Last night was a warm summer's night, but it was nothing to the hot rock'n'roll that was on offer at Gateshead Sage when Duane Eddy hit town. I'm not going to throw round words like "legendary" though he more than earned that epithet before the likes of Joe B were born. Duane may not have made the guitar as showy and sexy as those who followed, but he was the guy who took it to the front and centre of the stage, making the guitar as much the focus as any singer.
Opener for the night, and tour was New York singer/songwriter Nell Brydon. Nell accompanied herself on acoustic and gave a strong half-hour set of songs from her 2 albums, including a very touching reflection of the events of 9/11 and living in New York at the time. Nell maybe a little "folksie" for general consideration by fans on here, but she’s worth checking-out.
And then, the main event: I've always been touched by the resonant sound of Duane's guitar for a very long time, but on the rare chances I've had to go and see the man; aside from the credo that you never meet your idols, latter recording have never really caught that original sound, so I was always wary of shattering any preconceptions. That said, when the new album was released late last year, it was as good as anything from the classic days when they used to put a $1 microphone and a $1 speaker at either end of a silo. It’s amazing that modern technology has caught up with bailing twine and inspiration. Then a tour was announced and it was swinging by locally, so all the portents were there.
Yes, I still had trepidation as to whether the "twang" would be the real thing, even as the band were coming on, but once the tall guy in the Stetson plugged in and started flicking the intro to Detour, all doubts were blasted out the doors. What we got after that was a feast of classics; Cannonball, Moovin' an Groovin', Yep!, Shazam, Lonely One, Ramrod, 3:30 Blues, the delicate First Love, First Tears and Because They're Young, interspersed with dry, laconic observations and comments from Duane that were modest as well as hilarious. So that this wasn't purely a "nostalgia" gig, Duane was touring his latest NEW album, Roadtrip, so scattered throughout the set were several new tracks; the haunting Bleaklow Air and the evocative Mexborough Ferry Boat Halt, the spikey "twangfest" Primeval and the new Eddy classics Curveball and Roadtrip. Just an interesting observation that none of the hits from the RCA days were played, though at a fans request, there was a quick sample of Ballad of Paladin. (Who remembers Richard Boone and "Have Gun, Will Travel"?) As well as using the familiar big, red Gretch, Duane's other weapon of choice, the Danelectro 6 String bass made a telling appearance.
So many things you could say about the main set, but too soon it came to a close with a mighty double of Rebel Rouser and Peter Gunn, both of which had the audience partying like it was 1959. A welcome encore was one of the newer numbers and then a band showcase take on Hard Times. And what of the band? Duane called them the best he'd worked with and wanted to take them back over to the US and it's not hard to see why; Shez Sheridan was absolutely solid on rhythm guitar, at one point going "twang for twang" with Duane. Paul (sorry surname missed) on sax was superb; totally catching every nuance of Jim Horn and Steve Douglas before. The entire band was absolutely tight and spot on.
50 years on since the "glory days" Duane's new Gretchs (the original was one destroyed in the floods a few years back) sound as cool as they did back when he was starting out. The "twang" style that Duane got locked into may have meant that he was overtaken and maybe outdated, but every decade or so, he bucks the trends and reminds contemporary players that often it's not the number of notes you play, but the ones you don't need to play; the weight the notes. One thing that surprised me was the delicacy of touch when using the tremelo arm to flutter the notes: a lot of guitarists I’ve seen play recently tend not to use a “whammy bar” or use it in a “whammy” fashion – this was a masterclass of use and control of the device from the days guitar strings were more like telegraph wires.
In all, a great night was had by the 400 plus audience; Duane has a great band behind him and is playing and still recording in superb form and I’d recommend you watch out for him next time round and get to a show.
Mike
When life gives you lemons; don't make lemonade.
Give back the lemons. Why were the lemons free? What's wrong with the lemons?
Do Not trust the lemons...
