Review by Nigel Foster
Images by Ken Jackson
If any of you are still wondering maybe why Thomas has been nominated for 3 UK Blues Awards if you had witnessed tonight’s gig you would know for sure. Thomas with bass ace Howard Head and drum master Jack Bryant, performing as a true blues power trio were simply sensational, both musically and from a sheer entertainment perspective.
These guys clearly love what they do and equally love playing together and that ensured an enthusiastic audience were thrilled from beginning to end. As the house lights went down the trio were already on stage but Thomas stepped into the shadows and opened with some quiet dextrous chord sequences and as he stepped back into the light the trio literally exploded into a new song, Stay Out Of My Way, a hot throbbing blues rocker built on pounding drum and bass,scorched lead breaks shaped by depressing the Wah Wah pedal all urging on Thomas’s rasped vocal.
Victim Of Circumstance maintained the rabid pace, thumping punched patterns from the rhythm section, hard edged riffs with the screaming Wah Wah pedal under the powered vocal. A double shot of authentic blues followed with I Ain’t Lying and Do What’s Right For Me, heavy thick blues shuffles carved out by the drum and bass patterns, empathic vocals from Thomas and in the latter song, a deft finger picked solo. BB King’s standard Done Lost Your Good Thing Now maintained the blues feel and morphed into a real epic that sprawled over around 10 minutes.
The opening segue was a true slow blues with Howard and Jack dialing in a languid groove that Thomas overlaid with a delicate finger picked solo where he feathered the strings. Then the trio injected raw power and Thomas split the groove with a slash and burn solo. Another brand new song followed, Bossman, a filthy dirty blues rocker with a foundation of booming drums and pulsing bass that Thomas pounced on carving out vicious coursing slide guitar whilst laying down a growling vocal. The thrilling opening set closed with Howard grooving through a monster bass solo backed by Jack’s drum flurries and again Thomas split the vibe with a Wah Wah driven solo. The opening of the second set mirrored the first as the dual salvo of new cuts She’s On My Back and Get Far featured thundering rhythm section passages, bludgeoning riffs and clawing vocals.
Woulda Coulda and Shoulda had a piledriving cavern deep groove butting against Thomas’s bludgeoning riffs and lead breaks all under the rough hewn voice. All About was revealed as a pedal to the metal rocker structured on thick hard rhythms and writhing hooked up riffs. At this point Thomas brought things down and spoke of his desire to encourage the next generation of artists and he then invited young guitarist Rhys John Stygal to join him for a furious cover of the Allman Brothers classic Statesboro Blues. Howard and Jack synced up in the engine room and Thomas and Rhys in turn chopped out vivid solos, Thomas donning the slide bottle to create that metallic sound whilst in his solo, Rhys squeezed out a multitude of fiery notes.
The duo then traded frenetic riffs like 2 high rolling gunslingers. A favourite of mine, the bruising Underdog, had the trio racing to the finish line, molten hot grooves and taut riffs underpinned the forceful vocal delivery. It was no surprise that the guys received a standing ovation and that heralded an encore where Thomas invited Rhys back up and the quartet dived into a fast, hot paced cover of Elmore James’s famous Shake Your Money Maker.
Huge smiles featured on the faces of the foursome as they pumped out furious instrumentation one last time and the final notes brought us back to our feet to acclaim the band and guest Rhys. Another memorable night at TNMC and if there is any justice Thomas will leave the awards ceremony tomorrow with at least one award and Richard Dunning will come away with the award for the best live music venue.
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