Presentation 2009

Today is a Gift. That's why we call it the Present.

"Without music, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable".  Shaw (modified..)

          Last updated:     October 21, 2010    -    Phuket, Thailand

  The 2011 Program is complete and the Schedule page has been updated. Band Profiles coming shortly.

And, today we still celebrate with Rich Harper as his new CD 'LIVE in Scandinavia' remains #1 on blues radio station downloads all over the world for the second month in a row on www.airplaydirect.com




Hard to believe it but another glorious

Phuket International Blues Rock Festival

has come and gone.

Presented for the first time by THAI Airways International and hosted again by the Hilton Phuket Arcadia, the 2010 event set a record in attendance and musicianship. The setting at Hilton was beautiful as always; the stage bigger, the food and drinks plentiful and the weather perfect. A rain shower the day before settled the dust on the big field and all was well for the 5 pm opening Friday 26th.

Call this one The Year of The Harp as practically every band featured a harmonica player. From opening act Friday Robert ‘One-Man’ Johnson to the headliner closing the show Saturday, Charlie Musselwhite, the 19th century reed instrument was never in finer hands.

Friday February 26:
Festival Director Andy greeted the early crowd in true blues tradition (“gotta say it twice!”) after which he introduced the event’s new MC: DJ Danny O of 91.5 FM.

As you would expect, Mr. Robert ‘One-Man’ Johnson treated the early crowd to a blend of original and classic blues, sung while he simultaneously brilliantly accompanied himself on a variety of instruments.

The Festival was then officially opened by Phuket Vice Governor Smith who gave a short speech on the importance of blues and western music in Thailand.

Classic rock was next on tap with the band RetroVision. All Bangkok based, the four musicians playing classic rock covers come from different corners of the globe. They rocked and rolled the early crowd and got them in the mood for the good times to come. 

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Next up was another international collaboration, The Rockin’ Angels with Andy Gonzales. The band, led by local blues meister Singapore Pat worked seamlessly behind the spicy Latin rhythm and vocals of the Arizona bass player. Blues shouter Jimmy Fame was also featured, accompanied on harp by Norwegian rocker Arvid Munthe. Jimmy came on strong and got the crowd on their feet, where they stayed for most of the evening.

As a local pub owner and music teacher, Pat also showcased some of his new-found super-talent with prodigy 16 year-old Jeri joining half way through on bass guitar. Good Lord, could that girl play!

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Rich Harper and this Festival go together like wine and cheese; you can’t really imagine one without the other.

For the fifth year Rich brought his brand of original and classic blues to delight the record breaking crowd.


Rich and his band, featuring Chris Cooke on drums and Jimmy Bell on bass, showed no sign of letting down the die-hard fans that filled the dance-floor in front of the stage.


From the opening tones of ‘Blues Before Sunrise’ to the encore closing with his own ‘Blue Eyed Blues’, Rich Harper delivered – as always - a breath-taking performance featuring many of his great originals and “brought down the house with ‘Take Me To The River’” (Phuket Gazette).

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Closing the show on the first night was one of Australia’s foremost pop/rock musicians, Richard Clapton.


35 years after he soared into the top of the Australian charts Mr. Clapton has remained a household name ‘down under.’


With his marvelous band, beautiful melodies and insightful lyrics, the crowd was truly blessed by this amazing talent.


Playing almost all his hits throughout his remarkable career, the Aussie crowd however waited in vain for his number one song that put him on the map in 1975; ‘Girls On The Avenue’.

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Saturday February 27:
The second night saw the moon rising to nearly full as Malaysia based AkashA took to the stage. Touring the world since they took the Rainforest Music Festival by storm in 2008, seven guys sat cross legged on the floor playing all sorts of exotic acoustic instruments from around the globe. The band delivered a stunning performance - music from all parts of the world beautifully woven together seamlessly flowed out over the early crowd that simply watched and listened with amazement. The sitar/guitar combination was particularly spectacular, as was the voice percussion and jazz/blues piano. Although small so early in the evening, the audience clearly wanted more, but again time was up.

