Made the trip down to London on Monday to take in Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s first UK date in 12 years, and his only UK date on the current European tour – what a fantastic gig!
Never having seen KWS before, and only recently having been drawn to his music through the superb “Live in Chicago” album, I was unsure what to expect, but ended up witnessing what for me was the gig of the year so far, and featured plenty of material from his new release “How I Go”.
The set started in powerful fashion with the Stones infused album opener “Never Looking Back”, and continued without a pause into the even rockier “Butterfly” with Kenny and lead singer Noah Hunt working the crowd into a frenzy. A quick slip back to earlier material followed with “Nevermind”, and then it was back to the new songs with “Come on Over” and Kenny’s great take on the Beatles “Yer Blues”.
Having showcased some of the newer songs, Kenny set about addressing his long absence from this part of the world with some of his older and better known songs, starting with a superb rendition of “Deja Voodoo”, slipping seamlessly into “Come On” which really did get those good times rollin’. “Shame, Shame, Shame”, saw Kenny paying (and playing) tributes to his blues heroes and influences. “King’s Highway” and “True Lies” were great crowd pleasers, as was the last track from the new album to feature, “Backwater Blues”. Kenny’s superb signature instrumental “While We Cry” had the audience enthralled, with some beautiful tones and sweet playing, before the main set drew to a close with a great cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well”.
Encore time, and Noah strapped on the acoustic and encouraged the audience to sing along to “Blue on Black”, before a rousing version of “King Bee” picked up the pace again. The show closed with a stunning 22 minute cover of “Voodoo Chile” with “Slight Return” that featured the sweetest Fender Strat tones I’ve ever heard live.
A word for the band. While Kenny and Noah took most of the accolades, I couldn’t fail to be impressed by the rest of the guys. Riley Osbourn added much to the overall sound on keys, and Tony Franklin was outstanding on the Fender fretless bass. Drummer wasn’t bad either – the rock solid but understated style of the legend that is Chris Layton, who I was honoured to meet afterwards.
Fantastic gig, and one that will live long in my memory.
Here’s a few pics taken on my compact.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42034502@N … 6730/show/
Ian
Please be in no doubt that this is the REAL ME! Beware imposters........................
