Elvis Costello & the Imposters @ the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh 16 June 2013

Next up for the Vaudevillian act that is Elvis Costello and The Imposters Spectacular Spinning Songbook tour was Edinburgh on Sunday night, the venue was Edinburgh's Festival Theatre.  The former Art Deco Empire, which dates back to the 1920s, was extensively renovated in 1994 and reopened in time for the Edinburgh Festival (hence the name). The 1,900 seat theatre was packed to the 'gods' and you could feel the anticipation as we took our seats.

Elvis Costello

The band positively bounded on to the stage at 20:00 and stormed straight into I Hope You're Happy Now from 1986's Blood and Chocolate album and then raced through the next four or five songs without stopping. Clearly they were in the mood to entertain and get trough as many of their back catalogue as possible in the allotted time. So we also got Nick Lowe's Heart of The City, Mystery Dance and Radio Radio all before we could really show our appreciation! 

On stage, the Imposters were lined up in a row behind the "Executive Lounge" and "go-go" cage whilst Elvis Costello, aka Napoleon Dynamite, stood front and centre. However, the stage was dominated by “the show-business marvel of the age”, the Spectacular Spinning Songbook wheel which stood, festooned in garish hues, to the right of the stage. The backdrop was a huge TV set with a version of the test card permanently displayed in bold stripes which reflected a variety of vibrant colours depending on what stage lights fell on it. There was activity and a joyous, riot of colour everywhere. The visual impact of a gig can be as important as the audio and this was a fabulous balance of both senses.

“the show-business marvel of the age”

Napoleon Dynamite

After a rollickin' start to the show, Costello doffed his 'pork pie' hat and donned a top hat and "Napoleon Dynamite" stepped up to the front of the stage, with walking cane to hand, and explained that the colourful fairground-style wheel of musical fortune would be spun by "those members of the audience brave enough to come up onto the stage" and have a go. So, over the next couple of hours, we had a regular parade of aunties, friends and couples from as far afield as Glasgow, Fife and Canada on the stage to try their hand at selecting a particular song off the Spectacular Spinning Songbook. One group even managed to get the wheel to stop on their particular choice, the wonderful Alison from Costello's début album from 1977 My Aim is True! Having made their selection, the participants were then guided by the lovely and mysterious 'Josephine' to take a seat at the 'executive lounge' and thereafter to take their turn in the 'go-go' cage whilst the band performed the selected song/songs and the former Mother Superior of Our Lady of Perpetual Torment, Dixie De La Fontaine gyrated about the stage. What larks and, to be fair, everyone seemed to really enjoy their time on stage, often revelling in the 'intimacy' of having Costello sing to them 'personally'. Along with the Spectacular Spinning Songbook, first seen in 1986 as part of the ‘Costello Sings Again’ tour, we also had this time out the 'Hammer of Songs', another fair ground attraction favourite. These are a great idea as it makes for a new experience, especially for the band, at every gig. It is probably why the guys on stage seemed to be having a really great time, at one point even breaking out in nervous laughter as they were totally unaware what song Elvis was going to kick off with next! 

At one point we had a poignant moment when, having just sung the magnificent Suit of Lights from 1986's King of America album, Costello told us that he had written the song about his late father and went on to tell us of his struggle with dementia and how awful that particular condition is. So bad is it, he said, that he would not wish it on his worst enemy and he seemed genuinely moved when he then introduced the next number, the acerbic Tramp The Dirt Down from Spike (1989).

Steve Nieve

Elvis Costello

This time out, the 58 year old Elvis Costello, born Declan Patrick MacManus, had assembled almost the original Attractions line up as the backing band The Imposters. So we had the 55 year old Steve Nieve (born Steven Nason) on keyboards, probably my favourite rock keyboard player of the modern era, the 58 year old Pete Thomas on drums (about whom Tom Waits has said he is "one of the best rock drummers alive"!) and finally, 56 year old bassist Davey Faragher, the non original Attraction, but no less of an attraction for that! Davey has been 'an Imposter' since 2001 and has also worked with The Monkees, David Crosby, Counting Crows, Dusty Springfield, Bonnie Raitt and Buddy Guy, to name a few, so he's "no bad, an 'at" as we say around these parts! With that quality of backing band, we were clearly in for a treat, the bass and drum pounded out a rock solid rhythm keeping the songs coming fast and furious, whilst the piano and organ solos from Mr Nieve were a joy to behold on many songs and I particularly liked his work on Struct Time, Chris Farlowe's Out of Time, Almost Blue (which Costello sung from the upper gallery!) and the late George Jones' Good Year For the Roses. I should also add that the "Little Hands of Concrete", as Costello sometimes refers to his guitar playing ability, was on great form too. His guitar solos on Radio Radio, Strict Time and Chelsea were top notch. In addition, Walking My Baby Back Home, which he played solo on acoustic guitar, and Jimmie Standing In The Rain, the end of which he sang without amplification, were both wonderful renditions.

