Guy Davis and Brook Williams is a tasty slice of Americana, tingling with the
earthy electricity of delta blues. Guy
Davis has a good repartee with the audience; joking his harmonica holder
was made from his sister’s retainer, causing her to have buckteeth.
Standout
tracks from Guy’s set were ‘Taking Just a
Little Bit of Time’ a casual leisurely-paced acoustic song. ‘My Eyes Keep Me in Trouble’ is a good
cover of a classic Muddy Waters song. While ‘Sugar-Belly’ is an original song that Guy hasn’t yet recorded;
about a poor girl who, due to circumstances beyond her control, is forced into
prostitution and is subsequently murdered by a jealous lover. ‘I Wish I Hadn’t Stayed Away So Long’,
written about his mother’s death while he was on tour, is by far the saddest
song to be played, this evening. The chorus has a great lyric, ‘Bell rang on
the midnight train, carrying the hobos home,
I Wish I Hadn’t Stayed Away So Long’.
Guy’s
set finished with ‘Did You See My Baby’,
a song featuring him on harmonica; which he dedicated to the late, great blues-man,
Sonny Terry – my first experience of
genuine virtuoso harmonica playing.
Brook Williams’ set was excellent; he is a
great slide guitar player. His cover of ‘Georgia
on My Mind’ was truly moving. Brook was playing a cigar box shaped guitar,
which sounded like angry bees. At the close of his set, Brooks finished with
Guy joining him on stage, to play a few songs together; displaying an electric
chemistry. I would easily recommend seeing both performers; Guy is a wonderful
storyteller and Delta blues player. Brooks is a fantastic slide guitarist. Both
of them delivered the purest of blues – unaccompanied, unashamed, and without a
safety net.
Stuart Ritchie
