Review of Rocking the Blues at Tring 2004 reproduced by kind permission of Blues Matters magazine. The review was published in the Aug/Sept issue and written by Ashwyn Smyth. For further details of Blues Matters magazine visit www.bluesmatters.com

Held in the Court Theatre, Pendley, a lovely building featuring a
beautiful vaulted timber ceiling, good lighting and, for this
event, a quality PA with excellent soundmen, this year's
nominated charity was the Chilterns Multiple Sclerosis Centre in
nearby Aylesbury. Entirely self-supporting with no NHS funding,
this Centre is a lifeline both to those with MS and their
families.
After the usual nightmare journey around the M25, I arrived just
in time to catch the opening act in the Theatre, one Damien
McCabe, "described by Luther Allison as the 'Buddy Guy of
Ireland'" according to the programme. Not the Buddy Guy I know &
love! Not my cup of tea as Damien played a selection of both
covers and his own material and rounded his set off with a
version of "Voodoo Chile" which I fear might well have had Jimi
rolling in his grave.
First act on the main stage was local band, Stir Crazy who
delivered their set with gusto and warmed up the ever-swelling
audience with a great mix of originals and covers. Kicking off
with "Repossession Man" and "Born Under a Bad Sign" before
launching into the self-penned "Rip It Up", a fine fast paced
number with Steve French's guitar having an almost surfing feel
to it. The pace slowed with a wonderfully moody original, "Save
Me From the Blues" which again featured some great guitar and a
lovely harp solo. All too soon it was time for the band's finale,
their take on "Voodoo Chile"! What a difference! This was a great
version with Steve excelling with ringing guitar and the band
solid behind. My abiding visual memory of this number was the
bass player loping around the stage like a caged tiger. Stir
Crazy certainly set the standard for following acts.
Next up, one of my favourite bands, the excellent Hershey & the
12 Bars. It was most appropriate that they should appear at this
event as Hershey, Richard Shirman, suffers from MS and is
restricted to a wheelchair. His self-deprecating humour in his
many asides is, I feel, a tribute to a man who does his damndest
to not allow it to interfere with his love of the Blues and
desire to perform
The band oozes talent with the excellent Dave "Munch" Moore on
keyboards, Alan Coulter on drums, Chas Cronk on bass and Ernie
Hayes on rhythm guitar, musicians whose CV's read like a
proverbial Who's Who. New to the band was Michael Coleman,
stepping into Mike Summerland's shoes and making his debut
appearance with the band and what a guitarist!
The opener was "I Ain't Gonna Be Your Slave No More" followed by
a trademark 12 Bars number, "Angel of Mercy". Then came "Shot in
the Dark " which Hershey informed us "was written by the singer!"
and the wonderfully witty "The Blues Just Ain't The Same
Anymore", a glorious rendition of Prince's "The Love You Save",
another Hershey favourite, "You Upset Me Babe" and Janis Joplin's
"Move Over". The band's closing number was - wait for it -
"Voodoo Chile"!!! and what a fabulous version it was. Wonderful
keyboard work, an insistent, driving rhythm and the riff from Joe
Walsh's "Rocky Mountain Ways". Ace!
Top of the first night's bill was the excellent Marcus Malone
Band, tonight as a four piece with Chris Nugent on drums,
Jonathan Bankes on bass, the sensational Stuart Dixon on guitar
and the equally stellar Simeon Jones on harp and sax.
Although Marcus was clearly unhappy about the way some of his
equipment was performing, the set got underway with "Hear My
Train", a great up tempo number featuring some really lovely
harp, followed by the title track from Marcus' recent CD "Blue
Radio", another great rocking number which featured Simeon on
both harp and sax.
The set rolled on apace and to be honest I was so enjoying myself
that I omitted to make notes of every number. I do remember a
couple more songs from the CD, the gorgeous "Walk Away", dreamy,
slow and moody featuring some lovely sax from Simeon and guitar
from Stuart and the deliciously amusing and non-PC "Double D", a
great number. Marcus has an imposing stage presence and a voice
which is well suited to the material (or is it the other way
round?). Whether performing his own material or covering someone
else's', Marcus stamps his own individuality on every number and
he did not play "Voodoo Chile"! He did, however, delight the
audience by going amongst them wandering around the auditorium
playing his guitar and charming the ladies as only Marcus can!!!
And so to Saturday and another drive round the M25!  An awfully
civilised jam which included lunch! was lead by Roadhouse who
also played a short set of their own material from their Blues
Matters! CD.
