Cinelli Brothers/Andy Wales Band
Musician Pub 7th October 2023
Well, saturday night brought a hugely anticipated show to The Musician Pub... the The Cinelli Brothers + The Andy Wales Blues Band.
The evening started with a fine set by The Andy Wales Blues Band. It has been a while since i've seen Andy playing with his band, i have seen him more doing cameos guesting elsewhere, so this was a treat.
Andy is clearly one of the finest guitarists in the area, and covers a range of styles within the blues rock genre. During the set Andy ranged through blues, rock, soul/stax, pop... his own songs and covers.
The band covered "Tainted Love" (Soft Cell) and an old time Stax/Soul track as well as some of Andy's own songs, including "How Long" commenting on the length of time it takes his wife to get ready to go out!
The band, bass and drums, were solid and provided a fine basis for Andy to play.
One of the endearing features of Andy's performance is the total lack of pretension and flash and a sense of modesty... just solid great guitar playing... especially the delicate solo during "Dark End of the Street"
As i said earlier, Andy covered a wide range of material from blues to rock, but on a purely personal level i would have preferred more emphasis on the blues material, which I felt was the stronger area. However, it was a fine set
After the break, the The Cinelli Brothers.. what can you say... this band is bloody awesome.
I confess to being disappointed by the album, but it isnt possible to come close to capturing the power, intensity, joy and brilliance of a Cinelli gig on record... these guys hit the stage and magic happens...they are truly in their element
They all have far more talent than is reasonable in a human!!
They start off with Marco on keyboards, JJ on guitar, Alessandro on drums and Stephen on bass. as the show progressed Marco also played guitar, bass and harp..., JJ added harp and keyboards, Stephen also played lead guitar and tambourine and for one song he played drums while Alessandro got up to play bass... they not only switched between instrument for different songs, but also swapped in the middle of a song, without missing a beat! Oh yes... and all four sing!!
What of the set... i honestly cant name any songs, but within seconds of starting we knew we were hearing one of the very greatest blues/rock bands... but as the set developed we wondered can they maintain this quality and intensity... yes, of course they can, this is the Cinelli's!!... and the set built and built in intensity and power through to the encore (which may have been "I'm a Rocker" by AC/DC) by which time no-one would have been surprised to see the ceiling lift and blow away...
It is impossible to pick out highlights from such a magnificent show, but worthy of note was the drum solo Alessandro delivered towards the end... he did something very few drummers (John Hiseman, Rob Townsend) have done... which was to keep my attention and excitement level throughout... outstanding!! The band took advantage of this solo to change their sweat soaked shirts....
This band is built on musical brilliance... massive energy and commitment and a lot of fun... to repeat... they are bloody awesome...
Huge thanks to both bands and to Carol for such a wonderful night
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