Davey Faragher

Napoleon Dynamite

So, after an exhausting 2 hours and 20 minute set (Costello by now drenched in sweat, his suit would have needed a quick visit to the dry cleaners), the band took their leave and we went through the customary "we want more" stuff to entice them back on stage. Luckily for us, they returned for a blistering encore, which consisted of almost all of the songs that I would have chosen, had I been lucky enough to be on the stage and get to pick my favourites! We had Chelsea, New Lace Sleeves, Greenshirt, Red Shoes, Pump it Up (by which time we were on our feet) and then finally a cracking version of Nick Lowe's 1974 (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding brought the show to an end, and what a show. It had it all: humour; pathos; 38 great songs; vibrant colours; dancing girls and above all great musicianship, oh, and my mate got hit on the head by Elvis' chewing gum!. It could only have been bettered if they had played my personal favourite Indoor Fireworks!

Little Hands of Concrete

A big thank you to Elvis Costello and the Imposters, hope to see you all again soon.

Thank you and goodnight

The Executive Lounge

Show started at 20:00

I Hope You're Happy Now

Heart Of The City

Mystery Dance

Radio Radio

The Spectacular Spinning Songbook - with The Mysterious Josephine - Your Guide From Your Place In The Stalls To Your Place In The Stars

"Lips" Jackpot - Spin 1

Lipstick Vogue

Lip Service

The 'Go-Go' cage

Alison - Spin 2

"Cash" - Spin 3

Cry Cry Cry

Song With Rose - impromptu

Flutter & Wow - Spin 4

Love Field - impromptu

"Time" Jackpot - Spin 5

Strict Time

Man Out Of Time

Out Of Time

Beyond Belief - Spin 6

Just About Glad - impromptu

The Hammer Of Songs

Clown Strike

The Judgement - impromptu

Watching The Detectives - impromptu

Almost Blue - impromptu

Shipbuilding - Spinners Choice

Oliver's Army

Good Year For The Roses

A Slow Drag With Josephine

Walking My Baby Back Home - Solo

Jimmie Standing In The Rain

My Three Sons

Suit Of Lights

Tramp The Dirt Down

Encore

Chelsea

New Lace Sleeves

Greenshirt

Red Shoes

Pump It Up

Peace, Love and Understanding

Show ended at 22:45

Neil Young & Crazy Horse @ SECC, Glasgow 13 June 2013

So, cards on the table, I'm not a really big Neil Young fan, I have enjoyed what I have heard so far and,  like many folk, I had a basic knowledge of the guy. A 67 year old (OK I looked that bit up!) Canadian singer-songwriter who was a founder member of Buffalo Springfield back in 1966, a sometimes member of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young from around 1969 and a prolific solo artist and collaborator with Crazy Horse. That was the sum total of my knowledge of the guy until 1990 when I heard all 7 minutes and 5 seconds of Country Home from the Neil Young & Crazy Horse album Ragged Glory. In fact, I was so blown away by the song that I recall pulling the car over into a lay by so that I could concentrate on listening to the song! Since then I have been much more interested in the phenomenon that is "Neil Young & Crazy Horse"!

The band

The gig 'started' at about 20:35 when a half dozen or so 'mad scientist' types in white overalls and big hair took to the stage to get it set up after the support act - Los Lobos, had finished their set. The boffins were then joined by several 'labourers' in 'hi viz' vests and hard hats who were directed to lift, carry, haul and generally get the stage ready. There was a great deal of naff acting, pointing, gesticulating and nonsense whilst the 15 foot 'crates' were raised off the 12 foot high 'Fender speakers' to reveal the set for the main event, this was all undertaken to the Beatles Day in a Life. Then at about 20:45 Neil Young & Crazy Horse took to the stage whilst a Saltire was projected on the back wall and Flower of Scotland was built up to a crescendo, whipping the crowd into a jolly sing-a-long (almost) frenzy! 