The evening was kicked off by a band making its debut. Storm
Warning are a five-piece formed by festival organiser Derek White
a few weeks earlier. Despite barely 8 hours rehearsal, they
delivered an impressive if brief set of "Pumping blues rock in
the vein of Walter Trout, Paul Rodgers, Robben Ford & John
Mayall".
The band features Derek - bass, Ian Salisbury - keyboards and Bob
Moore - guitar from the J Fordaway Band plus Roger Willis on
drums and up front the flamboyant and larger than life Stretch (a
regular visitor to Essex with B J Ferretts). He is blessed with a
great voice, posing  and strutting around the stage like a
demented rag doll on speed! A member of the audience sitting next
to me described him as being "just like a young Chris Farlowe!"
Praise indeed. "A Love So Deep" & Muddy Waters' "Prisoner of
Love" were among the set list and on the basis of this debut I
look forward to seeing and hearing more of Storm Warning. Next up
were another great new band, Moon Dogs. With Eddie Masters on
bass, Paul Miller on keyboards and Graham Walker on drums, and
Derrick Timms, the vocalist and lead guitarist, these guys have
quite a pedigree having, between them, played with the likes of
Albert Collins, Gary Moore, Dave Edmunds, George Harrison,
Wishbone Ash, oh and BB King!
Their blistering set included some superbly individual covers -
Freddie King's "Hideway", a couple of Willie Dixon tunes
including probably the best "Little Red Rooster" I have heard
featuring stunning slide guitar which made the hairs on my neck
stand up and the Allman Brothers' "Midnight Rider".
Top class original material including "Moon Dog Serenade" which
featured some lovely scat singing and "Travelling Shoes" with a
five string bass solo from Eddie which was simply interstellar!
Rounding off with a rousing and beautifully crafted cover of Mr
Johnson's "In My Kitchen" and a high-speed version of "Baby
Please Don't Go", this was a superb set from a superb band of
whom I hope to hear more
With anticipation heightening, the Papa George Band took the
stage. Papa George resplendent in a dark suit, shirt and, the
ubiquitous Sam Kelly on drums and Pete Stroud on bass, this trio
set the evening alight with a set which included tracks from the
excellent new CD "Down at the Station" which was to be launched
the following Friday. Rocking from the word go with tracks such
as "Man With The Blues" and "Blackjack" and the funky "Rest
Station", we had a moment to catch our breath with a delicious
slow blues, "Cleanse My Soul" before the band launched into
another track from the new CD, a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan
called "Flooding Down In Texas". A final track from the CD,
"Deadline Blues" led into what was, for me, the highspot of a
superb set as the band launched into a magnificent version of "Oh
Well!", the Peter Green hit which I have rarely heard played by
anyone else and certainly never better than this wonderful
version. The Festival programme suggested we could expect "an
electrifying set with vitality and passion few can match" and
Papa George certainly delivered. And so to the top of the bill,
the Dogs Bits! I had heard much about Nine Below Zero but never
seen them. All I can say is that I have hardly any notes of what
they did, what they played and my memory is of a superbly
professional, totally entertaining set, with plenty of audience
interaction, featuring some superb musicianship from a group of
four very talented musicians whose sole aim was to entertain.
Three years off its thirtieth birthday, the band gave a
performance which thrilled and enthralled - Yes, they really were
rather good!
I recall a version of "Treat Her Right". I remember thinking how
great it was to hear really good four-part vocal harmonies as
Dennis, Gerry, Brendan and Mark all joined in for some numbers.
Mark demonstrated his skill with a virtuoso harmonica recital
including "Amazing Grace", "Stone Fox Chase" (Old Grey Whistle
Test theme), a jig or two, "Maybe Its Because I'm a Londoner" and
so on. Dennis reminisced about the seventies as the audience were
cajoled into joining in an a-cappella version of "Hit The Road
Jack", a great rocking "Wooly Bully" and "I Can't Help Myself". A
superb band to round off an event called "Rocking the Blues".
After all the excitement of Friday & Saturday, Sunday was given
over to The Guitar, Record and CD Fair which included many top
manufacturers and suppliers as well as live performances from
Geoff Whitehorn, Lee Hodgson and the Blues Band's Gary Fletcher.
Having attended my first Rocking the Blues at Tring, I am
confident it will not be my last. The venue was superb, so right
for the event, would that there were more venues like this. The
weekend was excellently organised, I know from my own experience
how much work goes into getting an event to run as smoothly as
this one did. Congratulations and thanks go to Derek & his team,
to all the musicians and other participants and all I can say is
roll on next year!.......Ashwyn Smyth