AN EVENING FOR WALTER TROUT –
Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London, 4 May 201
 
‘An Evening For Walter Trout’ was an unforgettable event with 60 musicians – including a posse of guitarists with borrowed amps – plus Walter Trout’s road and sound crew, all coming together to share their love for the blues-rock icon who is currently waiting for a liver transplant.
From the mid-day get in of the back line, to the final note at 10.55pm, this was never anything less than a shining example of genuine camaraderie, as egos were set aside and a ‘can do’ spirit prevailed.
The blues rock community turned out in force for Walter, with no less than 4 of his protégés – Ian Parker, Danny Bryant, Mitch Laddie and Laurence Jones – making sure his musical lineage is in good hands.
The pre-prep work and sound check was the key to the whole evening. The 9 piece Flamingo All Stars acted as the house band and they proved to be so well schooled and versatile that the whole evening ran smoothly without a hitch.
Roger Chapman arrived first, all smiles and full of anticipation, followed by Jon Trout, straight from the airport, still slightly worried as he’d missed a planned meeting with Danny Bryant, who had flown in from Germany.
Otis Grand trimmed his set to fit into the bill, before putting the excellent Flamingo band through their paces, including one double-time romp, while Bernie Marsden came closest to a full scale rehearsal. And after a near mid afternoon free for all, everything magically fell into place and the doors opened on time.
The Flamingo Club All Stars set an incredibly high standard for the evening with the Paul Butterfield favourite ‘Born In Chicago’. Led by John O’Leary on vocals and harp, and supported by Alan Glen on guitar, the band made the first of several poignant Walter Trout connections during the night – Trout’s favourite guitarist being the Butterfield ace player Mike Bloomfield.
White boy soul singer Paul Cox took over and tore into a stirring three song set, including his own bluesy ‘I Got The Proof’ and the crowd pleasing ‘Some Kind Of Wonderful’.
Stephen Dale Petit was the epitome of cool as he brought feel and restraint to a ‘Have You Loved Got A Woman’, while Marcus Malone added soulful phrasing to his flamboyant presence with his self penned, stop-time shuffle ‘Slow Down’.
Ian Parker was the first of Walter’s protégés. Surprisingly he chose 3 covers including the harmony laden ‘Everyday I Have The Blues’ and a delicate version of ‘Little Wing’, full of intricate guitar work and real feel that gained him a huge response.
Protégé #2 Laurence Jones made the first of three appearances with a 4 song set that included the barn burning ‘Soul Swamp River’ and the guitar avalanche ