Back At The Bridge
Sunday Session Surpases Expectation
» Back At The Bridge - Bridge Hotel Forth, Tas - September 3, 2006
» Back At The Bridge - September 3, 2006
I haven't been to a Sunday session at the forth pub for awhile. Since my affection for blues music is mostly my dads fault, plus it was Father's Day, heading out there on Sunday night seemed like a good idea. I'd heard a little of this Lloyd Spiegel and thought it might be okay, thought Dad might like it.
Well. We were blown away. While I am prone to enthusiasm, 'blown away' is not a phrase my dad uses much, but that is a quote.
I heard the best cover of Ray Charles' 'Georgia On My Mind' that I have ever heard before. It's a hard somg to get right. Most don't even come close. This is, after all, a song written by an American for piano with backing band. Lloyd Spiegel is a young Australian with a guitar and a stompbox. That he would even try such a song was surprising, let alone that he could sound so perfect doing it. It was so good, so beautifully done that, had I been drinking vodka, I could have cried. Looking around the room, other people were equally impressed. Even Dad.
Lloyd Spiegel has this amazing, rich, powerful voice that reaches into every corner, so strong you can almost feel it. Of course, there was a mic, but he could have coped without it. He can croon, he can wail, he sings with conviction and humour.
Add to this voice a demon guitar player, with an unerringlt precise sence of rhythm. This is one damn fine bluesman.
He played mostly covers, mostly uptempo - the Forth pub crowd loves their blues standards with a beat they can move to. At one stage Lloyd was playing with the dancers, testing their reactions. He'd slow them down a little, them slow them right down, before exploding back into hard, fast and pounding. He teased the strings so that it almost seemed he was weaving his fingers through them and playing from the underside, creating intricate melodies that somehow never jumbled, no matter how fast he went. Unlike the dancers.
His recordings are good. Very good. But Dad and I agree that they just don't prepare you for the impact he has live. Like I said - blown away.
