Live Review –  Storm Warning at Tawe Delta Blues Club – Swansea.

With STORM WARNING, there’s no “Look at me, Mum!” Instead, there’s a confident and professional setting out of the musical stall. So it was at Swansea’s Tawe Delta Blues Club. Opening with the Blues Are Back  - a track from their superb debut CD, Breaking Out – we had a foretaste of the evening’s entertainment; the rhythm section of drummer Roger Willis and deft Derek White at the bass declaring just how tight they intended things to be.

And, if the Blues truly are back, what better to follow with than Peter Green’s Long Grey Mare, a song which allowed all band members to showcase their abilities; individual and collective. Ian Salisbury at the keyboards expanded the sound and offered some truly worthy fills, counter-melodies and solos. On guitar, Bob ‘Mad Dog’ Moore played inventively from a broad catalogue of styles – sometimes relaxed and sleepy, sometimes jazzy, sometimes urgent – but never clichéd or repetitive.

With some bands, the lead vocalist is the screaming banshee around whom chaos reigns. In the case of STORM WARNING, Stu ‘Son’ Maxwell is the anchorman who pulls together all the components. His delivery is laid back yet compelling; his voice - smoky, gravelly, edgy - has a powerful intensity. Their repertoire’s frequent changes of dynamics allow Son to stamp his personality on the performance. And yet the process is gentler than that… STORM WARNING build an atmosphere and inveigle you in. Almost by osmosis, the audience are tugged into the process and by halfway through the first set, we were all an enthusiastic part of the experience.

Son’s harmonica work served to complement his vocals as the band showcased songs from their debut CD and introduced us to a ‘work in progress’ – Mr. Charlie’s Blues. Although these guys have only been playing together for some 18 months, they are all seasoned musicians. And it shows.

The second set began with Woman? Or The Blues? Never having realised that the two were mutually exclusive, I find this title a conundrum. Nevertheless a good choice to hook us back in. A couple of well-considered, nicely-arranged covers followed and then the haunting Bullets, again from the CD, its pulsating beat grabbing the collective attention.

Whisky Blues led to an upping of the tempo as we headed for the climax. J B Lenoir’s Talk To Your Daughter - owing more to Robben Ford than to Nine Below Zero -preceded Sonny Boy II’s Don’t Start Me To Talkin’ providing a riotous, meaty finish.

Time constraints dictated that the much-deserved encore – a new instrumental Are You Alright With That Phil?  - was brief but, by then, STORM WARNING had done what they had to do.

I had been looking forward to seeing the band play live as I had been a convert since first hearing BREAKING OUT some months ago. Did they live up to expectations?

Will the follow-up CD – due out in Summer/Autumn this year - be of the same quality?

On the evidence presented, the answer MUST be a resounding YES! These guys have already attracted attention from the States so catch them here whilst you can. You really must get to see these guys! - Blues Show Bob

Blues Show Bob co-hosts the Blues Show on GTFM 106.9 FM every Monday night. Listen LIVE on web at www.gtfm.co.uk