Kush- Django's Riff Liverpool 17th April 2011
Setlist: Goin’ Down / Say Hello / The Spin / Nobody Gets Me / Not The Face / Voodoo Chile
Right, Kush…
I’m prevaricating, aren’t I? Can you tell? Does it show?
I know, my friends, I know. But, why am I having such a problem writing this review you ask? Well, you see, I went to the Comparative/Superlative mine this morning and they were all out of stock of ‘Fantastic’, ‘Awesome’, ‘Brilliant’, ‘Excellent’, and were running short on ‘Bitchin’’, ‘Crackin’’, and ‘Stunning’. I’ve had to order a whole case of ‘Wonderful’s and a mixed case of ‘great’, ‘superb’, ‘fine’, nice’, and ‘beltin’’, just to be on the safe side. I had to special order a ‘Mind-blowing’ for the conclusion and I’m not even sure if it will get here in time for the end of the review. We’ll just have to keep an eye on it and hope that it gets here. Do not even get me started on my back order of ‘!’, ‘?’, and ‘…’ that I have now been waiting for since last week. The post is terrible around here. I just hope I don’t run out of apostrophes. I mean, it just doesn#t look right, does it?
If you see the postman, by the way, let me know. I wouldn’t want to miss him… Oh, Bugger! I’ve only got one ellipsis left.
Right, Kush…
I’m prevaricating, aren’t I? Can you tell? Does it show?
I know, my friends, I know. But, why am I having such a problem writing this review you ask? Well, you see, I went to the Comparative/Superlative mine this morning and they were all out of stock of ‘Fantastic’, ‘Awesome’, ‘Brilliant’, ‘Excellent’, and were running short on ‘Bitchin’’, ‘Crackin’’, and ‘Stunning’. I’ve had to order a whole case of ‘Wonderful’s and a mixed case of ‘great’, ‘superb’, ‘fine’, nice’, and ‘beltin’’, just to be on the safe side. I had to special order a ‘Mind-blowing’ for the conclusion and I’m not even sure if it will get here in time for the end of the review. We’ll just have to keep an eye on it and hope that it gets here. Do not even get me started on my back order of ‘!’, ‘?’, and ‘…’ that I have now been waiting for since last week. The post is terrible around here. I just hope I don’t run out of apostrophes. I mean, it just doesn#t look right, does it?
If you see the postman, by the way, let me know. I wouldn’t want to miss him… Oh, Bugger! I’ve only got one ellipsis left.
To be honest, I have been wanting to see this band for a while. I have heard their material and I’m impressed enough to make a visit to Liverpool for the evening. I wanted to see if they were as good as I thought.
Power trios have a unique sound; raw, punchy, surprisingly loud, and heavy, too. Rather unfairly (I am the first to admit that this is terribly unfair), I was already comparing tonight’s gig with the likes of Rory Gallagher, Groundhogs, Stray, Mountain, Pat Travers, Robin Trower, Danko Jones. I was expecting a lot but, with music, nothing less than the best will do, and I have to compare Kush to other bands that I have seen, and those are the power trios I’ve seen live! Damn. That was my penultimate expletive too.
The gig was at Django’s Riff, a fine establishment, located at Concert Sq and, if I lived here, I would be here a lot. Kush followed SJ Downes with minimal delay and quickly launched into the Albert King classic, Goin’ Down. Now, the opener promises big things and you can’t choose an Albert King song and not mean it. It will be way too obvious. I knew right away…
Bang. My last ellipsis, gone. Only one exclamation mark left. What is a boy to do?
Power trios have a unique sound; raw, punchy, surprisingly loud, and heavy, too. Rather unfairly (I am the first to admit that this is terribly unfair), I was already comparing tonight’s gig with the likes of Rory Gallagher, Groundhogs, Stray, Mountain, Pat Travers, Robin Trower, Danko Jones. I was expecting a lot but, with music, nothing less than the best will do, and I have to compare Kush to other bands that I have seen, and those are the power trios I’ve seen live! Damn. That was my penultimate expletive too.
The gig was at Django’s Riff, a fine establishment, located at Concert Sq and, if I lived here, I would be here a lot. Kush followed SJ Downes with minimal delay and quickly launched into the Albert King classic, Goin’ Down. Now, the opener promises big things and you can’t choose an Albert King song and not mean it. It will be way too obvious. I knew right away…
Bang. My last ellipsis, gone. Only one exclamation mark left. What is a boy to do?
Kush: Kirk Ward – Guitar/Voc, Chris Morgan – Drums/Voc, Saul Godman – Bass/Voc
It was obvious that this was one hell of a band. Each of these three chaps is a very proficient musician in his own right, that fact is obvious from the outset. That doesn’t always mean that they play well together, though. In this case, no such worries. These three players are on the same wavelength and just love doing this, it so clear that it just shines through the music. I spent a lot of time watching Kirk playing. He is a phenomenal; the sort of guitarist that makes you stand there, thinking ‘What the?’ It’s not just the speed he plays some of these songs at, it is more his ability to play different styles, with ease. As for Chris and Saul, they just love the challenge of going along with whatever Kirk plays.