Neil Young

Then, as the unofficial Scottish National anthem faded, we were assaulted by the thunderous cacophony that is Love and Only Love from 1990's Ragged Glory and ten minutes later (we were still only one song in!) I thought WOW! Wonderful, Original, Weird, this is gonna be special! That one, initial song encapsulated just about everything about the gig: grungy, grinding guitars interlaced with clear, crisp, clean lead guitar solos; throbbing bass lines and the steady beat of tub thumping drums! 

Next up, we had Powderfinger and Psychedelic Pill which continued the crashing carousel then things slowed down for the gentler whistling introduction to Walk Like a Giant which includes the line: 

I used to walk like a giant on the land /Now I feel like a leaf floating in a stream

The stage set with its huge 'speakers' and 12 foot tall  'microphone' seemed to ape the title of this song, however, the lyrics told of a truth closer to home, that of a bunch of guys who,  having met back in 1967, and who are now aged between 64 and 70 are feeling their grip on things loosening. The song continues:

Me and some of my friends / We were gonna save the world / We were trying to make it better / We were ready to save the world / But then the weather changed / And the white got stained /And it fell apart /And it breaks my heart.

This from a song released in 2012 which expresses a real sense of regret and as if to underscore that depth of lost opportunity we were then......exposed I think would be a good word for it to 13 or 14 minutes of 'industrial noise'. It sounded like jet engines; jack hammers; elephants howling; chain saws; gritty, growling, grunge. I thought that I had somehow been transported back to 1980 and into a gig by Germany's proto industrial band Einstürzende Neubauten (“Collapsing New Buildings”)! Crazy Horse certainly gave vent to their darker side during this part of the show. I found it perplexing in the extreme, the grand father of grunge laying claim to his domain one last time? Who knows but it did make me think!

The light show

The light show

However, things settled down with the, as yet unreleased, Hole in the Sky and Heart of Gold which were followed, rather oddly I thought, by Bob Dylan's Blowing in the Wind, the only cover version of the night, if you exclude the Buffalo Springfield number Mr Soul. By now it was becoming apparent just how cohesive this bunch of guys really are. They glided about the stage, one minute gathering as a group at the base of Ralph Molina's drum podium and then setting off on their own to the ends of the stage only to get back together again as a loose group with Frank ‘Poncho’ Sampedro & Neil Young trading 'blows' on their respective guitars, whilst Billy Talbot stood back keeping the bass line pounding. Talking of the band, it is interesting to note that Neil Young, who began performing in a group covering Shadows instrumentals in Canada in 1960 is 67 whilst Crazy Horse guitarist Frank Sampedro, from West Virginia, (wearing a  Jimi Hendrix T-shirt)  at 64 is the 'baby of the bunch'! Drummer, Ralph Molina, from Puerto Rica (a member of Crazy Horse since they were formed in 1962 as a Doo-wop group called Danny & the Memories) is 70, as is New Yorker and bassist Billy Talbot. 

Neil Young

Molina's drumming, plain and simple but with intricate beats and fills, was mixed in with Talbot's thumbing base to give a throbbing bottom end to the sound whilst Sampedro's guitar chugged along steadily providing a solid base on which Young laid out some magnificent, higher registered solos. Indeed, both guitarists traded off each other as only people who know each other so well can and it was a joy to hear their solos particularly during Ramada Inn and F*!#in' Up (as it is called on the album Ragged Glory!) I should add that during this last number, Billy Talbot played some wonderful, thrumming, throbbing bass lines. Exquisite would be near the mark! Given the respective ages of these guys (collective age of 271!), I felt privileged to have finally caught up with them live as I reckon that this sort of 'connection', this kinda ethereal, instinctive union only comes along once or twice in any life time.

