people playing a number together for the first time can sound like a tightly-rehearsed unit, as we had on this opening night. And one final thing – it would be good to have as wide a range of instrumentalists as possible joining in – mandolin, fiddle, banjo, hand percussion, accordion, flute, sax as well as harp and guitar would be more than welcome.

I won’t be here for the next one, 12 August, which David will be running. I’ll be back for September 9th.

Mark Harrison

Your hosts for the evening...

Mark ‘Made in 1934’ Harrison

David ‘Seaside Dave’ Atkinson