Blues Afternoon, Spiegletent, St Andrew Sq, Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival

 

Great timing on the start - just a minute after seeing the winning Lions score from Australia!  

These afternoons have always been great for discovering new acts, finding new bands to love.  So it was a change to go to mone where not only had we seen all three acts before, but more than once each.  But they were aleady establshed festival faviourites, so it was worth being out in the rain for...

STACY MITCHHART

A solo set from the ever cheerful Nashville resident.  The vocals are warm, with a constant sense of fun, even cheekiness.  He plays guitars - conventional, resonator, and cigar box, the latter made by his own hand.  He plays well, classic blues, great slide work, espeically on the one instrumental number.  Good  mix of classics, such as Muddy Waters, his own songs, and some surprises, like the sudden appearance of some Led Zepp!  Great entertainer, always smiling, lots of jokes and funny stories.  A good start to the show

BLUE MILK

A step up in pace and volume.  The four piece from Glasgow play classic 60s and 70s RnB style, but mostly with their own material.  Guitar and lead vocal, harmonica, bass and drums.  After the relative peace of Mr Mitchhart some of the audience looke d a bit shocked, but BM soon won them over.  

Ike on bass  is a pool of stillness in the sporouting energy of the other three.  Johnnie's wild hair on the guitar solos.  Leo's dance steps as he bursts out blues harp.  Taylor's manic madness on percussion.  There's humour, audience participation, and always thaty driving beat.  It's great to see a band where harmonica is such an integral part of the sound, not just an add on.

They might not be virtuoso level, but the energy and feel and presence make them great crowd pleasers.

MAGGIE BELL

A step back in volume, and a leap forward in legend status.

Not that she was on stage from the start.  We began with Sandy Tweedale on guitar and Chris Agnew on upright bass, backing Tim Elliott on vocals and harmonica.  A few numbers to whet the appetite.

Then off goes Elliott, on comes Bell, to huge applause.  Opens with a Free song, and the voice sounded a bit off.  Well, I thought, she is 80 now.  But that was justher getting wrmed up.  As the numbers moved on we had our reminder of why she was considered Scotland's Janis Joplin.  The phrasing, the gravel, the stage presence remain.  And the jokes and stories!  There was great variety in her material, Elliott joined at the end for some duetting, and we could all have carried on for hours.  Wonderful.