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Next up was George Cordeiro & The Fai Jang Blues Gang that opened with a powerful version of an Eric Clapton classic. Featuring guest artists on steel guitar and harmonica the band followed with a variety of blues/jazz/funk/swing ala Taj Mahal, Ray Charles and many others. Excellent vocal harmony and powerful renditions like Coco Taylor’s ‘I Just Wanna Make Love To You’ made an excellent transition to our next local band;
 
Tony Wilson & Rob Davies, who showed up, as expected, with a whole new line of Groove Doctors & Friends.

The band has changed gears for the Festival every year, and this was no exception.

Three beautiful songbirds in front gave Tony a nice vocal boost and with Khun Noi on sax and Rob himself on guitar assisted by a three piece rhythm section as well as keyboard, the band delivered another superb show.

Opening with ‘Black Friday’ by Steely Dan, then moving on to a mix  of blues, r&b, jazz and more, the local blues doctors got the audience on their feet and once again proved they are indeed in the groove!



 

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Dressed in leather/Blues Brothers suits/60s’ jeans, The Prodigal Sons blasted off with the Stones’ version of ‘Not Fade Away’ as the front man entered the stage outrageously dressed like Brian Jones in London just prior to his death.

Just when you thought that you’d seen it all, five lads from Norway make you question your own sanity. I mean, did he just leap off that stage? Is he all right?

The band then rocked through an hour of fun, crazy stunts and very well played music combined with a few moments of seriousness.

The front man admittedly was not feeling his best Saturday, as the band’s performance Thursday night at Tai Pan for the warm-up show was even more outrageous. Perhaps too much (or not enough?) Kingfisher beer on stage…?

But it was fun, ‘groovy’, and over the top. If you did not see these guys and are in Norway – do try to catch them – well worth the experience! Rock AND Roll, baby!

 

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KNiKi, the lovely, “vibracious” lass from Perth –– kept the house rocking.
Back to the festival for a second year, this time with her own red-hot band (harp included) KNiKi’s soulful voice soared on the tropical breezes. Playing many of her own originals from her latest as well as upcoming CD the OZ diva had the record breaking crowd roaring, and the infectious beat from the stage prompted local Blues Fest veteran Bonnie Anderson to leap upon the stage and add her own powerful voice and presence to the party for KNiKi’s finale.

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This was a superb introduction to the great, legendary, most recent addition to the Blues Hall of Fame; the mighty Charlie Musselwhite and his awesome band that brought the “Night of the Harp” to a rousing climax. Playing in Thailand for the first time and exclusively at the Phuket International Blues Rock Festival, Charlie clearly showed why most consider him number one in the world.

Having caught both Charlie Musselwhite and Paul Butterfield in Chicago during the same week once in the eighties, we were immediately drawn to the luring, seductive tones of the harmonica, the only instrument you cannot learn to play by watching.

Musselwhite, who was the inspiration for Dan Aykroyd’s character in the mega hit movie ‘The Blues Brothers’, at 66 still has tremendous vocal power and plays with a tone and technique that most harp players can only dream of. His encore ‘Cristo Redentor’ was living proof…say no more.

His latest CD ‘Rough Dried’, most of which songs he played during the set, sold like hotcakes after the show, and if you missed the great man and are going home to Europe shortly, he will be touring there this spring.
See his full schedule at www.charliemusselwhite.com.



The Festival is a charity event, and at 11 pm Friday Andy presented a check for 50,000 baht to Peter Hamilton, Vice Chairman of the ‘Phuket Has Been Good To Us’ foundation, who spoke briefly about the great work being done educating less fortunate local children. The foundation was formed by the late Tom McNamara and focuses on quality English education.

Then again at 11 pm Saturday Andy presented a check for 50,000 baht to Woody Leonard, President of the Rotary Club of Patong, the Festival’s second beneficiary this year, and Woody gave a short speech on the great work the RC does with local children in addition to numerous projects on the island.

We anticipate another record-breaking event in 2011. In the mean time, please add your comments to our Guest Book.