Ian Siegal and Wilko Johnson at Exeter Phoenix

Last Saturday Ian Siegal and Wilko Johnson were on stage at the Phoenix. I didn't know Siegal previously but he has been around for a while and is very well-regarded. Earlier this year he won the British Blues Vocalist Award.

His website says that if Siegal been around in the sixties he would today be accorded the same reverence as artists such as Van Morrison, Joe Cocker and Eric Clapton and quotes Muddy Waters' son as saying that If my Daddy were alive today he'd say “That's my boy!". 

He looks like a cross between a young Mickey Rourke and a shorn Alan Davies. His material is original but seems authentic without being hackneyed or derivative. On Saturday he was playing with drummer and bass support. I've seen a lot of blues guitarists and most succumb to self indulgence but Siegal played a flawless well-paced set supported by a tight rhythm section and the crowd loved it.

Ian is headlining the Torquay Blues Festival on 5th November - Get along there to see him playing solo.

After Siegal, Wilko Johnson seemed a bit of an anticlimax at first but once he got going, we soon got the point. Wilko is not subtle - he is raw. The Feelgoods at their best (when Wilko was with them) were raw - Every bit as raw as punk and in many cases rawer. The award-winning documentary about the band, Oil City Confidential, explores their origins as a primitive pub-rock band in Canvey Island, up to the death of Lee Brilleaux, and beyond.

Wilko looks  much older now (it is 34 years later). Norman Watt-Roy, the bass player from the Blockheads, and Wilko together look like the Sopranos/Krays and are dressed in the all-black uniforms of your local coffee shop baristas.

Watt-Roy is like a demented goblin frenetically plucking his bass in a puddle of his own sweat. Wilko still has that manic look of old and periodically storms back and forward, machine-gunning the audience with his guitar. His voice is not strong like Lee Brilleaux but it is effective enough.

They produce a wall of noise and the audience love it - especially the old favourites: Back in the Night, Roxette, She Does it Right, and Bye Bye Johnny. We are in the presence of a legend ... Unfortunately I was standing in front of the speaker stack again and my video sound was badly distorted - but here are Wilko and Norman playing She Does it Right in the 1980s:

And here is the great Lee Brilleaux doing the vocal honours on the same number back in 1975:

Axe at the Ship Inn Music Festival, Teignmouth

The annual Ship Inn Bank Holiday Music Festival took place this weekend in Teignmouth.

This is a great set-up: The stage is built on the beach just behind the pub and during the day and evening a mixture of locals and families on holiday pass through - enjoying the music, food from the barbeque and, of course, drinks.

The weather was ideal on Saturday, although when we got there at about five, the wind off the sea was starting to make it a bit chilly.

We were just in time to catch Axe - A four piece who played a bluesy set and reminded me of  Dr Feelgood - but less manic than Lee and Wilko (who isn't?). Here are the band in rehearsal doing Teenage Kicks/ Born Under a Bad Sign:

Unfortunately we weren't able to stay longer but the festival carried on through to Monday evening.

By the way, the Ship stage was decorated by Arts Anonymous - A small street art gallery/shop a short distance from the pub. Well worth a look if you are in the area.

To finish, here are the legends themselves: Wilko Johnson and Lee Brilleaux - the Feelgoods - encoring on home ground at the Southend Kursaal:

Wilko Johnson is appearing at the Exeter Phoenix on 8th October - should be a good night.