Don’t you just love it when a gig really comes together, and
you find yourself having a damn good time?
In a recent interview Stevie Nimmo observed that he no
longer gave a shit about conforming with any music industry expectations. And why the hell should he, when he and his
band deliver performances like this?
Towards the end of this set they give an outing to ‘The
Storm’, a song by the late Glasgow
legend Big George Watt, and Nimmo shows just
what he’s made of on guitar. There’s a
mountainous, howling solo early on, but then there are subtle shifts in mood
before he delivers another stunning solo, shimmering and then piercing, and it
feels like he takes it all the way to the moon before bringing it back.
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| Stevie Nimmo - walking on the moon |
And that’s just one highlight among many tonight. On the Allman Brothers song, ‘Gambler’s
Roll’, which to be honest I found one of the less interesting moments on his
new album Sky Won’t Fall, Nimmo
demonstrates that he’s on top form vocally too.
More than that, the contributions of Mat Beable on bass and Craig Bacon
on drums show that the Stevie Nimmo Trio are more than just a group, they’re a team.
It was like this from the kick-off, with the urgent ‘Roll
The Dice Again’, and then the gutsy, fuck-off-defiant ‘Still Hungry’, which
features great bass from Beable.
‘Running On Back To You’ – “as bluesy as I get nowadays”,
says Nimmo – is based on a delightful guitar lick with a teasing final
upstroke, and is delivered with real feeling.
Meanwhile on ‘Change’ they fall into an effortless groove, swinging with
ease – you can easily imagine some female backing vocals adding to its vibe.
On a cover of Storyville’s ‘Good Day For The Blues’ they
demonstrate that they can also do a more laid back, Southern feel, but with set
closer ‘Lovin’ Might Do Us Good’ they really hit the bullseye. It’s a Bacardi Breezer of a song - light and
funky and succeeding in getting a good few asses shook.
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| Ben Poole - finger picking good |
They come back on with co-headliner Ben Poole, and the
estimable Steve Watts on keys, to shake the foundations with a fearsome rendition
of Jeff Beck’s ‘Going Down’, and Nimmo and Poole have great fun cranking out
the riff while Watts showcases on organ.
It’s a great ending to the night, and one that gives Poole
another share of the spotlight after his satisfying set earlier in the evening. The sexy ‘Let’s Go Upstairs’ is a strong
opener, and Poole’s qualities are underlined on ‘Love Nobody No More’, a strong
piece of songwriting done justice by his quavery, soulful vocal, finger-picking
guitar, and nice harmonies. Accompanied
by the B&B rhythm section of Beable and Bacon, and with Watts on keyboards,
the playing is rock solid.
‘Longing For A Woman’, with its ‘Norwegian Wood’-like
descending bass line, is the inspiration for a fierce Telecaster solo, laden
with tension. In contrast ‘Lying To Me’
is chunky and funky, with Bradley Wiggins lookalike Watts coming over all
Stax-like, and a syncopated feel to the middle section.
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| Poole and Nimmo take it to the limit |
But if these songs demonstrate Poole’s potential, there are
times when he could do with some more discipline. He opens the Freddie King classic ‘Have You
Ever Loved A Woman’ with an overlong solo guitar and vocal intro, which is a
pity, because once the band kick in things get back on course. Beable and Bacon are rock steady, Poole finds
a pleasingly pinging, twanging guitar tone to complement his husky vocals, and
Watts’ organ gives the whole thing balance.
He’s at it again on the Gary Moore-inspired ‘Time Might
Never Come’. The song has a yearning
chorus and a neat resolving guitar chord to the riff, but the whole is somehow
less than the sum of its parts. Poole
gets into a gutsy solo, full of deep and rich tones, but takes far too long to
get to the heart of it, and then lapses into a spell of vacuous shredding
before getting back on track.
No matter. The
Brighton boy has the bones of a great, soulful sound, and he can write a good
song. He reminds me of Aynsley Lister,
but has yet to acquire Lister’s poise and balance. Touring with Stevie Nimmo will hopefully be
an effective learning experience for him.
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