I went on reputation and on a whim and it was a good show. Beth is a fantastic singer and had a touch of the Janis Joplin's about her both in the intense singing style and the high maintenance personality. First up was an acoustic duo who introduced themselves as half of the normally electric Kris Barras Band. They were very good playing high energy bluesy rock with Kris on lead and rhythm guitar and Josiah Manning on rhythm guitar and percussion/bass (via feet). I particularly liked the rhythm guitar from Josiah that was fast enough to be frenetic. The only song I knew was 'Midnight Rider' and it was a good version (although having heard Greg Allman perform it many years ago it was not the best version I have seen!) but all the stuff was enjoyable. Kris had a slightly irritating personality but a good singing voice.
Beth's band comprised of her on vocals, piano and occasionally guitar, Jon Nichols on guitar, excellent drumming from Bill Ransom and Tom Lilley on bass. But she was front and centre for the show belting out vocals in fine style.
I didn't know many of the songs but that wasn't necessary to enjoy the intense experience. I remember 'War on My Mind'(title track of the recent album), 'Sugar Shack' and 'Tell her you belong to me' but actually every song was delivered with power and emotion. There was an acoustic session which was particularly powerful in its understated style and a solo piano song to finish with 'Woman Down'. An excellent gig - 2020 is going well so far gig-wise.
No comments:
Post a Comment