Bands Beat Back at the Blues Bonanza

I hate my job, I’ll tell you. Ever weekend I have to spend 7 hours on Saturday and 7 hours on Sunday tidying a department store and this weekend, I got to do it while one of the best two-day mini-festivals was in town; the Dundee Blues Bonanza. Thirty-two bars and clubs around the west-end of the city played host to eighty-six bands (yes, eighty-six!) over 48 hours and it was fantastic.

Or it would have been, had I been able to catch the majority of it…

Luckily for me, I don’t work past eight o’clock, so immediately from said work I headed out to see if I could visit any of the musicians and bands in all their splendour. Lo’ and behold, I actually managed to catch a few on Saturday night; The Jed Thomas band, a mix of Celtic, Blues, Psycho Billy and good ol’ rock ‘n’ roll and, as ever, Jed put every part of his being into his music. Playing a variety of upbeat, toe-tapping tunes, the four-piece band, including a double-bass and harmonica (as only the best blues can), rocked it up something fierce in Lloyds No.1’s. Not so much playing the crowd, the four guys seemed so absorbed in their music to care who was listening; I think we could have all walked away and they wouldn’t have noticed. One let down I feel, was that all their songs were so upbeat, it got a little tiring after a while, feeling the same speed or faster come at you time and again. That said however, if it isn’t broken don’t try to fix it, and Jed and co. are pretty damn good at what they do.

Moving ever forwards in our quest for music that night, Pack of Lies, a 3-piece from Dumfries just didn’t cut it in the Nether Inn. After being told that they were “a young Band with a mature sound encompassing many Blues styles and influences”, I expected to see talent, energy and showmanship, yet all I saw was noise and rock. It was like any normal gig in town, a fairly generic band whose blues influences must have stemmed from Led Zeppelin; the sound was there alright, just buried beneath layers of vague sounds. A shame really, after all I’d heard and read about them, I’d expected something superior to the Nether’s usual tastes but to no avail. I was greeted instead with the samey, 3-4 minute repetitive riffs until the band finally settled on one good idea for thirty seconds, at which point the song ended. The talent is there, no doubt, it just needs work. A lot of work.

50 ml of bourbon later, I was about ready to move on to the highlight of the night; the After Hours Club in the Basement. Something should be said about the venue first here, I feel. The Basement is located in South Tay Street, directly beneath and connected to Number 25’s (what is it with bars are number-based names, now-a-days?). On any normal weekend, this late-night club is packed to the brim, its size dictating ‘packed to the brim’ as about thirty people. The live D.J.’s and bands that play regularly bearing down upon their loyal subjects a plethora of blues, jazz, soul and acoustic rock all night, all week. So now that the scene is set for the kind of person that frequents the Basement, you can imagine just how busy the cosy little place was when the Bonanza was in town. The After Hours Club was the conjunction of two artists who had already played elsewhere in town in the early afternoon; Bottleneck John has vast European festival experience, his sound that night transported the listener to a universe where Clapton reigned supreme. The Rattle Snakin’ Daddies were on after John but, due to current work-in-the-morning laws, I didn’t get to stay for the band who are well know for flirting with their audiences. So imagine the scene; a big, brown leather chair and a roaring fire, cocktails and bourbon in abundance, friends, talk and laughter and the very best in laid back blues and acoustic guitar, with a voice that can lift your soul. That, in short, was Bottleneck John and most definitely my favourite act of the night.

Unfortunately for me and for the length of this review, I didn’t get to see anything of Sunday’s performers, but I’m told good and bad things in a positive ratio. To find out more about any of the bands and about the Bonanza itself, visit the link on the right.

Marten <3