|
|
 |
This is the archive of the combined Barking Spider and Andy Broad Portsmouth Blues Site mailing lists.
For the latest information on what's on at The Bullfrog Blues Club click here
Barking Spider Promotions Mailing List |
|
AMOS GARRETT: The Bullfrog Blues Club, South Parade Pier, Southsea THIS THURSDAY (2nd September) Guitar Player magazine calls Amos Garrett: "One of the most lyrical and original guitarists playing today...his single note solos and melodic figures are so distinctive that it is virtually impossible to mistake them for anyone else's." Amos Garrett has been playing for more than 40 years. He took part in the sessions for Anne Murray that gave the world "Snowbird," went on the road with Ian and Sylvia and the Great Speckled Bird, played the classic solo on Maria Muldaur's "Midnight at the Oasis" and was her bandleader for six years, was a member of Paul Butterfield's legendary band Better Days, and won a Juno Award for his work on a classic album called "The Return of the Formerly Brothers" with the late Doug Sahm and pianist Gene Taylor. Amos Garrett may not be in the public eye like, say, Stevie Wonder or Bonnie Raitt or Maria Muldaur (and he's recorded with all of 'em, and close to 200 more) and he's not a high-energy performer with a lot of flash. Instead, he substitutes a wicked dry sense of humour and understated guitar licks that sound simple but need 40 years of hard work to pull off with the class that he always delivers. The Bullfrog gig will be taking place during a rare excursion to the U.K. from his home in Alberta, Canada, as although Amos likes to stay close to home (in Turner Valley, Alberta) he occasionally tours in unlikely places like France and Japan and Scotland. No doubt at The Bullfrog, when he's accompanied by Jim Condie, he'll be featuring songs from his new acoustic album, entitled "Acoustic Album " (pretty much sums it up...). The album features Amos' dry wit, laid-back vocals and stunning guitar playing. and is his first acoustic recording in more than 25 years - it's fresh, funny, and widely varied. As Amos Garrett himself says: "The acoustic guitar is a very different instrument from the electric; it makes you 'think' songs in a different way," he says. "But ,this is a CD that's really for my vocals. I just love to sing, and this record puts the spotlight on that. The guitar stuff? Pretty good. But check the vocals." On the new album, Garrett's sly vocals tackle old pop tunes like "Sam's Song" and the whimsical "Small Fry" and then gives you the definitive version of Hoagy Carmichael's "Hong Kong Blues." When he takes on "Michigan Water Blues" he delivers a stunning solo that is, in fact, a guitar transcription of Jelly Roll Morton's original piano part, recorded almost 80 years ago. Songs like "I Hate Myself," "You've Always Got Your Hands on That Guitar" and "Some Musician Was to Blame" is Amos at his best, and you're aware that underlying the jokes are sly moments of self-analysis. And, to reach out to his touchstone, the blues, he does a perfect version of Leadbelly's "Grasshoppers On My Pillow." Today, as laid back as he is, Amos is busy. There was a made-for-TV film shoot in April this year, a tour of France (and Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Belgium) in May. He was back in Canada for the festival season (he's led the "house band" at the Edmonton Folk Festival for two decades, accompanying everyone from Solomon Burke to Ruth Brown, not to mention Rick Danko, Richard Thompson, Jay McShann, Johnnie Johnson and Rosco Gordon). And now we've got him at The Bullfrog! Miss this gig at your peril. We may not see his like again..... AMOS GARRETT (with JIM CONDIE) is at The Bullfrog Blues Club, South Parade Pier, Southsea on Thursday, 2nd September. Doors open 8 p.m. Tickets (£8.50) available on the door.