REVIEW – Cinelli Brothers @ Long Street Blues Club, Con Club, Devizes – Friday 1st March 2024

Two Great Bands

Andy Fawthrop

This is getting to be a regular thing now. Ian Hopkins puts on a band that I’ve never heard of, so I trust him and buy a ticket. Then I wander up the hill to the Con Club and find myself in a room that’s already packed to the rafters, with queues at both bars. Then I have a great night out, and I write a review about what a great band I’ve just seen. Too good to be true? Nope – it just seems to work every time, and I’m not complaining!

Only slight difference this time was that I got two great bands for the price of one. Support acts come and go, some are good and some are less so. But last night was one of those really good nights where the support act were really excellent. You can tell they’re pretty good and getting through to folks when the idle chatter at the back of the room slowly subsides, and people really start listening.

And so it was last night with first-timers at the club Sons of the Delta. Consisting of Mark Cole (vocals, harmonica, guitar and mandolin) and Rick Edwards (guitar & vocals), these guys delivered some real no-nonsense stuff – a great blend of electric and acoustic blues, featuring both traditional blues plus some originals. They were chatty, stripped back, relaxed and completely on top of their performance. It was mostly harmonica-driven, backed by gravelly vocals. Their set seemed all too short and, as Ian said at the end over the enthusiastic applause, here’s hoping that we get to see these guys again.

And after our starters, we were onto main course and pudding – two sets from the US-based Cinelli Brothers. The band is a project born out of a common passion for the electric Chicago and Texas blues from the 60s and 70s. Brothers Marco (guitarist and lead singer) and Alessandro (drummer) decided to form an explosive team showcasing original repertoire in the style of Chess, Stax and Motown. Last night on stage they were joined by Tom Julian-Jones on harmonica, guitar and vocals, and by Stephen Giry on bass, guitar and vocals.

This band won the UK Blues Challenge in September 2022, and were ranked number 2 at the International Blues Challenge in Memphis USA in January 2023, so they arrived with plenty of pedigree. And their latest album is only a couple of months out of the packaging, so obviously there was plenty of material from that source.

There was lots of cool, down-tempo, laid-back stuff – I particularly liked “Last Cigarette”, which they described as their “big fuck-up song”, and “Fools’ Paradise”. There was some blues, there was some funk, and there was some Motown. Most of all though, there was a damn good show, featuring near on two hours of superb musicianship. The stage banter, and inter-song rapport with the audience, were both good. They were commanding, they were engaging and, most importantly, they were utterly entertaining. Full marks from me.

If you get chance to see these guys in the future – don’t hesitate. Definitely recommended!

Future Long Street Blues Club gigs: