The first day of The
Last Festival didn't disappoint. The first day has never disappointed before and why would it
now? Solid talent wall to wall is what the fans have come to expect
and once again, the organisers have delivered. The Hat popped into a few of the dozens of gigs on offer.
The short blue straw
for opening on the Main Stage this year went to Julian Burdock, who
may be known to many of you when wearing his 24 Peso hat. That fine
blues band played at the first Hebden festival so there is a nice
serendipity about
Julian appearing at the Last Festival. With his
dobro and several other guitars to hand and an array of superb
electronic backing loops, synth keyboard and magic, he took the
audience on an exciting opening ride. When he finally broke into the
rousing 'Whoa Black Betty”, the Chapel once again turned into the
'church of the bouncing beer' as his audience responded with the
great stomp and call. It struck The Hat at this point that here was
someone who should be snapped up by Bestival where he could
cheerfully rock a tentful of two thousand stompers. Great start to
the day.
Did the slow sedate
Hatwalk across to The Crown bar where the hugely talented and
unnervingly young Alex McKown was taking the place apart with a
rocking set with many numbers
from his new CD 'Go With The Flow'. The
Hat has always been a fan of his accomplished guitar style and with
the mature and fluent sax of Simon Peat alongside him the band really
delivered. It is a joy to watch Alex as a 'work in progress' and his stage presence and the projection of his phenomenal solos just get better and better. He is nominated, quite
rightly, yet again for a Young Artist British Blues Award. This young
man is heading upward and onwards at speed and you can guarantee we
will be seeing much, much more of him in times to come.
Dave Migden and The
Twisted Roots were now holding court on the Main Stage. This is an
electrifying six piece who cross all the genre boundaries. They have
a huge UK fan base and know how to bring an audience to its feet. The
multi-talented
Dave Migden himself (formerly The Dirty Words - his CV takes in Matt Schofield and Ian Siegal) is up for Best Blues Singer
again this year and you can see why this rocking band will be on
everybody's check list.
Rushing slowly in the rain to
another of the Free Juke Joints, The Hat managed to catch up with Jed
Thomas at Marshalls Bar. Seen recently at the Orkney Festival with a
three piece, the band have added a keyboard, although this didn't
appear to significantly change his sound. Without doubt Jed is a
hugely talented guitarist, one of those who seems to move easily from
mellow, beautifully constructed solos, through staccato rhythm, to
classic Telecaster slide. With tight side men leaning into his lead,
this was a seriously accomplished and entertaining set.
And so to the First
Night Headliners, Virgil and The Accelerators. This is the full
package. A trio of ridiculously young, handsomely hirsute and brilliant musicians coming
together in an explosive cocktail of blues-rock. Their huge tour
schedule means that wherever they have travelled they have gathered
devoted fans, their stage performance has been polished to near
perfection and their relationship with the gig audience is direct and
positively electric.
They surged through a
stomping set of both self-penned and
original twists on known
classics and seldom did the pace drop. These guys were made for the
grand stage and high octane public performance. It seems a pity just
to mention front man Virgil as his two extraordinary partners could
never be described as side men – but, inevitably, it is Virgil who
dominates the proceedings, crouched over his guitar (he uses five
during the set) conjuring cool quiet, stunning heavy and show
stopping runs and picks that force you to your feet with your fist in
the air. One number lasted twenty minutes by all accounts. Nobody
noticed the length – just felt the quality.
This is what happened
at Hebden - this is what a headline act should do.
And while we're throwing roses...make sure you send a Hatful of thanks to Phil Munt and his fabulous and almost invisible sound team. Not unusual to hear a groan or moan in this department - but not at Hebden where the place rained with compliments for this mighty crew. Pitch perfect...
I will come back later
to Paddy and his Midnight Jam – but for the time being, imagine
Virgil, Joey and Layla from Detroit Breakdown, Macie Elizabeth
singing - all with Ainsley Lister - on one stage - at the same time.
Got the picture? Don't tell me you missed it. Two more nights yet. It gets better. The Jam Legend will go on......
Pip Pip!
The Blues Man in The Hat
Thanks as always to our great photographers Craig Shaw, Darren O'Neill and Purple Ambassador Allen.
Thanks as always to our great photographers Craig Shaw, Darren O'Neill and Purple Ambassador Allen.