Local bands rock Blues Weekend
By Leah Seator
The sound of the twelve-bar blues wailing out on to the streets of Stromness was a welcome calling for music fans in the county, who were out in full force at the Orkney Blues Weekend.
Screeching guitarists, lap steel players, and men with “moothies”, took residence in many of the Stromness venues, but let it be said, it was the local bands who stole the show this year.
As good as the visitors were – and they were really good – the sheer, awe-inspiring, performances of the local bands, who performed, blew everyone away.
In fact a visiting reviewer from Blues Matters magazine was rumoured to have said that local band, Bad Taste were the best he’d seen all weekend. I could nearly agree…
With six local bands and four visiting acts, the locals were a dominating force – a far cry from the days of the original Orkney Blues Festival, when line-ups featured mainly visitors.
In fact, at that time, blues bands were few and far between in the county. Suddenly, there are enough to fill a festival programme! Surely we have the original Blues Festival to thank for creating such an interest locally, and inspiring so many to air their blues.
Thank goodness, then, that a collective of venue owners and blues enthusiasts stepped in after the final festival in 2005, with a view to keeping this incentive going.
The Stromness Blues Weekend was born in 2006, featuring a smaller, but as enjoyable programme.
Now in its third year, with ten bands on the bill, and a new name, the Orkney Blues Weekend was showing signs of growth.
It certainly had the festival vibe – plenty of visitors from north and south, and many hard-core music fans were out in full force, bringing the quaint setting of Stromness to life, in an otherwise quiet time of year.
My first taste of the action was on Saturday afternoon – and yes, I was supposed to be playing myself at the festival, but hadn’t been organised at the last minute.
If I had a pound for each time I was asked if I was playing, I may well be rich by now, and I admit, I felt like a lost soul with no-one to play with!
Last Train. Picture Tom O'Brien
My own case of the blues soon subsided thanks to the sound of Last Train, in the Stromness Hotel. At only their second outing, the six-piece local act attracted a warm crowd, and were very well received.
I arrived to catch a nice laid back twelve-bar, belted out by a seemingly very tight band – they haven’t been together for all that long, but you would never know.
Singer Kevin Coffey’s voice stood out, and was complimented hugely by harmonica solos from the very-talented Mike Fairbairn, and screeching guitar breaks from Robert MacGregor – himself also a fine rock guitarist, which clearly gives him a unique edge in this genre.
While the band took a blues/rock slant, they didn’t choose to play any of the most obvious choices, sticking mainly to an authentic “bluesy” set, which included Train Kept Rollin’, and Kevin’s own, Chilicoffey Girls. That said, they were far from repetitive, thanks to drummer Kenny Pirie who kept up a steady rhythm, adding some old-time rock n’ roll touches to the set. His work was complimented hugely by bass player Pete Thomas, whose daughter, Emma had joined them on keyboards and at one point, a fiddle.
Mike Fairbairn appeared in another act, under the name, Mike ‘Dup, at 6pm, on Saturday, in the Stromness Hotel.
Miss Noma and Mr Ree with guest Mike 'Dup. Picture Tom O'Brien.
Miss Noma and Mr Ree, aka Catherine Grivas and Michael Moldau, put on a great performance of Mississippi delta blues, featuring Killing the Blues, the legendary Robert Johnson’s Come on in my Kitchen, and the gospel song, I wished I was in Heaven.
Festival organisers had gone all out to cater for everyone in this programme. The festival also offered up free workshops in harmonica, blues/rock guitar, slide guitar and drums, courtesy of local musicians Mike Fairbairn, Robert MacGregor, Mike Mollinedau and Graham Simpson. A look in at one of the later sessions on Sunday suggested a few folk had turned up.
You can’t have a blues festival without a jam, and several musicians arrived to take part in Sunday afternoon’s session in the Ferry Inn.
GERMAN VISITORS Ralf Gotz and Frank Thien enjoying a blues jam in the Ferry Inn. Picture Orkney Photographic.
