I was very sad to learn yesterday that Wilko Johnson had died. He was truly a one-off. There was nobody else like him. He was a great songwriter and a truly mesmerising performer. It's a great shame.
Showing posts with label wilko johnson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wilko johnson. Show all posts
Thursday, 24 November 2022
Sunday, 2 March 2014
Last night Wilko Johnson played down our street
How blimmin’ cool is that?
Norwich Blues Festival happened yesterday at the waterfront, and what a damned fine event it was. It was a fairly loose interpretation of the blues for some acts but it was mostly enjoyable all the same. The first act on was a duo from Doncaster called Rita Payne. Great music/singing and witty repartee between songs. I need to investigate them a bit more. I kind of think they’ll blossom and grow. Check them out as they are well worth a listen!
Rita Payne
Another act I was well impressed with was Connie Lush and Blues Shouter who came on just before Wilko. Connie I think in musical terms comes under the category of ‘good time gal’. There’s no way you can stand still when Connie and the band are on. In stage presence and giving it her all she reminds one of George Melly. I mean that in a very flattering way I might add. Connie is a true blues diva. She can’t ‘alf belt them out. It was a fantastic set, great musicians and proper blues!
Connie Lush giving it what for
The Waterfront was heaving. It must have been a capacity crowd; certainly I’ve never seen it so full. Then the moment we’d all been waiting for, and a moment I never thought I’d see Wilko Johnson and his band took to the stage. The great man looked tired, which is hardly surprising, but as soon as he started playing he changed instantly; attacking his guitar like a thing possessed; a highly animated aficionado of rocking R&B. He ripped into much of his own work plus a few classics one after another. There was no let up. This man has a stage presence that is like no other. He still does his trademark walk back and forth. He still has the staring wide eyes. He still plays a mean and furious guitar. He even mimicked Chuck Berry on one of his songs. It’s a glib and easy remark to make because it’s so often been said but that really was one of the best performances by anyone that I’ve ever seen. Wilko Johnson is a rare talent. A guitar genius. And it was a concert that I’ll never forget. Thank you Wilko. You made a lot of people very happy last night.
Friday, 5 February 2010
Oil City Slickers
I had so been looking forward to Julian Temple’s film Oil City Confidential. I had been looking forward to it since I heard about it on Radcliffe & Maconie last year. It was screened, nationwide, Tuesday night, followed by a live concert from Koko in London beamed to the cinemas showing the film. I was not disappointed.
Dr Feelgood were very much the unsung heroes of British music. They paved the way for punk, but they were more than that. In the early 1970s they looked different, they sounded different and oh boy were they excitingly different. I could just not believe Wilko Johnson, the frenetic and mesmerizingly manic lead guitarist of the distant stare. How could anyone play the guitar that well and move up and down the stage at such speed? The combination of Wilko’s guitar sound coupled with front man vocalist and harp player Lee Brilleaux made it a winning formula. Dr Feelgood were pure unadulterated R&B. That’s real R&B of course, and all played at a pace.
Julian Temple films tend to be a bit oddball and Oil City Confidential is no exception. I don’t say that in a derogatory way. I like his style. The film is basically a surrealist documentary. Parts of it reminded me of early Old Grey Whistle Tests. Not for the musical content but the stripped down presentation and the edited in ageing film clips. The film is as much a celebration of Canvey Island as it is the Feelgoods. It charts their lives from childhood up to Lee’s demise. This informative film is a must for any lover of British popular music. There are interviews with all the band members, music colleagues, family, friends and fans, some from archives obviously, but many made for the film. Anchor man in the film is the enigmatic Wilko, although there were sizeable contributions of some of the other Feelgoods. The film left me feeling very sorry for Wilko. Not 100% sure why, but he did come across as a lonely and troubled individual. Not sure if that’s just a facade for blues authenticity or the genuine man.
The film finished and we were told that there would be a twenty minute break. I nipped out for that all important toilet break, much needed on a middle-aged bladder and after a two hour film. Some poor folk took the announcement at its word and probably nipped out to the pub. I say poor folk because the concert started not much later than 5 minutes after the film. It had already started when I returned to my seat, but only just. Wilko was giving it what for on his guitar. Early in the concert, and for three songs, he was joined on stage by Alison Moyet who is now a slim vision of loveliness, but can still add weight in the vocal department. Also on stage was a pretty mean harmonica player. A giant of a man who looked vaguely familiar but at first I couldn’t place him. The first name that came into my head was Charles Shaar Murray, but I kept thinking, ‘Surely not’. Surely not, but it actually was Charlie boy. It was a great concert of Dr Feelgood songs and R&B classics that I wished had gone on longer. The only constructive comment I have to offer is that Wilko should make use of guest singers. He’s a great guitarist, but his vocal style, reminiscent of Pete Townsend’s, is not powerful enough to do justice to many of his songs, but full marks to him for giving it a damned good go.
Tuesday was truly a fantastic music evening!
Dr Feelgood were very much the unsung heroes of British music. They paved the way for punk, but they were more than that. In the early 1970s they looked different, they sounded different and oh boy were they excitingly different. I could just not believe Wilko Johnson, the frenetic and mesmerizingly manic lead guitarist of the distant stare. How could anyone play the guitar that well and move up and down the stage at such speed? The combination of Wilko’s guitar sound coupled with front man vocalist and harp player Lee Brilleaux made it a winning formula. Dr Feelgood were pure unadulterated R&B. That’s real R&B of course, and all played at a pace.
Julian Temple films tend to be a bit oddball and Oil City Confidential is no exception. I don’t say that in a derogatory way. I like his style. The film is basically a surrealist documentary. Parts of it reminded me of early Old Grey Whistle Tests. Not for the musical content but the stripped down presentation and the edited in ageing film clips. The film is as much a celebration of Canvey Island as it is the Feelgoods. It charts their lives from childhood up to Lee’s demise. This informative film is a must for any lover of British popular music. There are interviews with all the band members, music colleagues, family, friends and fans, some from archives obviously, but many made for the film. Anchor man in the film is the enigmatic Wilko, although there were sizeable contributions of some of the other Feelgoods. The film left me feeling very sorry for Wilko. Not 100% sure why, but he did come across as a lonely and troubled individual. Not sure if that’s just a facade for blues authenticity or the genuine man.
The film finished and we were told that there would be a twenty minute break. I nipped out for that all important toilet break, much needed on a middle-aged bladder and after a two hour film. Some poor folk took the announcement at its word and probably nipped out to the pub. I say poor folk because the concert started not much later than 5 minutes after the film. It had already started when I returned to my seat, but only just. Wilko was giving it what for on his guitar. Early in the concert, and for three songs, he was joined on stage by Alison Moyet who is now a slim vision of loveliness, but can still add weight in the vocal department. Also on stage was a pretty mean harmonica player. A giant of a man who looked vaguely familiar but at first I couldn’t place him. The first name that came into my head was Charles Shaar Murray, but I kept thinking, ‘Surely not’. Surely not, but it actually was Charlie boy. It was a great concert of Dr Feelgood songs and R&B classics that I wished had gone on longer. The only constructive comment I have to offer is that Wilko should make use of guest singers. He’s a great guitarist, but his vocal style, reminiscent of Pete Townsend’s, is not powerful enough to do justice to many of his songs, but full marks to him for giving it a damned good go.
Tuesday was truly a fantastic music evening!
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