Blues for a Sultry Day

I hot footed it down to Basement Discs at lunchtime today to catch Collard Greens & Gravy playing live. I say hot footed because I dressed inappropriately this morning donning boots instead of sandals, as the weather report was for rain and a cool change. The day so far has been warm and humid, so my feet feel a little warm.

The Collards put on a great show of splendid blues, drawn primarily from their latest CD Devil in the Woodpile. They are a trio ensemble, with Ian Collard providing vocals as well as playing harmonica and guitar, James Bridges playing tasteful slide guitar and Anthony Shortie on drums. Ian Collard has a superb voice rather reminiscent of Tim Buckley and it is appropriately suited to blues. He is also a very masterful harmonica player.

There was a reasonable crowd at Basement Discs to see the boys perform, as they are a popular local band and are recognised as one of the best blues outfits in the country.

Check out their My Space page to hear some of their songs.

There is a veritable feast of music acts performing at Basement Discs in March – Hans Theessink, a Dutch blues master, Danny O’Keefe, famous American singer songwriter, Ruthie Foster, also from the USA , the new queen of blues and soul, the wonderful Ron Sexsmith, from Canada and the renowned Aussie rock band Spectrum will be returning to the Basement stage at the end of the month.

So, lots of great lunchtime shows to look forward to.