Rant and rambles..

The Slade Rooms in wolves... one major subject that pisses me off is lighting.. now i know not all small venues can afford the greatest kit, but when a "new" venue has a great set of lightting, but for whatever fucking reason known only to themselves, refuses to use it really PISSES me off..  if I wanted to work in darkness I'd become a coal miner..  get your act together!!  and while i'm ranting.. get shot od those chanddeliers.. they make more noise than your PA system..

other news... looks like the company where i've been storing all my archives pictures has ceased opperation.. this means that the "archived models & gigs" part of the site is down until I can find another relaible storage provider.  as soon as one is found i'll look at uploading it all again.

Quick update

Have  added the recent Revamp & Epica shoot to the site.. full screen flickr slideshow here.

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/midlandsrocks/sets/72157626245781596/show/

Virgil & The Accelerators shoot can be found here.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/midlandsrocks/sets/72157626075259301/show/

Also.. looks like the server where I store all the archived gig/model shoots has gone tits up.. currently looking to find a new location to store these images. 

Mitch Laddie and Danni Wilde @ The Robin 2

Mitch Laddie

Right so its first gig of the year and I’m at the Robin 2, here in sunny Bilston to catch  a couple of up and coming blues performers; Mitch Laddie and Dani Wild..  Although I’ve not seen either of them live before, I have been playing their latest cd’s constantly ‘which I’d like to add are both enjoyable’ over the past couple of months so my expectations for tonight are rather high.

First to step up to the plate (my new catchphrase) is Mitch Laddie who kicks off with “Awakening”, which is the first track from his new “This Time Around” cd.  It’s jazz funk style intro tickles your ears in a very Geoff Achison kind of way, lulling you into a false sense of security and then WHAM it hits you full on like a bloody freight train.  In many ways its quite reminiscent to the outro of Fleewood Macs “The Chain” only this is a thousand times better.. On the cd this sounds good, live sounds absolutely fantastic. 

The mood is set and Mitch keeps things ticking nicely over for the next hour, taking the tempo up and down.  From ground level raw blues of “Here’s a drink” to the jazz, blues, funk feel of  “Me Johnson” , both from the new cd and both potential classics.

As for Mitch himself it’s really hard to label him with any specific blues style.  He plays with the emotion of Sayce and Achinson and the maturity of Santana.  There’s also glimpses o; f Martin Taylor, Alex Skoinick and Greg Howe in there too.  Not only does this make his playing style both complete and unique, but it also makes him a joy to watch.  It really is hard to believe that this guy is still only 20 years old.  Definitely one of the best young British blues players I’ve had the pleasure to see in a very long time.

It’s not all about Mitch though; I’d also like to take the time to mention his bass player Rhian Wilkinson, who, lets be honest is not the most charismatic bass player that I’ve ever seen, BUT, he is the first person that has ever made me want to learn to play the bass.  His interaction with Mitch was superb, never understating or overstating his place on stage, no competing egos, just a perfect musical marriage.  Now I finally understand why it’s cool to play the bass.

Great set guys.. Look forward to seeing you again in the future.

Set list:

Awakening, So Excited (SRV), Get You Back, Out Of My Mind (John Mayer), What Are You Living For?, Here's a Drink, Mr. Johnson & This Time Around.

http://www.mitchladdie.com

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Dani Wilde

With 2 cds now under her belt Dani is getting quite a reputation for being a damn good blues player / songstress, so I’m looking forward to this set, possibly more than I normally would.

She kicks off the set with “Little by Little”, which is one of my favourites from her first cd “Heal My Blues“.  However the delivery doesn’t quite grab and she seems a little nervous, but this seems to settle down as we make our way through the first song. “Red Blooded Women” is next up from the new “Shine” cd and wow.. what a difference, what a voice.  Not quite as raunchy as Joanne Shaw Taylor, she’s quite a bit more soulful and has a tonal range that reminds me of Skin from “Skunk Anansie”  which is good.

Joining Dani on stage is her brother “Will ‘Harmonica’ Wilde” who when not gigging with Dani has his own band “The Neptune Blues Band”, but I digress.  Now as you might have guessed from the hint in his name Will plays the harp, which, as anyone that really knows me will tell you is quite possibly my favourite instrument of all time.  Now getting back to the cd “Shine”.. I like it, but there’s something missing and I realized what it was tonight and that’s the harp.. Although it is there on the cd its too far in the background and not a dominant force, but tonight its in your face and its bloody beautiful, this is how it should be and not over produced out of existence.. Short rant over.

Halfway through the set Dani loses a string.  Un-phased Dani brings the acoustic out a few songs earlier than planned and carries on with the original set, leaving Will to cover the big solos on the harp.  However,  whilst as a harp lover this was great for me, I just find it hard to understand why she didn’t have a spare guitar in the wings?

This aside it works well and we get to the end of the set and then Will is kicked back onto stage to do an impromptu solo whilst Dani restrings her guitar, which was pretty impressive to ay the least, not the stringing of the guitar, but Wills singing.  Guitar restrung were treated to one more song before the lights go up and its all over.

Well I walked into the Robin with very high expectations and I wasn’t in the least disappointed,  Dani was a revelation to me and a joy to behold.  The added bonus for me though was Will.. I don’t think he will ever be remembered as a great harp player, but he’s pretty good and he managed to introduce a new dimension to Danis music that I hadn’t heard on the CD.  

In brief - A fantastic night that was over far too quick and left me wanting more.

Set list:

Little by Little, Red Blooded Woman, Shine, Some Kinda Crazy, Abandoned Child, Slow Coach, Love Me Like A Man, Bring Your Lovin Home, Miss You & In The Mood.

http://www.daniwilde.com/

Black Country Communion @ The Civic halls, Wolverhampton. - 29.12.10

http://www.flickr.com/photos/midlandsrocks/sets/72157625578173373

Yearly round up to follow..

19.02.11
Well what happened to the yearly round-up?  It didnt happen, i'm afraid, mainly due to health reasons that I won't bore you with.  All I will say is; 2010, on the whole,  was a fantastic yuear for me on the gig tog point.. I got to see some fantastic bands, meet some wonderful people even made a little money, which is good.

Highlight of the year for me was "Black Country Communion" with "Eric Bibb" coming a very close second.. what a contrast.

Much thanks to Pete and the Midlands Rocks team who helped make 2010 such a great year.

And a special mention has to go to Mike for putting such a great little venue on my doorstep.. Of cours I'm talking about the Robin 2.  http://www.therobin.co.uk/

Bin men rant!

Yet again this lazy bunch of jokers can't be arsed to do thier job just because of a little snow!! 

Christ 20yrs ago I remember bin men wading through snow 2 foot deep carrying.. yes fucking "carrying" cast iron bins full of rubbish 200 yards to the bin wagon and then bringing it back again.. These days you have to leave the bin at the bottom of the drive, but make sure the lid is shut or they wont take it!  Apparently we have to save thier poor little legs from getting tired and make sure they don't have to bend thier backs picking up a little litter that may fall out.  And then to add insult to injury we have to play hunt the bin, cause the lazy fuckers can't be bothered to return it!!

I'm all for H&S at work, but these bin men and thier unions really take the piss..  at this rate we'll be emptying the bins ourselves..

IMO we should sack them all and replace them with polish workers.. at least the job will get done and done properly for a change..

rant over..