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Recent Live Reviews...

The Wildcards - New Crawdaddy Blues Club - Basildon - 09/08/2007
How do they do it I hear you asking? Week after week, great musicians and great entertainment. Yes another super Thursday at the Crawdaddy with our good friends the Wildcards who were on top form. Our thanks also go to 50% of the Freeze and 50% of the Wildcards for a smashing opening set (and for the PA!) with some fine guitar plus some cool harmonica and good vocals from Richie Lane & John Stokes backed by Al Wallis on bass & Kevin Crowe on drums.

And so to the main event, a rip roaring high energy, hugely varied set
featuring some old favourites such as 'Mellow Down Easy', 'Long Way From St Louis', Look What You Done To Me', 'Happy Hour' and the superbly intricate and skilfully delivered gem that is Duke Ellington's 'Caravan' plus we were treated to a taste of the soon to be released CD including a wonderfully original rendition of 'St James Infirmary Blues' which the band were playing for the very first time live. With Vince Lee on vocals and guitar and Martin Vowles on guitar and bvs, this quartet are very much in a class and field of their own and never fail to thrill audiences when they play giving their all. No wonder, then that this month alone sees them playing in Finland, Belgium, Holland, Denmark and Billericay to name but five!!! Blues Revue summed the band up when they described them as "essentially part Nick Curran, part Red Devils..... that is, true jump & blues sounds played with capital letter Attitude and tons of talent". I would add to that description "and a whole lot of Wildcards magic!" It was truly a sensational evening and gigs like that are going to be something which I am really going to miss when I move to France next June.

Ashwyn Smith - Digital Blues - UK

The Wildcards - The Greenwood Rooms - Northolt - London - August 2007
The Greenwood is a good sized venue with a real retro feel, created by the art deco design that has survived the modern age. In a way, it's a suitable venue for a band like The Wildcards, whose musical influences date back many years to the likes of Louis Jordan, Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, Willie Dixon and Pee Wee Crayton. However, when it comes to delivery, there's nothing stuck in the past with the way this band plays!

The whole pace of the two sets was constantly varied, from swinging numbers to rumba rhythms, rocking blues and frenetic rockabilly with even a touch of flat out surf blues on some instrumental shakedowns, often lead by drummer Kevin Crowe, simultaneously maintaining a controlled appearance whilst seemingly beating the heck of his kit. Combined to great effect with the booming bass guitar of Al Wallis, notably on Jeff Turmes' "Happy Hour" and the Ray Charles inspired "How Do You Feel", this rhythm section provided the perfect backing for the twin guitar playing of Martin Vowles and Vince Lee.

There's obviously no half measures with this band either, judging by the energy and intensity of their performance, particularly Vince's impassioned and fervent lead vocals, plus his powerful guitar playing, demonstrated during the blusier "Baby Please" and "Whiskey". Throw in Martin's clean guitar tones and, at times, savage rhythm playing for numbers like "Look What You've Done To Me" that fairly rocketed along and you have a band covering all the angles.

"Hoodoo Preacher" conjured up a Deep South atmosphere and "Hang Me Out To Dry" really swung, both numbers from the band's new CD. "Hard Luck Tale" gave us Latin infused blues before the Benton / Jordan title track from their first CD "On Fire" started with a rumble from Kevin's drums and was transformed into a frenzied boogie to close proceedings.

In no time at all, the band was back for an encore, featuring a terrific version of "St James Infirmary Blues" that started slowly with Vince on deep vocals, before building to a crescendo and finishing with a flourish as both guitarists traded riffs. This was followed by his own composition, the atmospheric "Can't Keep From Doing Wrong" to bring the evening to a close.

There is certainly nothing wrong about what  The Wildcards are doing, as the demand for their live performances in both the UK and Europe continues to confirm. I for one hope they venture to my home territory again in the not too distant future.

Darrell Parsons - Blues In Britain