Having been informed that Lauren was unable to come over to mine this week as originally planned I felt, as one might expect, rather disappointed. Upon hearing this news I decided to have a look on Time Out’s website in order to find out if there were any live (and free) music events going on and it turns out I was very lucky as there was a blues jam night going on at The Spice of Life in Soho.
I’d never been to this bar, but after checking out some reviews it sounded nice enough (it was) and when is a blues jam never fun to watch/listen to? Exactly, so I travelled over there, finally managed to find it and grabbed myself a drink before heading to the spacious basement where the gig was due to be performed.
After ten minutes of taking in my surroundings and writing out the beginning of a new short story as I am apt to do, some soft lounge-y blues began playing over the PA system. At first I thought it was just some background music for those who had already arrived, but upon glancing up I noticed Dove Jones who I had spoken with earlier about this review, happily playing the keyboard and tapping his foot in rhythm with some well-sung vocals for extra measure. I was already enjoying the night.
Soon after, Chris McConville (drums), Nazeem (guitar) and the bassist Steve Bowley joined him and a chilled out blues band was playing. Whilst watching I spotted three things: Nazeem was very similar to Metallica’s Kirk Hammett in both looks and playing style, Chris could easily be a member of a deathcore band (not dissin’, as they say back in Essex) and Steve only had one finger on his picking hand. To say I was impressed with this and his playing would be an understatement.
For the next hour while the jammers arrived and prepared the band played a mix of 12-bar blues, lounge blues and, by request of an audience member, some rock n’ roll. At the beginning interaction with the crowd was infrequent (but this meant more music and singing), but as time went on Dove got more talkative and jokey with the audience. Applause was aplenty once the set had finished and it was now time to begin the blues jam.
[Please note: From here details may get a little vague or missing as there were a lot of performers and I’m attempting to keep this review to below 1000 words.]
By now the bar was full, but just to the right point: everybody had a seat and the bar was accessible. Dove approached the mic and introduced the first act: Aldi/Albi Deluka who began with some slow licks which sped up before slowing down again into a mix of space rock similar to early Hawkwind and Pink Floyd’s Animals & Dark Side eras. Add to that frequent bass swells and singing and you have a fine performance to start off the night.
Next up was a mix of shared leads, some rocky-blues singing by Chris McConville (who had a problem with the mic stand disappearing at one point) and an audience member jamming along with his sax. Not forgetting some fine wiggly harmonica playing and a bluesed-up version of Dio’s Rainbow in the Dark.
The third band came with the addition of the aforementioned saxophone and a female singer. I usually associate the sax with jazz and to be played very louder, often drowning out all other instruments. This, however, was much different and came in a soft style while the singer maintained a steady rock voice with hints of Cher in there. With this in mind, they were slightly more lounge-y than the previous bands. Not to worry, blues lounge is good as it gives us a nice and eclectic mix of musicians. The next band was similar except this one with Justin McConville (Chris’s brother) on guitar and vocals got the audience singing and clapping along with the two women at the front really giving everything they had.
This is where it gets even more different. Dove Jones begins calling on the next group of performers and mentions a flute. Here the audience get both excited and confused. A flute? That’s different. I, on the other hand, was worried. Staring at my notepad I was expecting to have to put up with ten to fifteen minutes of Jethro Tull. Fifteen minutes too long. Fortunately, I was wrong. This band supplied us with some very rocky and lively drums, prominent bass solos and speed changes throughout the set.
This next set was a bit odd to say the least. A bassist with a 5 string and a guitarist with a Dean V. I’m not sure if the bass was unsuitable or just didn’t work, but he was told to play the 4 string instead. The guitarist seemed a bit out of place also, playing some very low and inaudible notes (possibly due to the usage of tube amps) with audible sweep-picked solos and squealing pinch harmonics. Both looking very bored throughout, I’m not sure this was the gig for them.
The next two jams were nice finishers with the first one starting with a cover of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Pride and Joy followed by what were either SRV covers or sounded very much like him. Following that was a jam with a harmonica as the main instrument with the guitar and bass working mainly as rhythm instruments/sections while the harmonica and vocals led the way.
Finally, Dove and his band finished off with a short set with a very drunken man taking the front of the stage and sharing some lyrics and some decent harmonica playing.
All-in-all, the blues jam at the Spice of Life was a great event and one for anybody who likes a good bit of blues on a Tuesday night. If you’re able to make it sometime, do, you’ll have fun and the train station’s only round the corner.
Pete Kent Official 