BO'WEEVIL BROTHERS/HELENA SOFTLY
Musician Pub 19th January 2024
Friday night at The Musician Pub was an epic... the return of the The Bo'weevil brothers, with their special guest, Helena SoftleyFirst up was Helena. She is an accomplished singer/songwriter and has a superb voice. Her performance was totally assured, vibrant and energetic, building a rapport with the audience in seconds. Starting with a lovely gentle version of Bob Dylans "To make me feel your love" before launching into predominantly her own songs.
Her own songs were all top quality, and delivered with so much energy and commitment with that wonderful voice and had the large audience entranced. Her style ranges across so many genres... shades of folk, jazz, rock, soul and some country... all delivered with the same assurance and quality. She finished her solo spot with her rock'n'roll song before inviting the Bo'Weevil Brothers on stage to end with a touching duet on a song she had performed in a band with Al many years ago.
This was a really outstanding performance delivered by a really first class performer...
Then with minimal fuss the fabulous The Bo'weevil brothers were on… The band bring a melting pot of blues and rock’n’roll from the depths of the Soar Delta and deliver it with massive energy and style. They also work hard on their overall performance, however often I see them there is always something new… new songs, different interpretations and different guests performing in a range of styles.
They kicked off with the regular opener, which I think is called “Bring Me Back My Wig Hat” dedicated to those who are like themselves follicle challenged. There was no warning here… the band were in place and before you could think they had crashed into the piece at break neck speed and top volume… and had the room bouncing!
From there on a range of blues from the delta to Chicago and all points between, as well as a country tinged piece sung by Jimmy. The last section of the first half was a departure from the norm with a few acoustic numbers with Jimmy sitting up front playing guitar. This is no Crosby Stills and Nash… even acoustic this is hard driving powerful blues.
The final piece of the half was a hugely entertaining story of Jimmy… but go see the band to hear the story!!
What of the individual musicians… Al Shotter plays blistering harp, on some pieces bass guitar and sings full tilt with gravel in his voice and handles the stage announcements with warmth and clear enjoyment. Jimmy plays the drums.. but that is only part of the tale, he is also accomplished on harp and guitar as well as singing. During the acoustic section Jimmy took Nick’s steel guitar and played some glorious slide… phenomenal given he has only been learning slide for less than 2 months, last but by no means least is Nick.. an absolute master of the guitar and especially a wonderful slide player
The second half carried on where the first left off… with more full tilt blues and the large audience loving every moment. One diversion from previous shows was a Robert Johnson song featuring both Al and Jimmy playing harp with Al singing and Jimmy continuing drumming using just feet.
Helena then joined the band for a cracking “High Heel Sneaker” before another quality guest, Ann Duggan joined them for a overwhelming powerful “Jesus on the Mainline” The band then finished the set as a trio ending with their incendiary version of Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love” with Nick taking the vocals.. Inevitably an encore followed with Helena and Ann singing another high octane gospel piece to leave the audience totally spellbound…
This was a totally outstanding gig, delivered by an outstanding band and outstanding guests
Keep music live… keep music real… support your local venues
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