Tag: Eddie martin

As Cool as an Eddie Martin; Blues at The Southgate

It was a typical, standard Saturday night at Devizes Southgate, but a typical and standard night at the Gate equates to an absolutely blinding night in most other pubs……

Amidst friendly faces, welcoming staff and warm familiar surroundings, the unpredictable drizzling autumn was set aside for Mr Eddie Martin to group with the finest drum and bass section to grace the alcove, Tom Gilkes and Jerry Soffe respectively. And together they blasted us full in face with some sublime three-piece electric blues. An unchanged formula for decades, because it works.

Though Eddie himself is diverse, the last time I saw him he was solo, filling gaps between bands in at The Wiltshire Blues and Soul Club’s grand evening at the Corn Exchange, where clad in golden suit he executed vintage blues akin to Muddy Waters. A high accolade it may well be but fully deserved. With full horn section he went for the big band style recently at the Long Street Blues Club, but here at the Gate, he’s truly rocking the electric blues, in DMs, black jeans and one too many shirt buttons open. He can do this, with apt blue shades and shaved head he looks the part, and certainly sounds it.

With a few blues covers, but nothing immediately recognisable or cliché, Eddie mostly rolled out original tracks from his plethora of albums, in a suitcase at his feet. This matched the appreciation of the slight but blossoming crowd. It was, in short, electrifying yet cool as a cucumber; an electrified cucumber, if you will. In fact, I could skewer the idiom to cool as an Eddie Martin!

Nimble on the strings, with extended instrumental breaks of mesmerising proportions, he polished those songs right there before our very eyes, and it was something to behold. I believe, if memory serves me well, my top drunken exclamation was a rather Punch and Judy, “that’s the way to do it,” because it is.

Not that this was the night I had planned, intentions were to get to Bath for a bit of ska and boss reggae with Ya Freshness, but difficulties with non-existent public transport meant I’d have to drive, and being I’ve galivanted elsewhere the past few weekends, sometimes one desires a few too many ciders, where everybody knows your…erm, cue classic American sitcom theme, because it’s apt. The Southgate is that dependable tavern, which hasn’t failed me yet, and neither on this occasion either.

Eddie, a local bluesman of international calibre knows exactly what he’s doing, Devizes renowned blues circuit love him for it. Not only does he know his way around a guitar, but he also even attaches his harmonica holder stylishly and he knows how to rouse a crowd. Which means I don’t make comparisons to blues legends lightly, but justifiably, and the thought hangs on the Howlin’ Wolf. Needless to say, I had a great night, and even flagged a taxi home with ease, cool as an Eddie Martin, what is this now, 2019? No one gets an unbooked taxi in a rank at midnight in Devizes anymore; luck is a lady!

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REVIEW – Eddie Martin’s Big Blues Band (with The Little Big Horns) @ LSBC, Devizes – Saturday 8th October 2022

Big Band Blues

Andy Fawthrop

The Long Street Blues Club season continued last night with some great music.

First up was Kelvin Davies (guitar) and Gary Jones (harmonica), a duo making their first visit to the club.  They delivered an absolutely charming set of upbeat numbers, wandering around blues, folk, country and ragtime.  Kelvin’s guitar-picking was first rate, and he was ably supported by some haunting and expressive harmonica work by Gary.  The audience absolutely loved them, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Ian had them back again in the future.  Great entertainment.

Then onto the main business of the night, and we were treated to a rare, if not unique performance.  Not that Eddie Martin is any kind of stranger to Devizes audiences, having played at a number of local venues over the past few years.  What was unusual this time however was the format.  We’ve seen him play solo, and we’ve seen him play fronting his own trio and supporting various blues-based combos, but last night we were treated to a run-out in a “big band” format.  Eddie shared that had actually done this before, but many years ago, but as far as I was concerned, this was a very special “one-off” show.

And how great it was.  Setting up as a 7-piece, fronted by Eddie on guitar and harmonica, the band featured drums, bass, keyboards, trumpet (Phil Storer), trombone (Andy Wrathbone) and saxophone (Patsy Gamble).  And what a lovely fat, rich sound they produced.  It was funky, it was full-on and it carried some real heft.  Paying his usual tributes and homage to such masters as Elmore James, T-Bone Walker, Muddy Waters, Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson, Muddy Waters and Pee-Wee Ellis, Eddie led the band through two superb sets of funky blues, with some great early 60s dance rhythms.  I was put in mind at times of Southside Johnny & The Asbury Dukes, which in my book is a big compliment.

We had some quite jazzy sections, the musicians playing off each other and taking their well-deserved solos, and all the while looking as if they were thoroughly enjoying themselves.  Eddie himself, turned out in his usual dapper style, with his trademark gravel voice, absolutely led from the front, chatting with the audience between songs and working the room with some call-and-response material.

We had some great-titled songs – “Tough Times”, “Someone’s Making Money, But I Know It’s Not Me”, “The Birds And The Bees” and “With A Big Enough Lever You Can Lift The World”.  The set concluded with a standing ovation and a fully-deserved encore.  Cracking stuff, and a great night’s entertainment.

And if you want to catch Eddie again, he’s playing The Southgate, this time as a trio, on Saturday 22nd October.  I suggest you get yourselves along there – you won’t be disappointed.

