Rock of Ages Radio Show

 The Hop Pocket was filled to capacity with in excess of over two hundred blues and ‘live’ music fans clamouring for great performances from the six fine bands and acts who had been selected to appear in The Northern Heats of The New Brunswick Battle of The Blues.

The first band to hit the stage were the Mighty Revelators from Bury who opened up their set with some uptempo blues/swing numbers which they delivered with some stylish and complementary guitar work from Rick Lucas and Mark Hopkins. In-spite of some initial teething problems with one of the mics the band soon stepped up into top gear and really proved why they had been chosen for this competition, living up to their reputation as an emerging ‘tour de force’ on the North West Blues circuit.

The second act to take the stage was Burnley chanteuse Lucy Zirins tipped by many for greater things. It was hard to believe that someone of eighteen years of age could sing the blues and captivate the audience with convincing interpretations of such blues standards as “Death Letter Blues”. Surprisingly it was Miss Zirins own material which was outstanding and bore the hallmarks of a first class songwriter who is developing her own engaging musical style. Sensitive guitar work and superior complimentay vocals won the hearts of the audience, but above all her stagecraft and natural rapport with the audience made this a memorable performance.

The Revenues were the next to ‘hit the boards’ and gave us a shot in arm of high energy R & B and were reminiscent in style to the early Yardbirds. This young band were undoubtedly one of the great musical revelations of the evening and performed some inspired original compositions which had pace and conviction sung with great guttural vocalisations by guitarist Joss Owen who drives the band hard with his infectious hard drinking carousings of youth. Their music has an immediacy full of boundless energy that delivers the goods, these boys are certainly a band to watch out for.

Lee Bates & Billy Newton were next to entertain, and that’s exactly what they did. This North East acoustic duo have been great ambassadors for the blues for many years. Lee Bates plays resonator and acoustic guitars and sings, accompanied by Billy Newton who plays harmonica to great effect. Lee Bates has a natural connection with an audience and is extremely adept as a raconteur introducing his songs and engaging the audience with gritty Geordie humour which was evident from the outset. One of the highlights was Brampton Blues a self composition based on the trials and tribulations of performing musicians. This duo are a great credit to themselves and the music they make and impressed us with their performance, their determination to be true to the blues, and above all a self belief in themselves as performers.

Chris James was the penultimate act to take the stage and is another seasoned blues singer and acoustic slide player who shouted class from his very first chord. Mr James is a superb guitarist with an equally distinguished and memorable voice to match. There were some very able ‘blues covers’ but once again it was his own self penned songs that won the audiences unwavering attention. There is a great sincerity in this artist’s music which makes him stand out from the crowd and this obviously stuck a chord with the competiton judges also.  

The Mark Thornley Band were the last band to take up position centre stage lifting off with a blistering powerhouse blues/rock set of three hand picked pieces of musical mastery which reminded everyone what a consistently dynamic outfit they have been over the last few years. Mark Thornley is the archetypal all action ‘guitar’ hero who somehow pushes his performance well beyond the known boundaries, becoming a musical demigod locked in mortal combat slaying his demons with every known guitar convulsion and sustained string bend in the book and a many that are not!  A truly stunning performance from this power trio which was a befitting grand finale to a fabulous evening of entertainment from the ‘creme de la creme’ of blues acts in the North of England.

The Competition Judges were always going to have difficult choices to make.

The judges for this heat were Lisa Gagnon who was representing New Brunswick Tourism. Mark Olly TV Presenter of “Lost Treasures” and Neil Aspinall local musician & educational music teacher.

The winner was announced at 10.30 by competition organisers Lee George and Lisa Gagnon.

Chris James was chosen by the judges to be the winning act with The Revenues and The Mark Thornley Band as runners up.

Chris James will now appear in the final at the legendary 100 Club in London on the 29th March.

The runners up will go to an online public voting system on  http://www.tourismnewbrunswick.co.uk/ 

This event ranks as one of the most successful and enjoyable musical evenings I have ever been involved with and my personal thanks and admiration goes out to everyone who was involved in the Northern Heats. In particular a great debt of gratitude is owed to Lee George and Lisa Gagnon for giving these musicians a platform and the exposure they so rightly deserve.

My special thanks and appreciation to everyone who turned up on the night and supported the musicians in our quest in “Keeping Live Music Live” at BJ’s.

Lucas Campbell

Papa Legba are a new band who have recently appeared on the Northwest live music circuit and they are already starting to make a name for themselves as a more than competent power blues rock trio who can deliver the goods.

