Thunder and Lightening. Jools Holland Gig Review

Last night Mrs F and I went to see Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra at one of the Castle Concerts. These are a series of open air gigs played in the castle grounds of Rochester castle which is a lovely location. The whole event is a bit of a picnic etc. This is the first time Mrs F and I have been as often it has clashed with end of school plays etc. but this year the school took a different approach to that kind of thing so we are able to go. Jools Holland is pretty much now got a residency given he is a local himself living only a couple of miles away... in his own castle.

This was the umpteenth time we've seen Jools - well I think we figured it was probably the 6th but he is a firm favourite of ours. For a start his big band is something a little different, they are stunningly good musicians and clearly no matter how many shows they play always look to be having an absolute ball themselves. So last night we had several off the latest Informer CD with most vocal duties shared between Louise Marshall and the legendary Ruby Turner. Also Rico Rodriguez was a star of the show as ever - he maybe 74 but he still can get up there and give a show. He is a legend quiet simply.

The other big guest star was Dave Edmonds who rattled off a few hits finishing his stint off with The Sabre Dance - which given I was the only one who cheered when that was announced clearly many people didn't know what that was. Now about 30 odd mins into the show the predicted rain had started to fall and I had said to Mrs F "According to the BBC web site it'll be pouring down at 9pm". It did with lightening storms all about and The Sabre Dance was given a great backdrop. However the rain didn't dampen the spirits too much and it was a great show which ended a little sooner than planned I think as there was some concern over safety with more lightening on the way.

The support act was an American from NYC - Joshua Radin who I really liked. I've bought his CD, Simple Times, but not listened to it as yet. Anyone who remembers last year my discovery of Phil Campbell and who sought him out will appreciate why I like Joshua - he struck me as a bit of a similar USA type.

Comments

  1. JohnJayJay21 July 2009 at 08:54

    Always liked Jools and was a Squeeze fan. They break out any oldies?
    Rico Rodriguez? I'm guessing there was a fair amount of old school ska in the mix that day?
    Would have liked to have seen it...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Furtheron21 July 2009 at 10:33

    No they don't play any Squeeze - although Gilson Lavis is the drummer in the Rhythm and Blues Orchestra.

    Yes Rico's showpiece was a couple of Ska numbers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Candy's daily Dandy22 July 2009 at 00:13

    I am picturing a blues concert with the backdrop of a lovely castle.

    Sounds wonderful. Great music. Great company.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Liz Hinds22 July 2009 at 13:29

    Sabre Dance, yay! Good welsh boy, Dave Edmunds.

    I have a copy of the Jools Holland CD, Back to the country, featuring lots of artists (from his shows I guess). The title song talks about geting away from it all 'I'm going to switch off my sat nav...' Sat nav? Excuse me? Shouldn't it be 'Let my horse have his head'? Sat navs in country songs? Whatever next?

    ReplyDelete

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