Steve's
Place
The Rescue
Rooms,
Nottingham
Wednesday,
14 May 2008
review and pictures courtesy
of Ronnie Kerrigan
It is obvious
by tonight’s gig that Robin Trower possesses a rare power and spirit that
has not been diminished by his long musical career. His music and playing
continues to have an indefinable purity – it blends blues, soul, funk,
R&B, jazz, etc., with a passion and fire other musicians only possess
in their dreams.
Over the
course of the show, backed by Pete Thompson (drums), Davey Pattison (vocals)
and Glenn Letsch (bass) Robin took himself, and the audience, on an emotional
voyage of ecstasy, blissfulness, serenity, cool and just rolling with it;
sometimes going from a whisper to a storm-force howl in an instant. I believe
Robin and his management must now be aware a strong fan base exists in
the UK that appreciates his great songs, great playing, and consider him
to be one of the finest musicians to originate from England.
The sound mix
was not the RTB’s friend at the start, but the flames of the opening "Twice
Removed From Yesterday" was enough to ignite the audience. Davey Pattison
has an impressive set of lungs (believed to be stored in a bank vault in
Glasgow) but it’s a shame the sound quality and mix let him down – during
the earlier parts of the set his voice, and also the rhythm section, were
completely buried by the sheer volume of Robin’s guitar.
When Davey
performed on the slow songs his quality shone through: ‘For Earth Below,’
‘Bridge Of Sighs,’ and ‘Another Time, Another Place.’
The expressive
rhythm section of Pete Thompson (drums) and Glenn Letsch (bass) are proving
more dynamic as the tour progresses and, on occasions, were so tight it
was evident they were inspiring Robin’s guitar playing to greater heights
of passion, soulfulness and intensity. He seemed to be pushing it as far
as it could go – visible by his facial expressions and fervour.
Although
Glenn was experiencing difficulty now and then hearing his bass in
the mix he provided some superb bass lines, especially the central section
of ‘Hanna,’ ‘The Fool and Me,’ ‘No Time,’ and ‘Gonna Be More Suspicious’
- the swing of the rhythm section made you wish these songs would go on
forever.
Robin’s guitar
tone and expressive, melodic licks and phrasing were outstanding during
‘No Time,’ ‘The Fool And Me,’ ‘Rise Up Like The Sun,’ ‘Gonna Be More Suspicious,’
and ‘Bridge of Sighs’. I closed my eyes a few times to listen solely to
the music – spontaneous, yet ephemeral.
Yes, it
was L-O-U-D and the venue was hot, and sometimes you had to clench your
teeth, but it was still an amazing gig. Thanks to Robin, Davey, Pete and
Glenn & Laurie (road manager) for putting on a great show. Nice talking
to you all after the show and to Dave from Derby who was transfixed by
the music and musicianship he had just witnessed.
Me? – I
headed back to the hotel, drained, but refreshed, if that’s not too contradictory
to imagine.
