Yes Geoff you have lost it. I could suggest better things to do, let me give you an example.
Around three years ago, I realised that my musical tastes were changing somewhat, I was less interested in modern rock music and my interest in classic rock bands had started to wane. The music that was really starting to interest me was the blues. Via bands such as Aerosmith and Gary Moore I’d worked my way back to acts such as the original Fleetwood Mac, Free etc and from there to blues artists such as BB King and Muddy Waters. I’d recently bought In Step by Stevie Ray Vaughan but I was still looking for modern acts that played those styles… this was several months before I’d heard of Joe, Aynsley et al!
Browsing a local gig guide I decided to check out a local band playing in Edinburgh called the Black Jack Blues Band and took along a friend. The five piece kicked off and the first song was Let Me Love You, one of the songs I loved from In Step. Tattoo’d Lady by Rory Gallagher was another one they played and I vowed to get more of Rory’s work. They also played a couple of tunes by a band called the Hoax, which was vaguely familiar to me as I’d seen them nearly ten years before supporting Peter Green, in one of my very few blues concerts. Anyway I loved the band and particularly the playing of the guitarist Jed. I vowed to see them again and did so a couple of times. Events move on and I offered to do some contracting work in Dublin for a period of around six months, at which point my love of Thin Lizzy resurfaced which I was alternating regularly with Rory Gallagher. After six months or so I came home and a conversation at another small concert led me to discover Joe Bonamassa, Aynsley Lister came not far behind and since then so much wonderful music. Somehow though I can still trace back to that night I saw the Black Jack Blues band as a night I realised the blues was and could be played by young artists and it could still sound as vital and exciting as my older albums.
Anyway needing a music fix a few weeks ago I scanned the local gig guide and saw an interesting name, “Jed Pott’s and the Hillman Hunters”. So last night I went to see Jed and his new band. This time he sings in addition to his guitar playing in a three piece playing songs by artists such as Freddie King, BB King and Muddy Waters. His playing has developed well and he has a soulful voice. We spoke for a while during the evening. He’d left the earlier band because he’d felt it was too much like pub rock, but he’d really felt the need after a while to play the blues and strip it back. He’d also recently seen Joe in Glasgow and we spoke about a future Ian Siegal concert.
So that’s a world away from the Pet Shop Boys and their music, but what it does indicate is that sometimes you can have a real revelation in a more modest and contained musical environment. Live shows and production for me are small considerations compared to the music which sometimes can really reach to your heart.
There are thousands of people out there who will be satisfied by the synthetic sounds of the Pet Shop Boys but would you really come away feeling it was worthwhile?
There are plenty of good musicians playing styles of music that you love more in small venues and half filled pubs around the county. Therefore I’d say forget about them, and go and choose to see someone playing somewhere in a small bar instead. You may just uncover a gem! J
Oh, for any of you still awake and interested here is clip of Jed Pott’s and the Hillman Hunters, playing Rory Gallagher’s I Could’ve Had Religion last night:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfDowkK04Ig
"The recently formed Edinburgh Blues Club has identified an appetite for the personal communication between musicians and audience that the blues long ago perfected." The Herald Newspaper (Scotland)
http://www.edinburgh-blues.uk