However, any band can play one great song. I wasn’t ready to start handing out my approval and praise just yet. It could have all gone so differently too. The first song actually did some damage to Kirk’s amp and it was a toss-up as to whether it could be fixed, or if it would be an acoustic performance. After a little poking, peering, and twiddling about, Kirk announced that ‘they were just gonna go for it’.
Now, I thought, we’ll see what they’re made of. No lights, sound issues, delays, that should be enough to see if they’ve got the chops, or not. At this point, even I was starting to feel bad about how the universe had conspired against them this evening.
Say Hello proved that the equipment still worked and was dispatched with extreme prejudice. My personal favourite, The Spin, showed Kirk’s ability to play guitar Stevie Ray Vaughan-style and he does it very well indeed. Very, very well. The very singalongable Nobody Gets Me moved the set along at a pace, as did, Not In The Face. Before I knew what time it was, we had reached the last song. I couldn’t believe that they had actually played any more than about five minutes, but they had. It had just gone so quickly. Then again, the last song was Voodoo Chile. This little slice of Hendrix magic is one of those pieces of music that every aspiring plank-spanker tries to master, most overestimating their talent and not quite getting it right.
However, any band can play one great song. I wasn’t ready to start handing out my approval and praise just yet. It could have all gone so differently too. The first song actually did some damage to Kirk’s amp and it was a toss-up as to whether it could be fixed, or if it would be an acoustic performance. After a little poking, peering, and twiddling about, Kirk announced that ‘they were just gonna go for it’.
Now, I thought, we’ll see what they’re made of. No lights, sound issues, delays, that should be enough to see if they’ve got the chops, or not. At this point, even I was starting to feel bad about how the universe had conspired against them this evening.
Say Hello proved that the equipment still worked and was dispatched with extreme prejudice. My personal favourite, The Spin, showed Kirk’s ability to play guitar Stevie Ray Vaughan-style and he does it very well indeed. Very, very well. The very singalongable Nobody Gets Me moved the set along at a pace, as did, Not In The Face. Before I knew what time it was, we had reached the last song. I couldn’t believe that they had actually played any more than about five minutes, but they had. It had just gone so quickly. Then again, the last song was Voodoo Chile. This little slice of Hendrix magic is one of those pieces of music that every aspiring plank-spanker tries to master, most overestimating their talent and not quite getting it right.
No such worries here. Mr Ward has that natural talent that you require to make a song like Voodoo Chile work and he understands that it is how you play the notes that really matters. In a nutshell, that’s what makes this band better than others. The feeling. Hell, playing the right notes is easy, any fool can manage that. Making them mean something, now that is something special.
My initial concerns that this band wouldn’t live up to my expectations were spot on though, I have to say. They were not as good as I thought they would be, they were way better than that. Even with all the problems of the evening, they kicked ass and took names. It was not a perfect gig, but some of the best gigs I’ve been to were far from perfect. It was, however, a great show and a fine night of blues music, played with passion and outstanding skill.
No offense to Django’s Riff, it is a great place, but why the hell is a band of this calibre playing here? Somebody should sign them soon. Remember, when these boys are on the main stage at Glasto in a couple of years time, you read about them here, first.
Oh, thank heavens for that, the post has just arrived with my special-order ending.
In a word: Mind-blowing!
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
19th April 2011
My initial concerns that this band wouldn’t live up to my expectations were spot on though, I have to say. They were not as good as I thought they would be, they were way better than that. Even with all the problems of the evening, they kicked ass and took names. It was not a perfect gig, but some of the best gigs I’ve been to were far from perfect. It was, however, a great show and a fine night of blues music, played with passion and outstanding skill.
No offense to Django’s Riff, it is a great place, but why the hell is a band of this calibre playing here? Somebody should sign them soon. Remember, when these boys are on the main stage at Glasto in a couple of years time, you read about them here, first.
Oh, thank heavens for that, the post has just arrived with my special-order ending.
In a word: Mind-blowing!
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
19th April 2011
SJ Downes
I would like to give the awesome SJ Downes a big ‘Hell Yeah!’ for his set of old school blues.
I thoroughly enjoyed his set and could have listened to him play and sing all night long. From what I have read of the old Blues musicians and their lives, I think that what SJ delivered on Sunday was pretty close to the way it would have happened in the old days. A guy turns up in a bar, borrows a guitar, plays for drinks, some vittels, and a place to sleep. OK, so maybe I’m getting a little flowery, but you know what I mean. I have seen many blues players over the years and this was as good as any I’ve seen to date. Cracking stuff, Gromit!
SJ Downes. Check him out!
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
19th April 2011
I thoroughly enjoyed his set and could have listened to him play and sing all night long. From what I have read of the old Blues musicians and their lives, I think that what SJ delivered on Sunday was pretty close to the way it would have happened in the old days. A guy turns up in a bar, borrows a guitar, plays for drinks, some vittels, and a place to sleep. OK, so maybe I’m getting a little flowery, but you know what I mean. I have seen many blues players over the years and this was as good as any I’ve seen to date. Cracking stuff, Gromit!
SJ Downes. Check him out!
Mark L. Potts
The God of Thunder
19th April 2011