Simon Honeyboy Hicklin

SIMON HONEYBOY HICKLIN

Musician Pub 17th December 2023

Last night the @Musician Pub welcomed an old favourite back... Simon Honeyboy Hicklin and his band.

Simon has been gigging for 50 odd years and knows his trade and how to deliver a fabulous show... as he proved again in last nights barnstorming performance.

No messing about, no preamble, the band took the stage, signalled they were ready to go and Simon blasted into some powerful harmonica playing, accompanied by the band.

The band is the familiar line up... Bob Wilson on guitar, Frank Marker on bass and the return of Tony Bayliss on drums... these three are hugely talented musicians and their togetherness with each other and with Simon is astounding. The band are incredibly tight and rock like crazy... Simon as ever plays superb harmonica and sings in a postive confident way leading the band through a long list of numbers, both familiar and less known

Simon left the stage once during each half to give Bob a chance to showcase his terrific guitar work, in the first half on a Freddy King number, "The Tremble" which also gave Frank a chance to deliver a fine bass solo... and in the second half for a spirited performance of "Green Onions"

This show started with huge enrgy and developed and built up perfectly through out the evening... if i have a criticism, it is that after a shortish first set we had an even longer break before the second set... however any misgivings there were blown away by the second set, which covered at least 90 minutes... and never let up in power and energy, but continued to build until the absolutely monumental climasx of the set...

No two ways... Simon is a charismatic perfromer, brilliant harp player and a singer... and he leads a superb band fully in tune with his every step...

This was my last gig for the year... and the third of three superb gigs over the weekend... and this was an absolute gem...

Simon and the band... superb performance... superb gig...

Keep music live... keep music real... support your local venues

Muddibrooke/Hex Poseur/Sleep in Motion

MUDDIBROOKE/HEX POSEUR/SLEEP IN MOTION

Soundhouse 16th December 2023

Change of venue tonight for a trip to the The Soundhouse Leicester, and this was not a gig for the faint-hearted.

This started quietly with a hugely enjoyable set by 2/3 of the band Sleep in Motion who were sadly reduced to a two-piece by the illness of the bassist Lewis Braid. The remaining pair of Alex Smith on box drum and Ryan Brooks on guitar and vocals took the situation in their stride and delivered a very good confident set... a couple of originals, a couple of covers including "Country Roads" and ending with the promised Christmas song.. a very robust version of "Fairy Tale of New York"

Musically they are hard to categorise, especially being a man down... Alex sits on the drum box and bangs away with energetic rhythms supporting Ryans strident guitar and at times angry sounding and abrasive vocals...

A really good start to the evening, a really enjoyable set.

I had a dilemma tonight... three gigs in different venues, all of which i wanted to go to... so what was the deciding factor to persuade me to go to the Soundhouse... it was the presence of the name Hex Poseur on the bill. I described this band recently as one of the most exciting bands around, and they lived up to that again tonight with another storming set. Whenever I have seen the band play I have had conflicting views in mind... one being "what the hell happened there?" the other being "dont give that a thought... it was exciting and intense and i loved it"

The band are variously described as Punk, Garage and Thrash Metal... whatever the description, the band are wonderful!!.

Holly Osborne's bass playing is powerful and relentless and Jacob Wakeling on drums is a real powerhouse... this pair give an awesome backdrop to the mercurial buzzing screaming wonderful guitar playing and powerful screamed vocals of Hex.

The intensity and power of this band is amazing, and you cant imagine it without seeing them live where they are absolutely formidable. This really is an exciting and wonderful band...

Finally we had MuddiBrooke powerful grunge/rock band from Derby. Another power trio featuring guitar/vocals, bass/vocals and drums. The drummer (whose name i sadly didnt catch) provided a solid consistent beat, and an at times flambouyant approach to his kit... Brooke Harriet McDonnell plays fiery guitar and sings... She has a great rock voice, being able to deliver rasping rock vocals and smooth more tender tones with equal conviction while bassist Anna Mellidome plays positive rocking bass throughout and adds backing vocals. It was also great to see the two of them interacting together and with the audience and clearly enjoying what they do.

They deliver predominantly original material but did one cover... which was very familiar but i sadly cant place it... and ended with cracking rendition of a Johnny Cash song, "Sam Hall" (though this song originated in the english music halls many years earlier)

Another powerful, intense cracking set delivered by another quality band...

Full marks to all three acts, all of which delivered in great style... in what was a cracking good gig.

Keep music live... keep music real... support your local venue

Dawson Smith & the Dissenters/Andy Wales Band

DAWSON SMITH & THE DISSENTERS/ANDY WALES BAND

Musician Pub 15th December 2023

Sometimes you just know... and heading to the venue tonight we knew this was going to be a great night... and it was...

