Review: Greg Phillips. Photos: Jason Rosewarne.
If there’s one important lesson that I have learned as a music fan, it’s to never pass up an opportunity to witness a performance by a true music legend. You just never know when or if that chance might come by again. I’d seen blues harmonica great Charlie Musselwhite before, performing alongside Ben Harper but never as the sole frontman with his own band. Last night at a packed Memo Music Hall I was able to catch Charlie’s second Melbourne show (he played the Northcote Theatre earlier in the week) and I’m so glad I did.
The crowd was warmed up beautifully by the affable Fiona Boyes with her collection of cigar box guitars and engaging life stories. Totally aware of the irony of being married to a preacher but playing the ‘devil’s music’, Fiona’s partner is often the willing fall guy of her amusing anecdotes, as evident on the double entendre tune ‘Old and Stiff’. Her command of the slide is obvious on the song ‘Ramblified’, as the heartfelt, bluesy notes slip so smoothly off the cigar box neck. Fiona’s affinity for the music of the Clarksdale Mississippi area shines through in her own interpretation of the blues, a point recognised by the well-informed blues aficionados in the crowd. Catching a Fiona Boyes show is always an uplifting experience.
Charlie Musselwhite released his first album in 1966, the year that the St.Kilda football club won their one and only premiership, that’s how long he’s been around! He hung out with blues icons such as Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf and as he told me in our zoom interview earlier this year, he once held Elvis Presley’s personal phone number. Elvis used to close down the local fairground and present free parties to the locals in Memphis but the only way for Charlie to know about the event details was to call his phone.
Charlie and band hit the stage soon after Fiona’s entertaining set and launched straight into Johnny Young’s ‘Wild’Wild Woman’. Musselwhite performed a smokin’, swampy blues version of the song, similar in style to the original rather than the quicker paced version that Charlie recorded on his own 1989 album ‘Memphis Charlie’.
“I heard there’s a million dollar dance floor here but I can’t see it! Feel free to boogie anyway,” he tells the crowd as they kicked into a rockin’ ‘River Hip Mama’ … “She sleeps in the kitchen with her feet out in the hall!” The steadfast rhythm section of longtime drummer June Core and bass player Randy Bermudes lay down a solid foundation and never falter.
Standing in front of a stool which props up that famous ‘briefcase full of blues’, well more accurately a road case containing his harps and covered in a lifetime of travel stickers, Musselwhite and band then performed a swinging rendition of ’Bad Luck Honey’. Yes, it’s widely recognised that Dan Aykroyd’s character Elwood Blues, in The Blues Brothers movie was based on Musselwhite. The man blows that harp like no other and the spirit that he injects into his playing is reflected back ten-fold into the hearts and minds of the audience. The song also gave gifted guitarist Kid Andersen a chance to rip up and down the fretboard of his gorgeous red Gibson ES-330, leaving the crowd in awe of his slick fingered licks.
‘Blues, Why Do You Worry Me’ followed, a song based on his “previous drinking career”. “I drank enough to sink a battleship and decided it was time to give it up”, he told the crowd before shuffling into the gentle rocker.
The amiable bluesman then tells us that he just found out that there’s a way to listen to his music in the privacy and safety of our own homes … as he dipped into his case and revealed a copy of his current album Mississippi Son. “All ya gotta do is take one of these home”, he said as the crown erupted into laughter and the band charged into ‘My Kinda Gal’ a Musselwhite original for his 2015 album ‘I Ain’t Lyin’. It was a perfect opportunity to deliver an impressive, extended harp jam with the band, who by now were firing on all cylinders. June Core offered some delicate stick work on the drum rim, causing the audience to clap along enthusiastically.
When Charlie speaks of the old days and relates stories about legendary blues musicians, you listen because the man was there, he was present. There may be some embellishment, which is par for the course in the entertainment world, however there’s an authenticity about Musselwhite’s music and tales that can’t be denied. His Sonny Boy Williamson story was a beaut! In dedication, he then played the Sonny Boy Williamson tune ‘Help Me’, a song Charlie recorded on his debut album back in ’66. Musselwhite played the full gamut of bona fide blues notes on his harp, while Kid Andersen who had swapped his ES-330 for a beautiful green Stratocaster, showed his deft touch on guitar. Meanwhile, June and Randy laid down a substantial foundation, eternally in the pocket.
Up next they presented a feel-good version of ’Good Blues Tonight’, also from the ‘I Ain’t Lyin’ album as Charlie informed us that the band playing for us tonight was exactly the same band that recorded on the record. ‘Blues Overtook Me’ from his 2013 album Juke Joint Chapel brought the dynamics down a touch before building back up over a nine minute jam, featuring Kid’s fiery guitar licks.
Raised in Mississippi, Musselwhite headed to Chicago at age 18 to follow his music dream seek out the legendary bluesmen. In over six decades of being immersed in the blues, Charlie has the stuff embedded in his DNA. You can feel Chicago and the Mississippi Delta in his playing. On ‘I’m Going Home’ he took us on that genuine blues journey with him. Charlie informed us that when he arrived in Chicago as an 18 year old, he felt like a stranger in a strange land, which inspired him to write a song of the same name, which appeared on his debut album.
A stunning, atmospheric ‘Christo Redemptor’, featuring as soulful a harp solo as you’ll ever hear ended the evening. The notes emanating from his harmonica reached way down into our souls and if you weren’t moved by this voodoo, you probably weren’t conscious.
Kudos to promoter Gerrard Allman for keeping the vibe alive and bringing out these music legends to Australia, giving us the chance to experience music that’s real, irreplaceable and unforgettable. Jazz guitarist Mike Stern has just been announced by Allman with a tour by another music icon soon to be publicised.
https://gerrardallmanevents.com.au/