Frank 'Poncho' Sampedro

I would also like to mention the camera work which was a major part of the visual experience. The stage was bracketed by two huge projection screens in the shape of 1960s TVs and, given the size of this tin shed that is the SECC in Glasgow, even in the front standing section I was still some distance from the stage and the action (hence the poor quality photos!). So these screens helped to 'bring the show to us'. and there were some great shots of the band which helped to makes us feel more of an integral part of the concert. At one point I struggled to work out what was on the screen but then realised that there was a camera inside the huge 'fake' Fender speaker stacks and we were watching Neil Young fiddle with equipment hidden inside and so we saw him play guitar with one hand and distort the sound with the other. On another occasion we were to see Ralp Molina and his drum kit from the inside of the other stack prop. In fact, these huge 'speaker' stacks also played a big visual part in the show as they provided a structure on which to project all manner of colourful shapes and objects so, all-in-all, there was a great visual feast on offer along with the aural one. Magnificent!

The light show

The band

By this point, over an hour and a half in to the show, Neil Young had welcomed us home, asked us how we were doing, thanked us for coming and said he was glad to see us. A man of few words, it has to be said! Which was fine by me, as it meant we were treated to more of his particular brand of music, a furrow that he and Crazy Horse alone seem to plough. Then, after the ever popular My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue), the gig was brought to an end with another as yet unreleased song called Don't say it's Over, a fitting final song to a stupendous gig. Needless to say, there was no way that the band would have been allowed to head off into the sunset at that point and so they returned after some more cack-handed tomfoolery from the boffins to finish the show with a two song encore which finally drew the proceeding to a close some 2 hours and 25 minutes later during which we also had Neil Young on piano, a girl in a white dress flitting about the stage with a guitar case, virtual rain and roadies in rain coats and hats and songs from as far back as 1972 and as recent as last year! 16 songs played, averaging out at around 9 minutes each, this was not a gig for those of short attention spans or faint hearts. Weird and sublime in equal measure!

I have always been a sucker for bands with two 'lead' guitars and having now seen Neil Young and Crazy Horse I am not sure that I will see better, even the 20 odd minutes of almost unlistenable 'industrial noise' scattered throughout the show didn't spoil it for me! These guys were so good that there were outstanding, probably the best gig I have seen this year and certainly one of the best ever!

Neil Young & Crazy Horse

Gig started at 20:45

Beatles Day in a Life

Flower of Scotland

Set List

Love and only love - Ragged Glory 1990

Powderfinger - Rust Never Sleeps 1979

Psychedelic Pill - Psychedelic Pill 2012

Walk like a giant - Psychedelic Pill 2012

Hole in the sky - previously unreleased

Heart of gold - Harvest 1972

Blowin' in the wind -The Freewheelin' Bob 
Dylan 1962
Singer without a song - 2013

Ramada Inn - Psychedelic Pill 2012

Cinnamon girl - Everybody knows this is nowhere 1969

F*!#in' Up - Ragged Glory 1990

Mr Soul - Journey Through The Past 1972

Farewell.......

My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue) - Rust Never Sleeps 1979

Don't say it's over - previously unreleased

Encore

Roll Another Number (for the road) - Tonight's the Night 1975

Everybody knows this is nowhere - Everybody knows this is nowhere 1969

and "Good night"

 Gig ended at 23:10 

Dirty Diamond & the Gunslinger @ McChuills, Glasgow, 8 June 2013

Having watched Dirty Diamond & the Gunslinger run through an exhilarating set I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting to Alex, the Clark Gable look-a-like singer of the band, the eponymous Dirty Diamond. When I asked what bands he admires, he became rhapsodic about the great Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three from Illinois pointing out that they are a drummer-less band! I suggested that Dirty Al check out an Edinburgh band called the Southern Tenant Folk Union as they use the very same drummer!

Dirty Diamond & the Gunslinger

And so to the gig: the location is a 'hip 'n happenin' place at the bottom of High Street just off Trongate and is, according to the band's FaceBook page, one of their favourite venues. It has a Liverpool Cavern feel to it as it has a small stage at the end of an arched tunnel which is adjacent to the main bar area and so you get the sensation of being in a musty, moody music venue rather than a pub. 

The band gathered on the small stage and kicked off their hour long set of lusty, raucous renditions of self penned songs with a smattering of a few cover songs thrown in for good measure. The set list included Wolverines, the wonderful gospel driven Old Clyde River, Bellahouston Hill-billy Barn Dance, My Baby Don't Love Me Enough, Whole Lotta Shakin, John Lee Hooker's Dimples (I think!), Sex Toy, Baby Blues and Don't Crucify Me. The band chose to round off the night with a great version of Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues and so ended a great night of up beat, jaunty, joyous, bluesy rock-a-billy music performed by a great local band.

