Gigs A Plenty -Recently Discovered Covers #7
Warm Up To The Easter Flood Of Music
Prior to this burst of music, I had spent the 3rd and 4th of March at the St Kilda Blues Festival. Louis King was hopping and Smokestack Rhino from the Yarra Valley sent home the crowd sweaty, smiling, and beer-soaked from George’s Lane.
The 5th of March found me at the Northcote Theatre with a bunch of other shitkickers to hear Charley Crockett on his first tour of Australia. The place was packed for a Monday night so not too much room for dancing.
Charley has quite the schtick and to me, he is a combination of Dwight Yoakam meets George Jones. The band was slick and tight and so was Charley. With a show that had a massive 32 songs, he kept the pace of the show moving right along so there was hardly a dull moment.
With 11 albums in 8 years, Crockett gave the audience what they came down for. The out-of-sync jigging, pogoing cowboy-hatted dude just in front of me, was so excited I thought he would wet himself. Between the originals, Crockett gave us some Tanya Tucker, George Jones, Willie Nelson, and James Hand numbers.
He kept the crowd moving and shaking on a Monday night so hats off to Charley. With the size of his crowds down here, he will be back soon.
The Eilen Jewell Quartet rolled into The Espy in St Kilda on the 15th of March. She may be in the same Americana genre as Crockett, but she brings a more soulful and bluesy sound to her music. You can also throw in a bit of surf guitar, classic rock, and whatever else when you have Jerry “Coldblooded” Miller playing guitar.
Jerry and Eilen have been talking about doing a duo tour for a while and we are lucky that we got the full band on this tour. Based on a recent press release for her new record Covid messed around with her life, as it did with many, and she lost her husband, but he still continues to play drums in the band. How Fleetwood Mac!
Jewell has had 10 releases in the last 18 years and a new one on the way in 2023. She gave the audience a chance to decide if they wanted a new song or an old one. She was as taken with Miller on his instrument as the crowd at one point while Jerry played and got to the end of his solo, she smiled and said, “I just don’t want him to stop.”
The cruisy “Rain Roll In”, a delightful “High Shelf Booze” and the closing “Green River”(Creedence Clearwater) were just some of the highlights.
Ben Waters has been on my radar for some years as a boogie-woogie piano player. Waters is from the UK and is known for playing with many artists there including that little band from London called the Rolling Stones.
Waters loves Australia and loves to travel and after hearing in 2019 that he might be retiring from touring, it was good to have him back in Australia. The venue for this gig was the Eagle Ridge Golf Course on the Mornington Peninsula here in Victoria. There are some rooms such as The Fillmore in San Fran, Radio City Music Hall in NYC, and others that add to the value of any gig. This venue may not be on the list of places to be seen or heard at, although the sound was fine and dandy.
This venue was based in what I would assume is the clubhouse and entertainment area of this course. When I arrived the average age of the punters was well above mine and there were only about 30 people there. The gig was due to run from 530-9 PM.
I made a rookie error on this St. Patrick’s Day and did not check to see what time Ben was on. I had some time to kill so in honor of the Irish and their patron, I started necking some pints of beer and some hash from a foreign land.
Bring on Ben, Ash Davies, Sweet Felicia, Clive Ashley, and Ian Jennings and the room was ready to rock. Boogie Woogie dancing is one of my favorite things to do and Waters can deliver in spades. Within a few songs, the ones that could dance were up and moving and everyone else was rocking in their seats.
Ben also met a kid named Harry during the set break who could play some piano. There was a piano in the lounge area of the club and between sets, they played some awesome piano together. Later on, Harry was invited up and ran the band through a number. Harry is 16 and I do not have a surname yet, but he seems like a kid to watch out for.
Last night found me at The Thornbury Theatre for the co-headlining show of William Crighton and Liz Stringer. Crighton and his very tight band included the iconic Jeff Lang on guitar. William is a preacher for trying to live your life in a positive and loving way. Respect for your lover, your fellow man, and the land so I stand right alongside him with those beliefs. Right on….
Having seen William a number of times and up at Dashville with Langy before, when they rocked they really crushed it. “Your Country” and “Lost Without You” are two numbers that go into that crusher!
Liz Stringer was having a few issues with the sound when she came out this evening. Then she kicked into a song called “Casey” and part of the way through it she brought it to a halt. She had commenced the song in the wrong key and laughed with her band about it. She hit it off again in B flat and part of the way along again she called it to a halt and said I am never playing that song again. The human side of rock and roll and what can happen on any night.
After a few more numbers, I was thinking more about being in my bed than I could concentrate on the music, so I can’t tell you how the cover of “Golden Age” (Midnight Oil) went, but I am sure they had it in the correct key.
William and Liz have a few more shows in NSW up until April 1st so I highly recommend you get along to see them.
Easter is coming and the influx of International Acts will be keeping me busy so I better rest up!
Don’t forget: LIVE MUSIC IS BETTER!
Jam packed❤️❤️❤️
💕