Another great turn out at BJ’s Blues Club were about to witness one of the most awe inspiring performances ever seen at the club by this flegeling Merseyside band who have been together in this form for less than a year !

Papa Legba started their first set with a rousing powerhouse high energy rendition of “Crossroads” with Graham Brighouse on his vintage Ludwig drum kit making his presence felt immediately. Mr Brighouse’s aggressive but controlled style of skin attack raised the dynamics of the song onto the bands own frequency, he is certainly one of the most gifted percussionists to grace the stage at BJ’s.

The bands second song, an earthy but polished version of “Norwegian Wood” was equally outstanding, especially for the vocal harmonies from brothers Alan & Scott Crawford who have skillfully crafted a Beatles Classic to fit neatly within their own style, a truly great interpretation of this song !

We were treated to some more contemporary material in the form of ”Back to Black” by Amy Winehouse followed by a blistering rendition of “Killing Floor” with some astonishing high speed fretboard guitar rhythms highly reminiscent of the ‘67 version by the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

The second set was a great balance of high energy material with an unusual of version “Crawling Kingsnake” and an atmospheric take on the Rory Gallagher classic “A Million Miles Away”. Scott Crawford on five string Bass underpinned the bands driving energy sound with some sterling bass playing and gave an extra depth and dimension to the bands performance with his excellent backing vocals.

Alan Kitwana Crawford is a sensational guitar player and a quality vocalist whose musical identity taps directly into the legacy of the blues and his own musical heritage. If there is any truth behind the legend indelibly written into the myths and stories of the delta blues musicians of the 1920’s that Papa Legba is the spirit that controls the crossroads and is able to dispense musical lalents, then this band who now bears his name have without question been down to the crossroads to receive the keys to the highway.  We can only hope that this spirit and passion will enable them to reach their destination.

The Section have been one of the great stalwarts of the Northwest’s live music scene for over twenty five years and have always been firm favourites at BJ’s with their uncompromising hard driving R&B sound.

The band had a full complement of five superior musicians with new boy Jeff Wilkinson doubling on keyboards & guitar adding extra depth & texture to the sound further augmented by timely hamomica licks by Dave Beesley. The crowing glory of this band must surely lay with Mick”The Governor”Taylor who is always outstanding with his ‘rock solid’ bass playing and a powerful soulful voice that most pros would die for.

Mick drives his bass right through Doctor Feelgood country and the band follow eagerly into high octane rocking renditions of “Milk and Alcohol” and a storming version of “Baby Please Don’t Go” made famous by Them. Truvel Thomas on drums keeps up the momentum and still has time to share in the rapport that the band have with each other, adding nicely to the atmosphere of the evenings musical proceedings. Another unsung hero in the form of guitarist Steve Pollard was also ‘on song’ managing to achieve a superb overdriven rock sound on some of the more raunchy ZZ Top covers. Even the obligatory “Stormy Monday Blues” was delivered with emotion and captured the true spirit of the blues with outstanding vocals.

This was by far the most impressive performance by The Section at BJ’s to date. We were all left in no doubt that this is one of the finest and most musically compatable outfits on the circuit today, it really does not come much better than this!

Another ‘full house’ at The Hop Pocket for the return of Al Dickinson and his band who have become firm favourites at this premier North West venue, which has now become a mecca for devotees of the blues and quality live music.

The backing musicians, Hugh Bradley on bass & Leigh Stoddard drums were of the highest calibre  complemeting Al Dickinson’s diverse musical range of material with genuine enthusiam, exploring and maximising the true depth of his compelling music. 

The songs were a mixture of ‘covers’, traditional songs and original compositions which I would define as Country Blues/Americana with elements of folk and rock. Al Dickinson has been compared vocally to Chris Rea, but in truth to my ears it is his rough gritty natural vocal intonations that lends itself perfectly as a poweful medium for his own compositions which speak from the heart. The guitar playing was outstanding too, equally a home on slide or standard tunings, Al Dickinson slots his chords and licks neatly into the groove on each and every hand picked musical offering. The highlights of the gig were a rip roaring version of “Messin’ with the Kid” and a breathtaking performance of ”Sultans of Swing”.

There was also a tantalising glimpse of things to come on the forthcoming album with an emotional rendition of “Black Diamonds”, a self penned musical gem which is a true measure of this man and his music. A truly memorable performance!