Wellard Willy

WELLARD WILLIE

The Donkey: 17th September 2023

At the The Donkey Venue this afternoon to see the WELLARD WILLY...

Sammy asked how i was going to review this one... he suggested "just put Fuckin' Brilliant"... yes... that covers it!!

Wellard Willy are a covers band... covering the classic rock hits of the late 60's early 70's for the most part. It is easy to be lazy and dismiss a band as a covers band... but dismiss these guys at your peril... they are awesome!!

The band delivered around 2-1/2 hours high energy blistering rock'n'roll to which it was just impossible to sit still... the pace never let up and the range and choice of covers was excellent... including some surprises... given the presence of Kylie Minogue over the road at the BBC Radio 2 gig on Victoria Park they delivered a rock'n'roll Kylie song... honestly... the punters on the park wont have seen anything as good is this band!!

They kicked off with Alice Cooper's "Schools Out" and ranged through The Stones, Bowie, Small Faces, Deep Purple, Alex Harvey and many more... climaxing with "Delilah", "Wont Get Fooled Again" and a scorching version of "Purple Rain"

The band are so tight and really have a ball... great musicians doing there thing with power, great musicianship, energy and a joy that you couldn't miss. Up front singer and occasional guitarist Jezz is a ball of energy, belting out the songs and dominating the stage... a real showman who knows how to communicate with the audience and does is superbly.

Just a covers band? Forget it... as Sammy said... Fuckin Brilliant!

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Hank Williams Tribute

NICK WHITFIELD/JOHN LEWIS/RUSTI STEEL/HANK WILLIAMS TRIBUTE

The Donkey: 15th September 2023

What a glorious night of celebration at the The Donkey Venue Friday night... As we approach what would have been the King's 100th birthday we were gthered to celebrate the music of the legend.. .the truly great HANK WILLIAMS, surely one of the greatest poets and performers we have ever seen.

The gig started with a cracking set by NICK WHITFIELD, who started gently with a lovely performance of Glen Campbells "Gentle on my Mind" before going up through the gears to a ending with a rousing version of "I Fought the Law" which had everyone singing along. Nick is a great singer and musician and delivered a joyful set of country music in keeping with the spirit of the evening.

Next up was JOHN LEWIS... a simply exceptional set of country and original songs delivered with a huge commitment, a great voice and strident guitar work... The set included a magnificent song about what you can meet having a relaxing swim in the Bristol channel...

Last, and by no means least, up in the first half was RUSTY STEEL. Like the previous two artists, Rusty delivered a superb set of full on country music... Another great voice and guitar work and superbly entertaining.

The fact that I have no memory of what songs any of the guys performed, other than the three named, is I think testimony to the fact i was so engrossed n the overall performances which were upbeat, joyful and wonderful.

After a short interval the three musician joined forces as a trio to deliver a remarkable, joyful and simply brilliant set of Hank Williams classics.. as a trio playing upright bass, guitar and pedal steel.. the sound was authentic, the singing and playing exceptional... and the classics kept coming... If memory serves me rightly, they started upbeat and second song was "Your Cheatin' Heart" which had the audience whooping and singing... a reaction that last through the best part of the 90 minute set.

With a legacy like Hank it is a major decision what to leave out... every song is a winner... I am sure that there were songs nott played that would have been expected or wanted, but every number played was a veritable classic... and played with energy, joy and no little ability.

A remarkable and glorious evenngs entertainment leaving everyone breathless and joyful.

Huge thand to Mick, John and Rusty for delivering such a memorable gig

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Chameleon Dreams #3

HUGH McMANNERS/MAUREEN & THE MUMMERS/PIP GREASLEY & SALLY HOSSACK/ CHAMELEON DREAMERS

Musician Pub: 13th September 2023

This was a different and hugely entertaining gig at The Musician Pub. This ws the third of an occasional series of shows organised by Kenny Wilson to recreate the ambience, psychedelia and creativity through music, song and poetry of the late 60's scene in Leicester, around the Chameleon Coffee Bar, Town Arms and Pheonix among others... a scene i would love to have been a part of but wasn't... but it doesn't stop me loving these gigs and being inspired by them...

So, what of the gig... we started with a solo acoustic set by Hugh McManners. As ever a hugely accomplished and enjoyable set, kicking off with what has become my favourite of his songs, "The Indian". I always find the tone of his guitar is wonderful!! Lovely set from a fine performer... could have done with far more!!

After Hugh, Maureen & the Mummers performed. Difficult to know what else I can say about this band... tonight the band was a four piece with Maureen reciting the poetry, Helena harmonising and Jim and Harley playing drum and saxophone respectively. A different performance by Maureen without the theatricality of the Multimorph shows, but just the basic music and poetry... a single extended piece called "The Kings New Clothes" which was totally spellbinding... While Harley and Jim played brightly throughout Maureen delivered the lyric in her inimitable style while Helena added the lovely harmonies As always a fascinating and hugely enjoyable show.

After a short break Pip Greasley stepped up.. i had only seen him do short cameos before but this longer set simply blew me away... multi-layered and electronic music delivered from a range of keyboards and a laptop set out on the table... Pip built up the layers beautifully to create waves of sound to support the poems, including "Howl" (Alan Ginsberg) and some anti-war pieces. This performance had all the creativity and poetic energy that Kenny is recreating brought smack up to date with the electronic/computer generated music. Towards the end of the set Sally Hossack stepped up to add some ethereal flute and vocals... the overall effect was simply beautiful and transported everyone to an otherwordly place of peace and happiness!!...

After Pip, Kenny Wilson took the stage, assisted by Jacqui Sexton on hand drums... Kenny started with a poem then a song accompanying himself on accordian then picked up the guitar to perform his epic "Chameleon Dreams"... an evolving song evoking the creativity of the times... I am sure most people will know Kenny so all i can say this was Kenny doing his thing with his usual style and quality

Loving there shows, and hopefully wewill get the 4th installment in due course

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Izzie Yardley

IZZIE YARDLEY

Musician Pub 10th September 2023

Tonight at the The Musician Pub we had Izzie Yardley, accompanied by Nick Pini on stand-up bass.

Izzie has a fine voice and a lovely relaxed manner in her singing and her own songs are well crafted slices of life.

Difficult to assess a genre, but the are elements of folk and jazz in there, as a point of reference think 1970's singer songwriters like Nick Drake. Izzie accompanies herself on guitar mainly and on keyboard for a few songs.

Beyond her own songs we had a few covers... "Marlena on the Wall" (Suzanne Vega)... which i felt suited her admirably, "Dirtywork" (Steely Dan) and a Tom Waits song I don't recall hearing before... The highlight for me however was "Love Letters"... a Ketty Lester track (written by Edward Heyman) which was a hit in 1962. Izzie performed this song as a voice and bass duet, and showed her jazz leanings... she also used her voice closer to its full potential and showed she had power and control as well as the gentle smooth tones used for the rest of the set.

Izzie referred to playing with a band... incorporating a loud drummer and electric guitar player... i suspect in this context she would need to stretch her voice more, and demonstrate more of it's full potential... I would like to see her in a different context with the band to see how it works.

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