Review is written by Nigel Foster and shared with his kind permission.
Images By Ken Jackson
Kara Grainger – The Tuesday Night Music Club – 28 October
Fabulous evening of real blues performed by Australians hailing from Sydney. The headliner is the very cool and laid-back Kara Grainger and her class band, and opening the show is Ray Beadle.
I am confident Ray was a new name to us all, but he made himself a friend of the club with his superb musicality and his bright, engaging personality.
Ray played with a fabulous bluesy tone with a backdrop of fade to his fretwork that added an extra layer of sound, and he poured a deeply melodious voice over the music.
bent,Lonesome Train was a furious slice of jump style blues, fast fingerpicked licks peeled off the frets as Ray plucked at the strings, and his left hand moved low down on the neck as strings were bent and the vocal was swept up in the pace.
be,A Ray Charles number brought the pace down, and it showcased just how soulful Ray’s voice could be and the guitar dropped down to wrap around the voice.
Whisky,Finishing on a real high, Ray jumped into the fizz and energy of Bad Whiskey built on a repeating riff.
Ray,Deserved applause and cheers greeted Ray and I hope he has left tonight feeling the love.
After a short interval Kara and her band took to the stage, and the lady immediately had me on side as she picked up her acoustic guitar and immediately donned the slide bottle and traced the strings, and for extra intent and to my delight, the left foot depressed the wah-wah pedal. The rhythm section dropped in an early example of hitting a groove, and Sammy, sitting at the Hammond, laid down heavy keystrokes. With such a foundation, Kara went deep for the powerful vocal. Superb start to the set.
Soon after, the band slipped into flickering slow blues when delivering Wake Up With You. A low meandering rhythm section pulse bled out, and Kara and Sammy wove in and out of each other’s runs of vibrant notes. The vibe demanded and received a soulful vocal delivery.
Picking the pace and intensity back up, Gonna Get Burnt was an aggressive driving groover with a punched riff and swirling keys all under a rich voice.
Lessons opened into a really lovely folky ballad with Kara’s rich vocals the showcase of the song. The blues lady then poured out haunting slide runs.
That’s How I Got To Memphis saw Kara invite Ray back to the stage, where he stayed for the rest of the show.
On the first song Ray and Kara joined forces, and Ray’s fuzzed-up and phased tone sat alongside Kara’s pure and clean sound.
Ride The Train was very improvised, especially in respect of the twin guitar attack that jumped on the engine room beats, and Ray hooked onto the greased rails to take the song home.
Before we knew it, Kara announced the last song of the night, the brilliant brooding Texas Blues, with its stretched hook and serious interplay between Kara and Sammy. As the song moved into its final phase, Kara peeled off a piercing solo where her hands were almost joined, being right at the base of the neck of her guitar.
It was now the turn of Kara and her boys to get an ovation, one that called for an encore that the band used one final time to showcase their massive talents.
Another Tuesday night, another triumph for Richard and Rosalind, and a treat for us that we got to see Kara, her band and Ray delivering the goods.
The final night of the tour is Friday in Cranleigh. If you are in the area, grab a ticket and get there. (Written by Nigel Foster)
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