The question used to be: Can white men play the blues? I suppose over the years enough white men have proved that yes, they can play the blues (have any white women taken up the challenge?) Putting the point beyond doubt at the Queen's Theatre, Barnstaple, were The Blues Band comprising Paul Jones and, er.... some other blokes. It is to my shame that I can't remember their names, but whereas Paul Jones looked much as he did in the 1960s, his fellow musicians rather resembled aging geography teachers let loose on stage. This is to do them a profound disservice as they were all top notch and cranked out a lively set that went on for a good two hours with a short interval and an encore.
But what really got me about this gig was the audience. For a while I thought I was the youngest person there and then some other 49-year-and-11-month-olds turned up. Then I spotted a family group with some children so I knew I definitely wasn't the youngest. Not that it would have made much difference, because the majority of adult males were dressed almost identically - neat jeans and casual tops. The women, who were probably slightly in the minority, were more adventurous. All of us were of a certain age with added weight and inches around the middle, but for a little while on Friday night I suspect many of us were - in our minds, at least - snake-hipped young rockers again. Ah, if only...
One real plus point about the performance - and this really shows my days of being a snake-hipped young rocker are far behind me - was that it wasn't too loud. No ringing ears after this gig; the music was assertive without forcing you back into your seat. Werthers Original anyone?
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