Presentation 2009
Friday February 20, 2009:
MC Ricky Zen welcomed the crowd to the
4th Annual Phuket International Blues Rock Festival. It was a gorgeous tropical evening and the beautiful Hilton Arcadia grounds sparkled in the colored lights. TV cameras seemed to be everywhere with PGTV, NBT, Phuket Plus, TV Phuket and even Phuket 91.5 FM Radio crew carrying cameras…
Food and drink was plentiful, offered by Hilton’s fine F&B team in the back of the field. CDs & DVDs, T-shirts and other memorabilia were available from the sales staff. Under the huge marquee was plenty of seating around tables and off to the right side of it ‘Chief Sound Dude’ David Donald had planted his robust body behind the enormous control panel: IT WAS SHOW TIME, folks!
George Cordeiro (
Sam Wilko Band was next with a solid short set and Sam brought his daughter Miki up for some Hank Williams as well as other classics. The young lady has a fine voice indeed!
OZ girl Corinne Gibbons was in Phuket for the occasion. A few days before the show she handed us a copy of her last CD ‘Melt’ with a huge smile and we Melted and inserted a short set at the last minute. Together with Danielle DeAndrea Corinne laid down some incredible harmonies backed by her own acoustic guitar and a touch of bass and drums by Patrick & co. Her song ‘Rise’ from the new CD was heard described as “Now, there’s a hit!”
The Groove Doctors changed gears drastically with their “Groove Doctors and Special Friends” set. Nine musicians from every corner of the globe took over the ample stage. Congas and horns allowed Tony ‘Chainsaw’ (‘Hacksaw’??) to strut his stuff and do some of the R & B flavored material that this revitalized version of the band has been performing under Guitar Meister Rob’s musical direction here and there on the island. From the opening notes of ‘Crossroads’ they got the crowd out of their seats and set the mood for the joyous music to follow.
Rich Harper surprised everyone next with a beautiful acoustic set. Composed of a mixture of originals (many off his new CD ‘Musician Standard Time’) and classics, Rich enchanted the crowd. Amply backed by two of the kingdom’s finest musicians: Benny White on drums and Jimmy Bell on bass, Rich showed exactly why he is sought after by blues festivals and concert promoters around the world for his unique brand of guitar virtuosity, originality and homespun charm. A highlight was the subtle blend of Benny’s congas behind Rich’s gentle guitar on the opening of ‘I’ll Never Open My Heart Again’ that morphed midway through into a rocking toe-tapper with the addition of Jimmy’s electric bass and Benny’s switch to his full drum kit. It’s a testament to an artist’s talent when he can win over an audience with material they’ve never heard before and send them away humming new tunes, but Rich Harper did exactly that.
Those who came to hear Rich Harper play electric guitar got what they were looking for when he, Benny and Jimmy were joined by Jimmy Fame for his ‘Chasing Jimi' set. Performing classic Hendrix tunes such as 'Red House,' ‘All Along the Watchtower’ and 'Little Wing' Jimmy Fame’s powerful voice made this set one of the highlights of the festival for many. Closing with 'Hey Joe' - the singer/author and the powerhouse trio paid a worthy tribute to the genius of the late great Jimi Hendrix.
Eric Bibb closed Friday night’s show with his personal blend of spiritual “feel good blues.” The crowd swayed to and fro and held hands as his sweet melodies wafted on the warm tropical breeze. In his trademark wide-brimmed hat he introduced most songs with a story. Songs like his own ‘New Home’; ‘Kokomo’; Lightning Hopkins’ ‘Needed Time’ and others were delivered beautifully and passionately by the artist that drew a record crowd to the Festival. We really thought we had heard every version of ‘Stagger Lee,’ but Eric delighted us with a fresh spin on the classic tale. At the end he was joined by Charlie on drums, David on upright bass and George on electric guitar for three closing songs.
Eric Bibb’s performance was indeed an enriching experience – both musically and spiritually - a perfect cap to the perfect evening.
Saturday February 21, 2009:
The festival continued to be blessed with perfect weather. The Kingfisher Beer flowed and the Kingfisher Girls continued to pose for the cameras. All in attendance were in a mood to party. Again.
First off was Li’l Willie (
2nd OZ girl KNiKi aka Nicole Saleeba and her hot band received the evening’s first encore with songs like ‘Black Rain’, ‘Catch Me’ and others from her new CD ‘Just’. She is a hot singer with a lot of feeling, very good looks and that Australian charm. Willie helped out on a couple of songs with a bit of harmonica and the newcomer clearly enjoyed herself as the crowd kept growing during her performance.
Bert Deivert & Janne Zander
These gentlemen are from the European school of “learn a style and do it in the classical sense of reproduction of a semi-lost art-form”. Unfortunately they were both quite ill over the weekend and almost did not make it to the show. But the Viking spirit (well, they live in
The Blues Machine always puts on a great show and tonight was no exception. A super-tight six piece band under award-winning guitarist Ken ‘Snowman’ Minahan’s direction, the Machine ran like superbly oiled pistons in tight cylinders. The ‘madman’ drummer and Snowman himself showed they can also sing and sing very well, but it is Mary - the blonde Philippina – that steals the vocal show. The usual blend of her incredible voice, energy and charm takes the breath out of you if you pay close attention. She has been described as “incapable of not heating up ANY room” and tonight she heated up the entire Hilton Arcadia field.
How about it – perhaps a bit of recording this year -?
Cannonball
Easy Rollin’ Keith Nolan with his unique front man look and style brought the energy and savoir faire the Festival audience has come to expect from the veteran performer and his razor sharp band over the past few years. Whether pounding the keyboard or prowling with the guitar, Keith was a man on fire. Particularly notable were his hard driving interpretation of Mose Allison’s ‘Parchment Farm’ and Keith’s original 'The Blood Of The Poor’ (written, incidentally, as a theme song for Phuket resident Jim Newport’s “Vampire Of Siam” movie.) Keith, Jimmy, Benny, Danny & Nicolai (and at the end also joined by Rich Harper) managed to get a good portion of the crowd to come down and join the fun in front of the stage.
Anyone who had gone back to their seat after Cannonball’s performance, ran right back to the footlights when Mitch Woods and his Blues Machine version of the Rocket 88s took the stage. Dapper as always in a canary yellow Zoot Suit, the piano man boogie-woogied and swept the crowd off to the Bayou and the steam of a
with funds donated to organisations dedicated to local cildren's education.
Photos by Stephan Audiger and Dan Miles
Presented by
Hosted by
Highlights 2009
