This was the third appearance of
the John O’Leary Band at Liverpool Marina, which speaks volumes for
their popularity at the city’s premier blues venue. There were a
couple of changes to the previous line-up of the band: Wayne Proctor
replaced Joachim Greve on drums and singer/guitarist Dave Day was
added to the core membership. However, the basic elements were still
in place: John O’Leary on vocals and harp, Jules Fothergill on
guitar, Jools Grudgings on keyboard and Roger Inniss on bass guitar.
The band opened with “Born In
Chicago”, which afforded an immediate opportunity for Day, O’Leary,
Grudgings and Fothergill to set down their markers as highly skilled
soloists, while a splendid rendition of Junior Wells’s “Snatch It
Back And Hold It” featured a cameo solo from Roger Inniss on bass
guitar. O’Leary conjured up some mean harp on “Early In The
Morning”, which was also blessed with a fabulous solo from
Fothergill, before newcomer, Dave Day, delivered excellent lead
vocals and tasty guitar on “Need Your Love So Bad” and Steely
Dan’s ”Do It Again”.
The first set was completed with
“Little By Little”, on which Grudgings was the major magician,
closely followed by a marvellous interplay between the two
guitarists.
The second set began with “Don’t
Let My Baby Ride”, for which Jules Fothergill produced a phenomenal
solo, enhanced by superb underpinning by Wayne Proctor. Dave Day then
resumed lead vocals on the slow blues, “Double Trouble”, which
featured some great harp playing from O’Leary, and his own “I
Only Want To Have Some Fun” before the highlight of the evening –
a fantastic version of “Black Cat Bone”, on which all members of
the band excelled, including the superb rhythm section. The loudly
demanded encore comprised four numbers sharing a common beat:
“Yonder’s Wall”, Elmore James’s “One Way Out”, the
original “Roadhouse Man” and everybody’s favourite, “Help
Me”. The standing ovation that erupted at the close was completely
unanimous and thoroughly warranted by the truly magnificent
show......
Lionel Ross