Up on stage, acoustic guitar in hand, young wavy brown-haired Leoni Jane Kennedy is in mid-song, a fair voice and an understated but agile approach to her playing. Later internet research will reveal she’s something of a child prodigy; recipient of a Freddie Mercury’ Scholarship, a 1st Class BA Honours Degree in Music Industry Practice, has performed live with progressive rock acts Solstice and The Anchoress, but now appears to be concentrating on her solo career. Details. Her onstage patter, that lead into her self-penned songs; reveal far more about her personality – ‘Ammunition’ in particular that delineates a tale of absentee fatherdom. That stated, her cover of Rush’s ‘Tears’ is fragile, delivered with clarity and quite beautiful.
It comes as rather a contrast to Walter Trout and his band who saunter on collectively from stage left some time later, like a gang of workmen clocking on for the night shift. But then, this evening’s Walter Trout Band will prove to be somewhat of a contrast to when I last saw them, not just the songs chosen and the lineup involved but the overall ambiance of the show – Part comedy, often political, but still a lot of blues.
Tucked in the corner over on the right of the stage is an older chap on keyboards from Denmark, one Roland Bakker, who proves to be a revelation when he solos, back on a drum riser is young fellow from up north by the name of Kev Hickman who’s only been with them a week, while currently touting sunglasses is John Avila, a Stateside bass player with a cv that’s beyond impressive.
Yanking up the volume and letting rip, Trout himself outlines the signature riff to ‘I Can Tell’ and they walk the blues rowdily with pride, both organ and guitar lighting the way. Following some self-depricating jokes about age, they lean into the slower intonations of ‘Baby You Don’t Have To Go’ as Trout officially makes us welcome, “Well, good evening! Good to be back, and our first time at this venue – I like it!” And if you like long guitar solos this one’s for you, alongside some nice piano touches tinkling away.
“Man, I’m having fun playing tonight,” he declares having changed guitar and informing us that he feels like rocking tonight. Reinforcing that comment, stage left there’s a younger guy who’d walked on and I presumed to be his guitar tech, but as he turns to face us, strapping on a similar white guitar to the main man his face looks uncannily like a young Trout, and is later revealed to be his son, Jon.
Hickman’s stool appears to be tilted forward, certainly he spends much of the night leaning into his kit, offering a big build-up for ‘Wanna Dance’ that proves to be an early favourite – To describe it as akin to Neil Young playing a vintage REO Speedwagon number just sounds wrong, but that’s how it came across to me tonight, and in a very good way.
Relating his backstory, Trout tells us how he’d begun his professional career playing on stage with some the blues greats before joining Canned Heat, then how he “had the great privilege of playing for seven years” with the father of British blues, the late John Mayall, initially in a reformed Bluesbreakers where Fleetwood Mac’s John McVie was back on bass, Stone The Crows’ Colin Allen played drums, and Trout played second guitar behind Mick Taylor – “I was an alcoholic and drug addict and that was confirmed by a Rolling Stone!” he noted in comi-tragic recollection. However, it was Mayall, along with Carlos Santana, who helped on the road to recovery, and that he was now 37 years dry and drug free. “I think about him everyday,” he said of Mayall and dedicates ‘Say Goodbye To The Blues’ to his memory, the number stretching out with long wailing solos, before shouting out: “Come on!” as they bring it to a climactic end, him growling into the mic.
Next up, from his current album Sign Of The Times, is the single ‘Artificial’ expressing his distain for the technology and Trump as a buffoon. He also invites harmonica player Wille Wilde to join them on stage, and the British Blues Award winner proves a worthy match for the guitarist as they trade licks in what proves a hardier zestful version than’s on record, save where Bakker’s organ solo takes on a chilled jazzy R ‘n B approach. Wilde remains on stage for a stomping ‘Last Night The Blues Came Calling’, that Trout calls out to the band will be in the key of A. There are guitar changes, an explanation of who the young guitarist is, later explaining how after passing his music degree in Denmark and over dinner asked by his mother what he wanted to do with his life he informed them he wanted to go out on the road with his dad – He’s a more than able player, his stance and lead playing through the nights shows his rockier influences, but the apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree.
Back down to a five-piece, Trout Senior goes onto explain his friendship with Twisted Sister’s Dee Snider, their joint sobriety and political views and how the singer joined him for another recent single, ‘I’ve Had Enough’, with Avila taking on that accompanying vocal role tonight, but everyone adding a line or two to a rendition that’s a jump jiving rocker.
Walter officially introducing Jon Trout, the younger six-string slinger shows us his shredding technique centre stage, adding some of that old school wah-wah into the mix as they declare ‘We’re All In This Together’. The song’s lazy guitar hook is snapping away one minute, with full-on sustain the next, notwithstanding Trout Senior pulling out some hefty feedback chaos as he leans into his amp, both guitars screaming the house down come the end.
There’s more cursing of modern society amid raucous humour as latest album title track ‘Sign Of The Times’ gets an airing. Dirty chords begin to slush about, suiting the song’s declarative theme, amid mournful group “whoah” vocal backing, and some more black humour from the main man on its conclusion.
“I played with John Lee Hooker,’ he says, telling us about another of his early ex-bosses as the four to the floor 12 beat of the late crawling king snake’s ‘Serve Me Right To Suffer’ is offered up amid echoed guitar effects, heftier screaming six-strings and a few more jokes tucked in either side as Trout begins introducing the band, each of whom take a solo. Now each of the guys on stage has proved their worth tonight, and each get to have the spotlight shine on them individually here but it tends to break up the roll they’ve been on tonight.
That said, within a minute of his playing Roland Bakker’s Hammond B3 takes us on musical history trip through the 60s and the 70s style wise before evoking both the fury of the late Jon Lord and the driving textured subtleties of a young Steve Winwood. Apparently John Avila’s started playing bass with Randy Crawford when he was a teenager, Trout also tells us to check out 80s band Oingo Boingo on Youtube where he was a multinstrumentalist, and that he’s also served time with With Willy Nelson, Steven Tyler, Bob Dylan and Steve Vai among others, his solo opting for the latter’s fusion art rock end of things once he’s finished multi-tasked playing both effects driven bass and flute. Milton Keynes’ Ken Hickman delivers a solo with the precise thwacking innovativity he’s shown all night, and is savvy enough to know modern drummers shouldn’t outstay their welcome. Did John Trout solo thereafter or was it just Walter? I really can’t remember, they were both doing so, trading and sparring licks while roaming the stage a while latter as they whipped their guitars into a frenzy, whizzing up and down fretboards, Trout Senior again applying feedback into his fully-charge arsenal tonight. Then, with an arm raised it all comes to an end. They move stage front and there’s a “Thank you so much. I’ve had a blast playing for ya! I love you,” from Mr T and they’re off as unceremoniously as when they first walked on that stage.
But no one’s budging, the crowd are clapping and we get ourselves an encore, and it’s a doozie… With a flurry of notes the infectious riff to ‘Best You Got’ takes off, it swaggers like a dandy, Bakker delivering another snazzy organ solo,the Trouts proving talent runs in the family and the whole thing rocking to the end like a heavy metal samba.
Mercurial blues guitar player, amusing raconteur with something worth saying, Walter Trout has brought his A game out tonight, along with a talented troop of musicians who’ve helped empower his songs in a manner only a fool could take for granted.
