Congleton Jazz and Blues Festival 2012 - 25/26th August 2012
Steve Hayes and Les Hunt

My first gig of the weekend was going to be Jim Kirkpatrick. When I got to The White Lion, I tried to get in but I just about made it out back. It was packed. Now, I'm not unfamiliar with the concept of gigs being packed; I've been at one or two, down the years. But, really, I'm not going to go to that trouble, not at 2pm on a Saturday afternoon. Last time I did that was at an Ace Frehley gig! I love the The White Lion but, out back, the way it is, only about 6 people can see anything. Maybe if the stage was higher... I stayed for the first two songs, Continental Op and, Standing On Shaky Ground. They were really good. I enjoyed his Rory Gallagher opening song and he played it very well indeed. I figure this is a man who knows his Rory. I really liked his choice of a Temptations tune next, too. A great song. I would have loved to have seen all his set but, as I said, it was packed. Then, some huge bloke came and pushed right in front of me. Not only did he block the light out, I couldn't see around him either. The guy was a damn planet. So, I walked out.

I thought it was time to have a wander around, to see what was what. At 4PM, Jim Kirkpatrick's cohorts, Steve Hayes and Les Hunt, were playing at Illuchini's and I wasn't about to miss that. So, I walked through town.

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Steve Hayes, Les Hunt

I have been listening to Les Hunt's guitar-playing for the last thirty years. In fact, I know his work well, both as an early driving force in rock band Demon and, later, as a member of The Climax Blues Band. I had never seen him play live, although, I had seen him on video, back in the Demon days, from 1982's Unexpected Guest tour. I knew him to be a fine musician but, I wondered, what would he be like in the unusual setting - it has to be said - of Illucini's. There was a definite feel that you were in someone's [admittedly huge] conservatory. Or, maybe, a coffee shop in a health club. Steve Hayes, I only know of because he is a local musician and I've heard his name before.

Any performance at a festival is different to going to see an artist at a regular gig. They need to appeal to the majority, quickly and the set list at 2PM, in a town centre café, is going to reflect that. There were a few songs, especially, early on, that were not to my taste. That isn't to say they played them badly or, that others didn't enjoy them. Just didn't do anything for me.

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The longer I watched them, though, the more I got into their playing. Steve Hayes has quite a pleasing voice (as does Les) and he handles the guitar well. They fit together and know each other's playing, and Les just plays so beautifully at times that it takes your breath away. No, really, it does. About half-an-hour in, I was just enjoying the set, minding my own business, and then I heard something; Les was playing a solo that was just sweet as a nut. Together, they make a really nice sound, there's no doubt. Quality musicianship. Towards the end of their second, forty-five minute set, they did a rendition of BTO's You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet, which was as good as if ol' Randy Bachman was playing it.

I took a few pics to get the camera warmed-up and video'd them doing a very nice version of John Martyn's May You Never. Hope you enjoy it. I did.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching them and I would definitely like to see them (and Jim Kirkpatrick) on one of their regular outings. That's Jim Kirkpatrick, Les Hunt, and Steve Hayes.


Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder

1st September 2012