Best gig yet for The Bad Liars
Victoria Olson
BEST DRESSED BAND: From left, Andrew Want, Mike Henderson and Lorraine McBrearty.
THE award for best dressed band at this year’s event goes to The Bad Liars, who made a special effort to get the Rockabilly look right for their gigs with their clothes, shoes and hair.
I caught their Saturday night gig in the Ferry and it was fantastic – the crowd’s reaction was overwhelmingly positive and the band also felt it was one of their best performances ever.
The Bad Liars are Lorraine McBrearty on vocals, shaky egg and train whistle, Mike Henderson on lead guitar, Andrew Want on guitar and harmonica, Dan Rhodes on double bass, and Dave Stevenson on drums.
They had a sixth member for the weekend, with a special guest appearance from Dave’s brother, Dougie Stevenson on lap steel guitar.
With their unique brand of blues which includes more than a hint of jazz and country, The Bad Liars certainly were a breath of fresh air at the Blues Weekend.
Covering great artists such as Elvis, Johnny Cash, Bessie Smith and Nina Simone, they belted out classics such as Midnight Shift, Give Me a Pigfoot, Blue Angel, Wild
About My Loving’, Blue Moon of Kentucky, Work Song, Big Bad Handsome Man, T’aint Nobody’s Business, Early in the Morning, Boom Boom, Moving On Over.
Stand outs included a particularly boisterous version of Got My Mojo Working -which led one energetic dancer to tell Lorraine ‘your voice is too big for my feet’ – and the exhilarating Johnny Got a Boom Boom, which featured a perfect slap bass intro.
The note-perfect melding of Feeling Good into Summertime, and Mystery Train into Fulsome Prison Blues also worked a treat.
The packed bar wouldn’t let them leave without an encore and The Bad Liars gladly obliged; Sam Cooke’s Bring it on Home to Me a fine choice to end a fine show.
Dougie Stevenson on lap steel guitar
A professional musician and producer at record label Scotdisc, Dougie has recently returned from touring with Stella Parton – Dolly’s sister. His parents retired to Orkney 23 years ago and although Dave moved here as well, Dougie stayed in Glasgow.
“Last time I played in Orkney was with Boxcar Willie, a lot of years ago,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve played with my brother; he told me we had to get a gig in Orkney sometime so this is it. The blues is new to me, so I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was really good. I might think about doing more blues in the future.”