Plug ‘N’ Play

3rd February 2008 (Chris James)

On a cold, wet Sunday evening in February, the last thing most people want to do is go out. But such is the attraction of Chris James that a large crowd braved the elements to see and hear his amazing voice and phenomenal guitar playing.
With the open mic slot getting underway, Jonathan Trengrove took to the stage to give a sample of his latest work. Launching into “Low feel high”, its delicate strumming balancing nicely with the soft vocals, showed why Jonathans music is so appealing. “Beware of the dogs” and the Loudon Wainwright cover “One man guy” sung with feeling and a nice balance of loud and soft passages had the crowd applauding warmly. Making their debut at PnP were Screaming Cats, consisting of Rachel on violin and Pete on violin and guitar. “Young Scotty” with its celtic reel feel showed nice interplay between the two violins, as did “Hamnatang”, a slower, more reflective piece, allowing the violins to swap roles over a drone note. “Bonnie at morning” had Pete on guitar with Rachel playing a beautiful and confident melody over Pete’s sympathetic strumming and picking, with all three tunes given the applause they deserved. Greg Wilson made a welcome return to PnP, joined on stage by Chris Walker and Andy Johnson on guitar and bass in an impromptu accompanying role. “Until I found you” and  “Queen of hearts” allowed Greg’s song writing skills to be shown to great effect with toned down playing from Greg allowing Chris to interweave nicely between the chords. I felt sometimes, however, that Greg was hiding behind the song and not releasing the vocal passion he is capable of. “Something like this” , was my favourite song of his on the night, with its catchy chorus and, for a trio who had only just practiced prior to going on, played nice and tight receiving well deserved applause. Last up on the open slot was Laura James, another PnP debutante and also the daughter of Chris. Launching into “All I ask” immediately had the audience enthralled with her solid guitar playing and fantastic voice. I’ve been trying to think ho she reminds me of, sort of Stevie Nicks crossed with Sinead O’Conner…intense, powerful, melodic and above all passionate. The self penned “Circles” showed how at ease she is with the guitar, moving in sympathy with the playing and again letting her voice do the business. Delicately picking her way through the Regina Spektre song “Us” to end the open slot, had the crowd clapping and cheering a remarkable talent.
A lot of words are written about the great bluesmen of the Mississippi Delta and to some extent the Thames Delta. Not enough, in my view, is expressed about the great bluesman of the Solway Delta, Chris James. His authentic playing and amazing voice enthral audiences wherever he plays. Diving straight into “Dust my Blues” and following with the Muddy Waters “Louisiana Blues” grabbed the crowd by the shirt tails and made them sit up and take note. Chris makes slide guitar playing look easy as he becomes one with his instrument, playing what he feels and projecting his passion for the blues in every note. The Skip James number “If you haven’t any hay” followed by the ragtime-ish “Six reasons” and laid back “Slow” had the crowd enjoyment-level-o-meter at high, with his ever present chat and banter keeping things moving. If you can write a song about doing nothing but drinking and straightening the rim on a hat, then it has to be a good song. “Panama Hat” by Eric Bibb is one of my favourite songs that Chris plays, it’s a shame it isn’t on his album “Trick of the light” but I suppose that makes it all the more enjoyable when I hear it. Finishing the first set off with Robert Johnson’s “Come on in my kitchen”, Blind Willie McTell’s fast and boogie-woogie styled “Statesboro Blues” and the ever popular “Vincent Black Lightning 1952” by Richard Thompson had the audience eagerly awaiting the second set.
Applauded back on stage for the second set, Chris immediately set off from where he finished the first set with some amazing fingerpicking in “Shake that booty” and following up with the Bob Dylan number “Buckets of rain” with its soft, gentle playing nicely underpinning Chris’ vocals. “Every morning”, “Special Rider” and “Light of this world” followed with another of my favourite songs “Old time religion” with its Gospel/Soul feeling all got the applause they deserved and in some cases whistles and cheers!! Some songs develop naturally when you play them many times, sometimes good, sometimes not so good. Chris must have played “Irene, Goodnight” hundreds of times, it has become his trademark. The way he has developed this song, intentionally or not, is excellent. The extra pauses and phrases incorporated into the song give his playing and distinctive voice ample room to shine and take over your senses. You end up knowing that you have just witnessed something phenomenal. The rapturous applause at the end of his set meant that there was no way he could go without an encore. Called back on stage by compare Andy he finished of with “Homeward Bound” much to the enjoyment of the audience, who went home knowing they had seen a great performer and a great show.

See you all on the 2nd March when Dr Zoo will be playing. Check out the web site for further details www.plug-play.co.uk

See you then…Open Mike