Future Long Street Blues Club gigs:

Friday 14th October 2022  Black Sabbitch (Corn Exchange, Devizes)

Saturday 5th November 2022  Robbie McIntosh Band

Friday 11th November 2022   Beaux Gris Gris & The Apocalypse (Corn Exchange, Devizes)

Saturday 19th November 2022   Hardwicke Circus and The Alex Voysey Trio

Friday 23rd December 2022  Gee Baby I Love You

Devizes Gives Wiltshire Blues & Soul Club a Warm Welcome

Since their formation last June, Wiltshire Blues & Soul Club have held jamming sessions at the rather splendid Owl Lodge, tucked away on Bowden Hill, near Lacock. Video teasers on the book of face attracted my eye; membership-schemed freestyle blues within a cosy log cabin setting, firepit et al. But if this rural blues society has been stealthy, it was high time for them to blow the lid on the secret.….

And they pulled it off with bells on, staging a multiple act show at The Corn Exchange, in the bright city lights of Devizes(!); a market town historically marked on the blues map of England.

If the event came off with niggling teething troubles, organisers admitted hosting a show on this scale was a learning curve for them. Yet the exceptional high standard of acts booked guaranteed it infallible to be anything less than the awesome night it was.

Failsafe came in the form of the part rockabilly part big band-edged blues frenzy of headliners, Ruzz Guitar Blues Revue, with that guitar virtuoso frontman you could worry will dehydrate up there for want of extending feverish moments from traditional three-minute hero into Pink Floyd record lengths.

Our homegrown legend, Innes Sibun, who glides electric guitar strings as if the lovechild of Page and Hendrix, in sporadically performing, internationally famed collaboration Innes Sibun Blues Explosion. If this was any kind of detonation as the band name suggests, it was a seriously smooth one. Frontman Patrick Hibbert eased sublimely delivered soulful vocals, while Innes did his matchless thing.

Bristol-based one-man-band and regular favourite at Devizes’ Southgate, Eddie Martin, who perfectly filled gaps between bands with sublime solo renditions of long-lost blues legends, encouraging audience participation, with nuggets of a blues history lesson and witty repartee.

And part co-ordinator of the Wiltshire Blues & Soul Club, Will Blake, who with full band straddled a burgundy grand piano akin to Jerry-Lee Lewis, when I walked into the joint, and delivered some outstanding soul and rock n roll classics with a few originals thrown in. Alluring singer Rosa Gray occasionally complimented this line-up with sassy vocals, perhaps most memorable duetting with Will on Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell’s Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.

If, in comparison to the later acts, one debates the repertoire of The Will Blake Band to be wedding requests, it would surely be the one wedding you’ll remember for the rest of your life. Besides, platitude covers added a dimension and awoke the majority elder audience with familiarity; it was a booming flinch creating a buzz of anticipation; this was to be grand night of quality entertainment.

If similar shows fill gaps between bands with recorded sound or second-rate comedians, drafting in the great Eddie Martin proved the club never skipped on quality, even for intervals. A prolific recording artist whose devotion to the old-timey blues of legends like Robert Johnson, Son House and Blind Willie Johnson, Ed’s spellbinding solo tribute is unparalleled, and just as all other acts here tonight, would’ve made an unforgettable show alone.

In this, one prevention of selling out that vast hall could arguably be the score ticket-stub, but to deliver a lush line-up this rammed costs. Nevertheless, it was adequately filled to begin with, a mature majority able to justify and swallow the cost lessened off gradually as the evening drew late. This left the hall disappointingly bare by the time Ruzz Guitar belted on stage, but those who remained made the most of it and dancing upfront lambasted the decision to provide show styled seating. If I’m nit-picking criticisms they’re justified as future considerations, because cost is insignificant when the proficiency of all these acts, combined, was priceless, seating arrangements are hugely debatable, considering the age demographic, and others, well, I’m certain there was no more. This was a great evening, presenting Wiltshire Blues & Soul Club with potential new members, as jams are planned to kick off again in April; will keep you posted.

Long Street Blues Club proprietors Ian and Liz in attendance proved no rivalry, I conversed with Exchange club owner Ian James, who reminisced on blues gigs of yore, based in town; something I never tire of hearing. These, combined with the likes of Innes and Jon Amor affirms Devizes’ place of the blues map of England, surely? So, there was no local location more apt for this kind of event, and a massive respect to the Wiltshire Blues & Soul Club for taking on the challenge of appeasing local blues aficionados, proud of Devizes, akin to what Coventry means to Two-Tone or Bristol to UK hip hop, least near as dammit for a small town!

I personally think you guys pulled the rabbit from the hat.

It was something I was pondering beforehand, now confirmed my need to relabel after Innes Sibun Blues Explosion’s textbook performance last night, that my terminology “local music” I often overuse. It’s inapt to refer to the likes of Innes and Jon Amor as local musicians, despite being born here, with the same marker as those rarely venturing outside our local circuit. Last time I was standing beside Innes and Jon, I earwigged their recollections of tours of eastern European countries; these guys are internationally renowned, The Innes Sibun Blues Explosion have been somewhat dormant for over thirty years, likely due to their individual location being so far apart, and this was a reunion gig for them. But where does one draw the line? With folk trio The Lost Trades’ recent success, they too straddle this borderline now.

Four of the Five original members, Innes Sibun, John Baggot, Patrick Hibbert and also drummer for Ruzz, Mike Hoddinott, reformed for this gig, performing songs from their 1991 album That’s What The Blues Can Do. Coupled with Ruzz, officially endorsed by Gretsch Guitars, who knocked my personal favourite Sweet as Honey out of the park as a grand finale, encored by Will Blake joining them adlibbing on piano, made this evening a notable notch on the history of blues events in town, and a delight to have attended such a memorable occasion.

Where the Wiltshire Blues & Soul Club go from here is anyone’s guess, but we look forward to prospect they might least match this again rather top it, or even hope it breathes interest into their more humbling jamming sessions at the Owl Lodge. Top marks all round I say; anyone got an ibuprofen?!

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