Review of Braid Real Music Club October and November

Stevie Craig (left)                            During October and November The Braid Real Music Club treated local music lovers to two nights of wonderful blues music in a very pleasant atmosphere. The first night, Saturday 22^nd October, saw the tiered seating gone in favour of a cabaret style setting. This new, more intimate layout seemed to garner favour with performers and audience alike.

That October Saturday evening’s events were initiated by Ballymena’s own Stevie Craig and his new band Cold Shot with John Wilson’s Taste the headlining act. Cold shot are a blues power trio showcasing the guitar wizardry of teen blues prodigy Stevie Craig. Stevie debuted his lead vocals on the night showing that it is not only his guitar that can sing. Brandishing the classic ‘axes’ of choice for guitar icons – the Gibson Les Paul and the Fender Strat – Stevie paid homage to his role models Rory Gallagher, Stevie Ray Vaughan (whose song his band is named after), Jimi Hendrix and our own Gary Moore. Stevie’s versions of these blues rock maestros’ signature tunes such as Pride And Joy, Red House and Thin Lizzy’s Don’t Believe A Word stayed true to the spirit of the originals without being merely copycat covers. This is a young man rapidly developing his own style and more than able to put his own stamp on well-worn classics. Stevie’s very solid rhythm section of Lawrence Dougan on bass and Lynn McMullan on drums never missed a trick, providing him with a sure foundation for free improvisational rein. With the right opportunities this is a young man who potentially could fill the shoes of his heroes such as our own recently departed Gary Moore.

By the time Taste took to the stage the audience were well and truly pumped and although Stevie’s drummer had to fill in for the indisposed John Wilson, this was a trio determined to show they were more than just a tribute act.

The original Taste consisting of Irishmen Rory Gallagher (guitar, vocals), Richard McCracken (bass) and John Wilson (drums) took the music scene by storm in the late sixties and their live album recorded at the Isle Of Wight Festival is still held in the highest regard by blues rock aficionados everywhere.

The legendary Gallagher being no longer with us, that Sam Davidson had big shoes to fill is undisputed. What Sam manages to do, however, is play the songs made so famous by Rory with the same passion and intensity while making them his own. No Taste die hard would have been disappointed with the set list with Bullfrog Blues, Catfish, Same Old Story and Messin’ With The Kid all featuring. Original compositions The Drifter and Daytona Dreaming showed that Davidson is a gifted songwriter in his own right as well as being an able interpreter of Gallagher’s material. We also enjoyed Taste’s tribute to Gary Moore with a sterling version of Walkin’ By Myself. The audience enjoyed the night so much that the encore ran into the curfew and we were left wanting more.

The second night of blues was on Friday 18^th November again in the cabaret setting. Kicking the evening off was Junior Johnson originally hailing from Randalstown. Singer-songwriter Johnson accompanied himself on guitar and harmonica with Johnny Linton providing second guitar and occasional background vocals.

Johnson is a young man with genuine talent. His gravely vocals are somewhat reminiscent of Ray Lamontagne and his lyrics display his gift as an eloquent yet unadorned wordsmith. Songs such as The Last Beekeeper and City Girl told wistful tails of lost love and dismay at the world around him. His last song Take Plenty was a rousing piece of black humour pondering how the little man always seems to get taken advantage of by the big bad world. The crowd particularly responded to this tune and had he more songs in this vein it might give a little more light and shade to a set list with a largely melancholic feel. This is not a major criticism as overall his performance was of a good standard and well received by the audience.

The headliner Brooks Williams is a native of Georgia, U.S.A. who now resides in Cambridge. Not only is Williams a very adept singer and guitarist but his easy, winsome demeanour gave him a big advantage in winning over an audience largely unfamiliar with his work. Equally at home fingerpicking or playing with a bottleneck, we were treated to acoustic blues standards by the likes of Blind Boy Fuller and Blind Willie McTell. The latter’s Statesboro Blues seems a particularly fitting song for Brooks to cover as he himself grew up in the Georgia town. Although he was politely dismissive of Statesboro’s charms, he did no harm to his hometown’s image with his fine version of this classic. The preamble to this song illustrated Brooks’ talents as a storyteller, a gift he put to further use when he told us how he concocted his instrumental Belfast Blues, now a staple in his set. We were also treated to traditional folk ballads such as Peg And Awl, a lament on how modern industry has killed craftsmanship, and for an encore we heard a fine cover of the John Martyn standard May You Never.

Being something of a slide guitar nut, my personal highlight was his instrumental version of Amazing Grace. Williams made full use of the eerie vocal qualities of the slide and infused this Gospel standard with all the blues it could stand. Whether the hymn’s author, John Newton, would not have approved of or recognised the interpretation I am not sure but I think the African slaves he once traded in would have been captivated by it.

Brooks Williams is a musician with charisma, soul, a varied repertoire and bags of technique. This is a rare but very welcome combination and he is well worth seeing if you get the opportunity in the future.

If you have been coming to these events keep it up and next time bring a friend! We would really be delighted to see turnouts increasing. If you haven’t been along to the Braid Real Music Club you really have missed out and I would urge you to make the effort in the future. It provides high quality music at an extraordinarily competitive price in a fantastic local setting. As the boy says, “Sure ye couldnae baet it wi’ a big stick hi!”.

Review by Andy McKinney