Chantel McGregor - Durham Gala Theatre 28-9-12

Well, finally the planets were in alignment; Libra’s on the cusp and Mercury’s rising in the House of the Rising Sun. (Your lucky dog is Collie and so is your lucky flower....) At last, managed to be in the same place, at the same time as Chantel McGregor; and it was well worth the wait.

Durham Gala theatre is a bit posh, so this was more “in concert” than a “gig” and while it may not be a big theatre, the stage is large and dark and easily swallows up a small trio. However, I don’t think it fazed this Northern lass  for one minute (except when the house lights came on and there were over 250 people smiling back at her)– she comes over warm and bubbly, but she’s shrewd and when she plugs in, there’s a rock core of the toughest millstone grit.

So, what were we treated to? A showcase set that took us up and down and in and out. A good mix of covers and Chantel originals spanned a near 2hr set. Of the covers, in the early part of the set there was a good spin on Hendrix’ Voodoo Chile and an impromptu run through Joe’s Sloe Gin – Chantel’s “purer” vocals giving them a new dimension.  The Like No Other album was soundly plundered through the evening, the title track, the snarling Caught Out, bouncy Happy Song (lessons from Ian Parker?) and a “spangly” Fabulous: these all led us to an acoustic section, made up of a superb take on Fleetwood Mac’s Rhiannon, a country cover, dropped D tuning for Joe’s Mountain Time and quick re-tune for a Metallica (?) cover. Coming back to round off the evening, she took Robin Trower’s Daydream to some impressive places. If nothing else, a set full of surprises and treats that show why Chantel’s not only a deserving winner of Blues Award Female Singer 2012, but how and why she last year blocked Oli Brown’s hat-trick of Blues Award Young Artist. When this lass is in town, the lad’s aren’t going to get it all their own way, she’s more than capable of playing their own game.

It’s easy to compare Chantel to that West-coast feel of Stevie Nicks led Fleetwood Mac, but rather than mere imitation, it’s an inspiration; afterall, she can play guitar like Lindsay Buckingham. Especially with the acoustic section, and the range, I also feel there’s a lot of Heart in there also, though more Nancy than Ann Wilson.

Hope the next time we meet-up doesn’t take as long to happen.

Mike