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
I was there too! Great set. I've seen Dave's band a few times now. It was good to see him having the time to relax and fill out the set.
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