Dirty Al

The band consists of the charismatic Dirty Al on acoustic Gibson guitar and vocals, and his performance was energetic and frantic in equal measure. His singing is strong, gravely, gritty and slightly rough which adds an impressive growling and howling quality to much of his singing and his rhythm guitar work kept the beat pumping along nicely. Dirty Al also performs an interesting stomping, shuffle like dance when not actually singing! Worth every penny of the entrance fee alone!

Pablo

Along with Dirty Al, is Pablo, the other founder member of the band, on livid red Gretsch electric lead guitar. His solos were crisp and colourful and his guitar playing was a notable feature of the overall sound. I particularly enjoyed the solos on Sex Toy and Baby Blues. Pablo also took lead vocal at one point and his singing, both backing and lead, was a pleasant change to the more driven sound of the Dirty Al.

Bobby

Then there is Bobby on harmonica and backing vocals. Bobby, Dirty Al's sibling, plays a cool, clean, clear harmonica which is an integral part of the band's sound. His solos were always tight and punchy and helped to fill out the songs and the lead guitar and harmonica 'duets' were a joy to listen to. He is also blessed with a lean, sinewy frame and film star looks, I'll let you be the judge of what films he would suit best!

Rice

Next up is Rice on drums. On this occasion, and due to the small stage, Rice was more of a sound than a vision, tucked (almost invisibly) away behind the rest of the band as he was! However, that is not to say that he didn't feature as his powerful drumming kept the beat pounding along all through the show. His work on the cymbals was a feature that I felt added greatly to the bluesy feel to the music on the night. He also played an intricate wee solo when it was his turn to be be introduced to the audience. Nice, Rice!

Balders

Then finally, there was Balders, the accountant look-a-like in the band, on upright electric bass who kept the bottom end of the sound tight and pounding. He threw in a few groovy moves as well and the upright bass got a fair work out into the bargain! I was intrigued to know if he can sing as he sang along with gusto to each and every song but wasn't afforded a mic! 

As for their influences, I detected Junior Wells, BB King, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Little Walter and of course Johnny Cash and John Lee Hooker. A quick check up on their quirky web site: (www.dirtydiamondandthegunslinger.com) confirmed some of these and added Ray Charles, Sir Michael Jagger, Little Richard, Keith Richards and Cliff Richard (all the Richards) to the mix!

Rice

The band appear to have a good 'look' going on, dressed as they were in trousers, white shirts, braces and a smattering of red ties. However, Pablo was bucking the trend by wearing a black waist coat, red & black tie and sunglasses, expressing his individuality in a marked way.The rest of the guys looked like a spruced up hill billy blues band and that is much of what they are about. There is a good mixture of sound and vision about Dirty Diamond and the Gunslinger, and I was thoroughly entertained on both fronts.

Balders & Bobby

So, if stirring bluesy gospel tinged rock-a-billy is your kinda thang, then I would whole heartedly recommend this bunch of guys. They play good, honest, straight from the hip music and their self penned material suggests that they have what it takes to move on to the next rung of the fickle ladder of popular music. As a matter of interest, I came across Dirty Diamond & the Gunslinger when they supported Ian Siegal back in April this year and I was moved enough to mention them in my blog of that show! Good luck guys, and I hope to see you again soon.

Finally, why not check out the band's current video of Sex Toy?

Here are some more photos I took at the gig.....

"Three Heads Are Better Than One", The début album from Mr Stringalong

Photography by Debbie McLeod

Let me start by saying that I don't normally review CDs, however, a good friend of mine (Kenny McLeod) asked me if I would write something about his new album, a tad risky I thought given that my preferred musical style currently is Alt. Country! Anyway, here goes:

The album kicks off with an upbeat number, the eponymous Mr Stringalong which is about "scamming", "stitching", "stealing your stash" and seeking out "another clown", and so we are introduced to Mr Sringalong, a guy clearly on the make! We are also lulled into a false ending 2 minutes 41 seconds in and with 51 seconds still to go, Mr Stringalong is clearly in the mood to play tricks, putting us on the back foot, this guy wants to catch us out!

