Another night of quality rhythm and blues was expected from this double bill, and the bands delivered as promised. From the first number, support band Vincent Flatts Final Drive began with hard hitting riffs and crystal clear vocals bringing back the memories of classic Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers. Combining songs from their latest album and songs from a wide range of artists including Michael Katon (a Wilbarston favourite), they soon had the crowd singing along and begging for more, Could The Blues Band follow this?
The answer seemed to be yes as the tension and anticipation rose while the audience waited for the headline act to take the stage. The crowd erupted as The Blues Band fired into their first number, "Sweet Home Chicago" with Dave Kelly taking lead vocals. The pace continued for several numbers before Dave slowed things down with some breath taking bottle neck slide guitar, complemented by Paul Jones on harmonica.
After a few slow blues numbers, it was Paul Jones who whipped the audience into a sing-a-long frenzy with the number, "29 Ways" which blended into "Bo Diddley" and the Manfred Mann hit "5-4-3-2-1" and brought anthem like singing from the crowd, justifying Paul Jones as a classic front man.
After nearly two hours of precision rhythm and blues, the band left the stage but were brought back by the hysterical crowd for an encore, starting with the Chuck Berry hit, "Nadine" and finally involving the audience yet again with their last number "Boom Boom, Out Go The Lights" . This left the crowd stunned, when the stage fell into total darkness for what seemed like an eternity. When the lights came back on the band were not gone as expected, but continued to play.
Overall a superb night with Vincent Flatts heating up the crowd and The Blues Band taking them to boiling point. Roll on next month's gig!
