Rocking the Blues

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THE RISING SUN, READING

Folks who missed Gatorhighway’s gig at the Rising Sun venue in Reading on Saturday 6 December will surely be disappointed. I was there and enjoyed a thoroughly good evening – actually, that really is an understatement:it  was great!

The band played beefed-up rock and blues to an  enthusiastic and appreciative audience, an audience who certainly know sham from class – punters with zero-tolerance for dull deliveries and self-indulgent performances.

This 4-piece, guitar-driven collection of dudes, certainly knows how to belt out the classics, with verve. Their steely renditions of Stevie Ray Vaughan’s back catalogue really hit a nerve. They can also inflict an awesome blast of Hendrix’s heat.

It really does take a rare and competent squad to execute classic masters with a level of skill that justifies the original art. Next time you get a chance to see them – be there!

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Rising Sun Reading

Gator Highway – to coin a cliché – have bite.  This 4 -piece, guitar-driven, band is not a force to be reckoned with!

Formed only recently, this local band is winning fans all over with their slick, energetic and high-talented delivery of a wide range of rock and blues tracks. If you get a chance to see them, you’ll not be disappointed!

I was lucky enough to catch them at Reading’s ‘Rising Sun’ last weekend (and expect to see them again at The Swan, in Arborfield, on Friday 4 October.) The sun certainly did not go down on a great performance, led by vocalist Steve; bass guitarist, Richard; Chris on lead; and Terry, giving it class, on drums.

The first set held the audience reeling with classics such as The Stones’, ‘Rock and a Hard Place’; Stevie Ray Vaughan’s, ‘Pride and Joy’; and Gary Moore’s, ‘Still Got the Blues’.  My favourite had to be Living Colours’, ‘Love Rears its Ugly Head’ - it was absolutely compelling and full of soul. This funky, rock groove featured a penetrating, raspy vocal, surrendering only to some inspirational guitar work, which cut through the heart strings – why did it have to stop!  A great and unique interpretation.

Flashing lights, rotating silver balls – you do remember them, I hope! – with clapping and yahooing from admiring connoisseurs served only to raise the tension and ignite a solo drum sequence from impresario, Terry. His riveting, sustained onslaught of clashing cymbals, clever hi hats, daring snares and roll after roll after roll of quivering ripples and quavering jangles led finally to a crescendo of pure joy.

A raw talent that refused to compromise – we took the journey with him and back again, wanting more.  

The second set, equally well orchestrated, featured Hendrix’s ‘Voodoo Chile’. A superb, aggressive lead ravaged the opening bars giving a cracking sound, holding the fans in suspended animation until its main thrust – even Hendrix, himself, would have approved!

ZZ Top’s ‘Pearl Necklace’ inspired a spontaneous walkabout by Chris - unplugged, wired to be wireless, he ventured into scary territory: the audience, thrilling them with his pizzazz and skill.  And he still didn’t drop a note!

Black Crows’, ‘Hard to Handle’, was everything but!  Intricate, clever and original bass playing from Richard pounded and drove which, compounded by tight drum rhythms from the other star of the engine room, proved the artistry of the whole band.

Not content with performing some of the most interesting and captivating songs ever written, Gator Highway also have in their repertoire several of their own compositions: ‘Black Widow Women’, with lyrics that resonate power and mood; ‘Loving You’, an up-beat, 12 bar blues feisty roller-coaster; and ‘Crazy’, instrumentally complex and demanding – chaos in full metal jacket.  All these originals deserve their place in such a classy line-up – let there be more!  This is classic rock discharged with verve and grit.

This was  Gator Highway - fretting over moody melodies and heart-rending rifts; fired up with slick synchronisation, driving rhythms, inspired deliveries, and real enthusiasm.  This is a band that knows what it has to give and can give it large!  

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