Actually, Mr Srtingalong isn't really 'a guy', Mr Stringalong is a triumvirate, three McLeod brothers. Alan on saxophone, drums, lead and rhythm guitar & backing vocals, Davie on lead and rhythm guitar and Kenny on bass and vocals. I'm sure I heard a mouth organ in there aswell and I am guessing that multi instrumentalist Alan is responsible for that too!

Mr Stringalong

The album consists of 12 songs, all written by bassist and vocalist Kenny McLeod and is the culmination of a road he has been travelling over the last couple of years during which he released 2 solo albums, namely, Bruised & Battered and A Little Bit Brash. In fact several of the songs here first appeared on these albums including Flip the Coin, She's Gone, Love Is, Back 2 U*, Did You Wrong* and the title Mr Stringalong. When I first heard these two solo albums, I was attracted to several of the original workings of these songs and so it is little wonder that the band have chosen to work them up into the finished article you hear here!

The overall sound is quite unusual given the 'weight' given to the sax which appears on most, if not all the songs, and is often the other lead instrument along side the lead guitar. This makes for an interesting combination and we are given an early introduction on track one which opens with a thunderous clash of these instruments, and this is followed by the rhythmic pumping of the sax on the chorus.  The interplay between the lead guitar and sax is a feature of this album and it adds another dimension to the sound. There is a good 'reggae' feel to much of this album too and this is particularly evident on track two Done You Wrong which also highlights Kenny's thoughtful lyrics:

"Friends keep coming by saying "Your doing fine",

but they never stay cause they haven't got the time,

 So I get my head lost in another bottle of wine 

and I think of all the good times when you were mine.

Another point of note is the harmonies, especially on She's Gone & Can't Say No and, as brothers, I guess that is something that comes naturally, we are not talking Bee Gee's quality here, however, for a first outing it works very well! These songs represent the slower material on the album and along with Why Did I Lie?, on which there is a great gentle work out on the snare drum and symbols, they are some of the longer songs on offer.

Kenny McLeod

The album is reminiscent of bands such as Bad Company, The Beatles and local Glasgow 80's band Scheme, in fact the saxophone on this album reminds me of the sax playing of George Wright from Scheme and the reggae tinged rock is also in the same vain. 

Stand out tracks for me are Can't Say No (great sax solos on this one), Done You Wrong, She's Gone, Why Did I Lie? (interesting slow build up to this track illustrating a thoughtful approach to the song writing craft) and the faster, up tempo track Rock N Roll on which the lead guitar work brings to mind Helter Skelter from The White Album (1968) by The Beatles .

Much of the material is about lost love, missed opportunities and emotional angst so it is a pleasant surprise to come across the Beatleseque final track Love Is which has a reaffirming lyric about "sun shining", being lifted to a higher place and love being "all around". A very fitting tribute to Ross & Gary Carmichael, by whom this album was inspired.

Check out the video for Back to You here!

www.facebook/mrstringalong

Photos used by kind permission of Debbie McLeod
Print work by Maureen Waugh
Production by Shengis Mahengis
(* the original titles of these songs)

Steve Earle & The Dukes and Duchess @ The O2 Academy, Glasgow, 30 May 2013

Steve Earle is back in town, woo woo, as a good friend of mine would say! However, not only that but he is in town with the Dukes and the Duchess, it was therefore a great relief when my tickets dropped through my letter box for this one. Actually, I tell a lie, again as my good friend would chide me! As we live in a technological age, my 'tickets' had to be printed off the promoters web site, not as exciting as waiting with bated breath for that magic wee envelope, but same result!

The gig was in a former cinema, The New Bedford (which replaced the United Secession Church built on this site in 1825) which added a magnificent grandeur to the proceeding but at the cost of deadening the sound, however, as I was standing in the 'second row' it wasn't an issue for me.

At 19:30 Steve Earle rather took the relatively small early crowd by surprise by approaching the mic and introducing the support act "The Mastersons", and in his introduction he made reference to the fact that he considers this current line up of the Dukes (& Duchess) to be the best he has ever had, so not much to live up to there then! The Mastersons, it turns out are Chris Masterson and his wife, Eleanor Whitmore who live in Brooklyn but hail from Texas, and they both played the stringed instruments whilst the bass was provided by Kelly Luny and the drums by Will Rigby, both long time members of the Dukes and this gave the line up an unusual look, much as if the the kids had brought their dads along to help out!

