Blues rock guitar virtuousity rocks it til the wheels fall off.
Considering it's a balmy Saturday night at the 100 Club, widely renowned to be Europe's most famous club, the turn out for support act The David Sinclair Trio is shamefully lackluster to the extent that the limited seating was all that was necessary to accommodate the attendees.
It has to be made clear from the outset that this shortage did little to dampen the blues fire coursing through the trio's veins as they vibed off each other to produce a solid session replete with tracks ranging from the raging to the sublime. Highlights of the set included a cover of 'Perfect' that in the hands of any lesser musicians would have come across as cliched but tonight pulled no punches with a rollicking line in drum tight blues riffage and crystal clear vocals. It was a confident and professional set played to so few that it must have been disheartening though the trio didn't let it get to them or spoil it for those who had bothered to turn up.
As we awaited Stephen Dale Petit's arrival, XFm's Steve Harris kept the crowd happy with a blues rock mix including The Gaslight Anthem (where have they been?!? They are missed!) and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's 'Whatever Happened to My Rock 'N' Roll?'; well they didn't have long to wait to find out as SDP took to the stage at 10pm to an audience that must have arrived while nature was calling, or when I blinked for too long. Either way, SDP was surrounded by die hard fans by the time he'd finished warming up and got down to unleashing an incessant onslaught of blistering blues guitar rock.
Fresh from a stint in Tennessee it seems Petit has returned with a whole new bag of tricks under his arm as in the not too distant past he had been perceived as a great rock guitarist playing blues but he now comes across as a true blues guitarist rocking it - an AOR-aficionado's wet dream. Watch out Joe Bonamassa! A perfect example was his clinical cover of Freddie King's exceptionally complex 'Have You Ever Loved A Woman?' complete with on the button vocals. For SDP, not renowned for his vocal abilities, the ease with which he pulled off the songs' intimate emotive nuances was nothing short of mindblowing.
From a set that was dedicated to guitar virtuosity and largely adlibbed with SDP's youthful backing band/rhythm section admirably keeping up as he periodically careered off into outer space before returning to the track's testosterone-fuelled template. His tribute to California was most definitely a highlight with Tupac's 'California Love' providing the backing to six minutes of rule book ripping fretwork replete with obligatory moments of Hendrix-esque feedback.
Although SDP and his band deserve credit for their display of ridiculously adept artistry one criticism would be the lack of vocals; when they were attempted they were mixed too quietly to be heard above his howling guitar. This gave the evening the feel of mere instrumentation which is a shame as SDP does have a great voice and even better tunes as will be on display come the release of his latest album 'Crave', though this evening was to celebrate his soon to be released BBC Blues Sessions that he did with Bob Harris.
All in all, despite said criticisms, it was an exceptional evening and more than lived up to the venue's musical heritage and without doubt cemented Stephen Dale Petit's position amongst the greats past and present of Blues guitar.