A special mention goes to Ralph and Frank who had made the trip from Germany, and were accompanied by Pete Thomas on bass, Kenny Pirie on drums, and Steve Amos on guitar.
A great jam emerged over the hour, with the German duo commanding the set which was very well received.
Bad Liars. Picture Tom O'Brien.
A short walk to the Royal Hotel gave us our first taste of the action on Sunday, where the Bad Liars where setting up. This is a band fronted by Lorraine McBrearty, best known for her work in local theatre productions, and it was clear she would give a theatrical performance from the start.
Dressed in a purple and black ball gown, she, and fellow band mates, Mike ‘Noodles’ Henderson, Andrew Want, Dan Rhodes and Dave Stevenson, created a laid-back, old-time swing sound, for the most part, complete with jazzy double bass.
They were reminiscent of Mama’s Brand New Bag, who played at the Orkney Blues Festival in years gone by, but played more mainstream numbers, including Summertime, from Porgy and Bess, right through to Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues.
Their’s was a nice acoustic sounding set, with soft electric lead guitar – perfect for the back bar of the Royal. Lorraine’s fantastic stage presence and natural charm made her an instant hit, and her voice was perfect for the old classics the band had chosen to play. They were a nice variation to many of the other blues/rock bands on the bill.
Then it was over to the Ferry Inn for a quick blast of Last Train again, who managed to sound even better there than they had in the top of the Stromness Hotel the day before.
Bad Taste's singer, Ian Craigie, wowed the crowds at the Orkney Blues Weekend. Picture Tom O'Brien
Back to the Royal just half an hour later, and Bad Taste were setting up. This was the band I was most looking forward to, purely because I have heard all members performing in different rock bands in the past. This, a blues-based band, would be a different kettle of fish, and as it happened, my favourite performance of the weekend.
Dylan Pepper, son of the late, great, session drummer, Dave Pepper is following in his father’s footsteps, having played drums himself from a young age.
He is, without a doubt, a great drummer, with a natural feel for the blues – no doubt he will go on to great things.
Bass player, Marcus Cordock, capably handled the zany bass lines of classics such as Cream’s White Room, and worked the crowd well, cracking jokes and making folk feel every bit a part of the show.
Andrew ‘Pandy’ Taylor showed that not only can he rattle out thrash metal with the best of them at this year’s Battle of the Bands, but he can easily take on the likes of blues legends Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix.
Singer Ian Craigie is a force to be reckoned with as a vocalist.
At just 18, he cites Paul Rodgers as one of his greatest heroes, and you can hear it in his soulful, multi-range voice.
Add a touch of gravel to his silky tones and Ian has captured the heart of blues/rock, and isn’t afraid to give it his everything on stage, even if he, by his own admission, is afraid to speak to the audience.
He needn’t have worried – we could have listened to him sing all night.
The band’s set included Jimi Hendrix’s Red House, a Cream medley, a Stevie Ray Vaughan medley and even a Commitments number, The Dark End of the Street.
The crowd loved them, and the boys even had to take a bow at the end, their magical performance had gone down so well.
Blues with Balls justifying their name! Picture Tom O'Brien.
The next band on the list was BWB, and what a treat they turned out to be.
With Sinclair Bremner on vocals, the top of the Stromness Hotel was alive, as this enthusiastic frontman gave it his all, with a great “bluesy” yell to match his animated performance.
If there was a prize for the most lively performer, it would certainly go to him, and he was backed by a superb band.
Another blues rock outfit, this local bunch put their own slant on numbers such as Stormy Monday, When a Blind Man Cries, and Need Your Love so Bad.
John Pettigrew is a fantastic guitarist, with a style all of his own, and Billy Eunson is a consistently solid bass player.
BwB drummer, Johnny Foulis. Picture Tom O'Brien
Drummer Johnny Foulis put on a great, charismatic performance, and John Swinney gave the band a whole new dimension on keyboards.
Folk were dancing, as yet another local blues band rocked the festival.
Tags: Review