Eleanor Whitmore & Chris Masterson

The Mastersons were impressive and Chris' guitar playing was exhilarating and thrilling, whilst Eleanor Whitmore played studied and effective rhythm guitar, mandolin, violin and almost anything else with strings! These two have both been performing from a very early age, indeed, Eleanor started on the fiddle at the age of 4 whilst Chris was playing blues in Houston clubs from the age of 13! Their set consisted mainly of songs from their début album Birds Fly South and I particularly liked the live versions of Money, Time, One Word More and the title track Birds Fly South. Eleanor's voice (her mother was an opera singer and her dad a folk singer) reminded me of Susanna Hoffs' from the Bangles, which is no bad thing and Chris looked for all the world like Austin Powers with his somewhat geeky guitar poses and large black specs! All good stuff though! The harmonies between these two were also noteworthy and the interplay between the lead guitar and violin on many of the songs was a joy to listen to. I would especially like to highlight Chris's guitar playing which was never less than wonderful and was often exceptional. This guy has a talent and it is no wonder that Mr Earle has asked him to be a Duke for the time being. 

Having performed as The Mastersons, Chris and Eleanor were to take to the stage after the break as part of the Dukes and Duchess when Steve Earle came on to perform for us. It must have been difficult to step out of the limelight and 'fade' into the background as part of the band, but to their credit, these two performed both roles extremely well. The band line up was therefore the same for the second half of the show with the exception of the rabble-rousing godfather of alternative country music Mr  Steve Earle on a variety of guitars and banjo up front and centre.

Steve Earle

This part of the show kicked off with The Low Highway and we were treated to a number of tracks off the current album including Calico County, Invisible, Warren Hellman's Banjo, That All You Got? and the fabulous 21st Century Blues which starts off as follows:

"Here I am in the 21st century / I have to say it ain't as cool as I hoped it would be / No man on the moon, nobody on Mars / Where the hell is my flying car? / Ain't nothing even like a teletransporter so far. / It's hard times in the new millennium / Gettin' by on just the bare minimum / Everything to lose and nothing to spare / Going to hell and nobody cares / Ain't the future that Kennedy promised me / In the 21st century"

Steve Earle & Kelly Luny

The three-time Grammy award-winner is a magnificent storyteller and this latest cutting addition is no different. Steve grew up near San Antonio, Texas, and began learning the guitar at the early age of 11 before releasing his first EP in 1982 and following that up with his breakthrough album, Guitar Town, in 1986. He has subsequently released 13 albums and appeared in film and the America TV series Treme, written a novel, a book of short stories and a play! 

He has however, also had a chequered career and has spent time in jail for drugs and weapons offences. Then in 1994, he entered a drug treatment programme in Hendersonville, Tennessee and is now sober. Indeed, he made reference to his wilder, drinking days as an introduction to his piano playing by saying that, back then, when he drank he had delusional thoughts that he could speak Spanish, in much the same way that he now believes that he can play piano! 

As the show rolled on the band played a variety of songs from Steve's impressive back catalogue and we were treated to, amongst others, the wonderful My Old Friend the Blues, The Revolution Starts Now, Galway Girl, Copperhead Road, Continental Trailways Blues, and a cover of the Rolling Stones' Mothers Little Helper. Each song was performed with great feeling and commitment and it was clear that this version of the Dukes (& Duchess) are enjoying their time together immensely.

Eleanor, Chris & Kelly

So, after an exhilarating 1 hour and 45 minutes the band left the stage and with some well earned enthusiastic chanting from the audience they returned for the first of two encores which lasted a further 30 minutes at the end of which they played Ain't Ever Satisfied which seemed like a fitting ending to a great night and many of the audience shared that sentiment with regards to not having heard enough of this fabulous version of Steve Earle and The Dukes (& Duchess)! 

The Dukes & Duchess with Steve Earle

This is one act I try to catch whenever they are in town, and over the years, having seen a number of line ups and Steve performing solo, I have to say that, like a good wine (perhaps a wholly unfitting analogy)  he just gets better and better with age. It is little wonder that his songs have been recorded by Joan Baez, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, The Pretenders, Waylon Jennings, Travis Tritt,  Emmylou Harris to name but a few!