Let the clichés commence.
Appearances can be deceptive
or
You can't judge a book by it's cover.
The band is announced and on walk a couple of obvious rockers, to take their places with drums and pace. Followed by a shambling giant who looks like he's dressed at the last minute. Grabbing the first things of the rail in a charity shop. In the dark. The bottle top glasses and sing-song Welsh accent further dispel any resemblance to every guitar hero stereotype you've ever come across. But let none of that fool you. Oliver is the real thing.
Oliver is high energy, hilarious, and a virtuoso of blues rock guitar. Plus being a competent enough singer. His material skips across genres, covering rockabilly, blues, country and pure rock. Tunes from his wide range of guitar and musical heroes, and slef pennd songs too. A few instrumentals. There was a beautiful rendition of Peter Green's soulful Albatross that carried the listener back in time.
But Oliver has his own style, and injects imagination into everything he plays. There's nothing predictable about the solos, which take the rules of each genre and bend them to his own wishes. But, alongside the musical output, an Oliver gig is a lot of fun. Unless you simply found it all a bit loud then it's hard to imagine anyone not getting some genuine enjoyment from the show, even if only from watching the man move about the stage.
He brought a few local guests on towards the end. Richard O'Donnell and John Bruce, both well respected blues guitarists, delivered fine solos, and tired to 'duel' with the main man. While O'Donnell just about kept up, Bruce laughed and admitted defeat to the talent of the younger man. The final guest was vocalist Liz Jones, the only one of the three who could say she did a better job than Oliver! A rocking finale from the basic trio closed the show, to a standing ovation.
James Oliver has a new fan.
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