The Musician Pub tonight hosted Dawson Smith's Birthday Bash featuring Dawson Smith & the Dissenters and the Andy Wales Band

We kicked off with the Andy Wales Band who delivered their customary superb set. Andy is one of the very best guitar players around, far from flamboyant or showy, he simply stands and plays superb guitar and sings. The band is made up of two for the very best musicians around, Chris Dezelu on Bass and Nick Murphy on Drums. Nick is a great drummer, he plays with a dextrous light touch or pummels the kit as required, while Chris plays powerful fluent bass, between them forming a formidable rhythm section. Andys guitar playing is fluent and eloquent, always understated and restrained and of the highest quality.

The bands set showed several changes to the set we heard just a few weeks earlier but maintained the lovely balance of familiar and unfamiliar songs... covers including among other the now standard "Tainted Love", the superb "Dark End of the Street: as well as delivering a very different Christmas song , " Back Door Santa" and ending by dipping into the songbooks of John Mayalls Bluesbreakers ("Key to Love") Motorhead ("Ace of Spades") and Hendrix ("Bold as Love")

This was a simply scintillating set by a really great band... superb.

Then on to the headliners... Dawson Smith & the Dissenters.

The band features Howard Smith on guitar, Steve Burton on Bass and Joe Burton on Drums as well as Dawson on guitar and vocals.

The band delivered a glorious set of East Midlands Welsh Americana Rock'n'Roll... gripping and uplifting from the first moment to the last.

Great to see Dawson and the band back on the boards, clearly loving what they are doing and on top of their game. The excellent Steve and Joe provide a powerful and rhythm section rocking along throughout the set while Howard plays superb guitar.

Dawson is a familiar and charismatic performer playing great guitar and singing predominantly original songs, including classics like "American Cars" "Little Boy Blue" and "Grandpa George" among others. This band also simply deliver great music without tricks or flamboyance... just solid, wonderful music without tricks or novelty. The set was beautifully paced building up throughout to a heavily rocking final section which saw Howard playing some wonderful slide guitar and the dancers in full flight.

A totally uplifting gig... two great local bands at the height of their power delivering great and hugely enjoyable sets... the sort of gig that sends you out into the night with a broad smile and looking forward to the next one

Keep music live... keep music real... support your local venue

Bondurants

BONDURANTS 

Musician Pub 12th December 2023

Tonight the excellent The Bondurants came down from Leeds to play their first ever gig at Musician... and they were a real breath of fresh air. They play a hybrid rock/country/americana style delivering mainly their own songs, with a smattering of covers of bands that have influenced them, among others Creedence and Springsteen. Bassist (Dave) plays solid rhythmic and driving bass while the drummer (Liam) actually plays the drums rather than thrashing them and between them they are a mighty rhythmic and melodic rhythm section at the heart of the band. The two guitar players work together perfectly... Matthew playing silky lead and proving you don't have to set the volume to 11 to deliver superb guitar lines... while Ed switches seamlessly between guitar and pedal steel. For me the highlights of the show were the passages where guitar and pedal steel worked together and delivered some beautiful passages together. Up front Simon plays strident acoustic guitar and sings in a strong clear voice... and diction that means you can actually hear all the lyrics and appreciate the quality of the song writing.

The band had a great rapport amongst themselves and with the audience which is a delight to see.

The band are clearly serious about their music and keeping up standards, but play with a freedom and spriti tht is contagious.

Without doubt, The Bondurants are a really fine band and tonight delivered a fine and hugely enjoyable set

Keep music live... keep music real... support you venues

Spellgaze/The Sydneys/Jesse Dante

SPELLGAZE/THE SYDNEYS/JESSE DANTE

Musician Pub  5th December 2023

As ever this thursday night showcase gig, courtesy Paul Collins was a winner... A chance to see three new emerging acts going through their paces and each delivered in fine style.

Opening the proceedings was JESSE DANTE, a quality singer songwriter. Jesse has a fine clear voice with excellent diction, sings well and plays strident guitar... not necessarily a lot of delicate finery but this was a very positive assured performance which i thoroughly enjoyed.

The set was predominently self penned, and included a couple of covers, neither of which I knew

Jesse's final song was written during a time of severe mental distress and warrants much further attention... the subject matter, the song and his entire approach to the issues of mental illness were touching and inspirational...

Keep up the great work Jesse

Second up was THE SYDNEYS a young four piece punk style band... almost impossible to realise that this was just their second ever gig... they played the whole set with a confidence, assurance and style which you would normally associate with an experienced established band. Not only that, but the music was damn good!!

Closing out the evening was another punk style band, SPELLGAZE, a band that got together in around Janauary and and started gigging in the spring. Although hampered by some technical gremlins they also delivered a hugely positive, assertive and hugely enjoyable set. The performance is very physical and visual and holds the attention... as much as I loved the set, i found it harder to warm to this band and suspect they could prove to be a bit marmite... that said... loved the performance

So... three great sets... a hugely entertaining night... and great to see more new talent following in the footsteps of their more illustrious predecessors.

Keep music live... keep music real... support you local venues