I went to Barleylands' weekly Blues at the Farm for the first time in about 2 years and saw a band called the Dave Jackson Band, bringing something they call 'Doom Blues'.
Dave Jackson Band stepped in front of a merry group at the football club in
Barleylands. Saturday afternoons is 'Blues at the Farm', featuring a different
band each week. This week would prove to be something that would steer off
the traditional blues tracks.
Early on in the set the band claimed they had been tagged as
'Doom Blues', which was intriguing
to say the least. Worryingly a bit
of concern set in during their first
number which sounded a bit 'hippy protest' rather than 'rib crushing doom', but
the down tuned guitar and bass soon kicked in as the set rumbled on like a heavy laden freight train. Really low and
dirty guitar tones mixed with some good technical bass-lines and solid drumming
gave the band an edge that is often lacking from most 'blues' bands that stick
to, what usually sound like,
reworded covers.
An
obvious comparison is a Black Sabbath one, partly triggered by front man Dave
Jackson's long black hair and interesting take on the newer song titles,
including 'I'm not sure what this one is called'. But it wasn't all 'doom' as a
few songs off their first (and currently 'only' album) nodded towards a Robin
Trower or Thorogood style, with rumbustious riffs and brilliant vocals twinned
with the excellent drumming and
complicated bass sections.
Mesmerising guitar solos were in abundance as
some songs took on a life of their own, continuing well into the 6 minute mark
and the whole set tickled the 2 hour mark as the band didn't stop, not even for
a break. One set, no nonsense and it may have not been everybody's cup of tea
but it was certainly how I like my
live music; heavy, low and then a bit lower and heavier.
Dave did begin
to tell a great story of his past life at one point. He began his tale of living
rough in New Orleans, playing gigs just so he could sleep on the floor of a bar,
alcohol being a big problem... before cutting the story short and playing some
more doom blues. He definitely seems
like an interesting character with great guitar playing talent and a great
rock/blues voice. I did have a short chat with him after the gig, where he gave
me a flyer for a free download of the band's first album. I'd have liked to do a
proper interview to find out more about his hard times in New Orleans, but I'll
save that for another day.
Ending the set with a Buddy Guy song and then
Sweet Home Chicago reminded us that they are a blues band and that 'the blues'
is a broader spectrum of music than many are prepared to admit. I can't wait to
hear more 'doom blues' from these guys as it is a sub genre I am intrigued
by.
Want to hear some Dave Jackson
Band? Get to davejacksonband.com
Want blues on a Saturday? Get down to bluesatthefarm.co.uk
Gigs are great, most of the time, so to commemorate such events I have decided to create a blog dedicated to the reviews I write. Most are sent and uploaded to GrapeVineLive.co.uk, under the reader's reviews but there may be one or two that don't make it. All reviews are the opinion of me, Ryan, and therefore probably mean nothing in the greater scheme of things, Be excellent to each other, Ryan
Friday 29 March 2013
Wet Nuns - Birthdays - Tuesday 5th March 2013
A very quick review of Wet Nuns' gig at Birthdays in Dalston Kingsland. Also put on Grapevine's website.
Tuesday is the new Friday (Well, at least it was this week), because I went to a gig to see a fairly new band that seem to be gaining a fair bit of popularity, Wet Nuns, supported by two low and heavy metal bands, which I will go ahead and review first.
Limb were first up. Dirty, low, doom laden riffs vibrated the bones of those in the little underground venue. Vocally more what I would describe as ‘death metal’, lots of grumbling and low screams that mirrored the incredibly low notes played by the guitarist and bass. Not a single high note was struck as Limb continued to drive forward with dread laden bass lines and distortion. They reminded me of the heavier, grungier side of ‘Down’ with plenty of distortion. Whether the distortion was due to a pedal effect or overloaded speakers, I can’t be sure, but the speakers were still working when the next band stepped up so they must have been pretty solid.
Throne are a band I have seen before (the last time I saw Wet Nuns). I didn’t really see much of them the first time around so I was interested to get a full whack of Throne to the ears. Early Black Sabbath must be an influence, that brilliant early metal sound really sounded good in the tiny Birthdays basement. It was like metal distilled to its true origins, brilliant stuff with clean bass-lines and a great feel.
Finally we got some Wet Nuns. I love this band, their EP was released a little while ago (got the vinyl pre order, because, why not?) and since then I have been really looking forward to this gig. I last saw them when they supported Turbowolf at The Relentless Garage last year, but I was stood near the bar then, so this time I promised myself I’d get a bit closer. I was still near the bar, but downstairs at Birthdays the only place you can really stand is ‘near the bar’ due to the cosy size, but the low ceiling helped funnel plenty of noise , which Wet Nuns used to full effect. Bearing in mind they are a two piece they still blasted their flavour of head banging ‘blues punk’ towards our faces. The duo had a great crowd for them tonight and were they up for it with some funny banter between tracks and quite a bit of crowd surfing, but my personal highlight was the song that made me like them in the first place, Laura, I just really like that song. The crowd surfing continued and in the end the guitarist cemented the maniacal style the band possesses by doing a bit of surfing himself. Plenty of sore necks the next day I’m sure, but it think the whole crowd would agree it was well worth it
Tuesday is the new Friday (Well, at least it was this week), because I went to a gig to see a fairly new band that seem to be gaining a fair bit of popularity, Wet Nuns, supported by two low and heavy metal bands, which I will go ahead and review first.
Limb were first up. Dirty, low, doom laden riffs vibrated the bones of those in the little underground venue. Vocally more what I would describe as ‘death metal’, lots of grumbling and low screams that mirrored the incredibly low notes played by the guitarist and bass. Not a single high note was struck as Limb continued to drive forward with dread laden bass lines and distortion. They reminded me of the heavier, grungier side of ‘Down’ with plenty of distortion. Whether the distortion was due to a pedal effect or overloaded speakers, I can’t be sure, but the speakers were still working when the next band stepped up so they must have been pretty solid.
Throne are a band I have seen before (the last time I saw Wet Nuns). I didn’t really see much of them the first time around so I was interested to get a full whack of Throne to the ears. Early Black Sabbath must be an influence, that brilliant early metal sound really sounded good in the tiny Birthdays basement. It was like metal distilled to its true origins, brilliant stuff with clean bass-lines and a great feel.
Finally we got some Wet Nuns. I love this band, their EP was released a little while ago (got the vinyl pre order, because, why not?) and since then I have been really looking forward to this gig. I last saw them when they supported Turbowolf at The Relentless Garage last year, but I was stood near the bar then, so this time I promised myself I’d get a bit closer. I was still near the bar, but downstairs at Birthdays the only place you can really stand is ‘near the bar’ due to the cosy size, but the low ceiling helped funnel plenty of noise , which Wet Nuns used to full effect. Bearing in mind they are a two piece they still blasted their flavour of head banging ‘blues punk’ towards our faces. The duo had a great crowd for them tonight and were they up for it with some funny banter between tracks and quite a bit of crowd surfing, but my personal highlight was the song that made me like them in the first place, Laura, I just really like that song. The crowd surfing continued and in the end the guitarist cemented the maniacal style the band possesses by doing a bit of surfing himself. Plenty of sore necks the next day I’m sure, but it think the whole crowd would agree it was well worth it
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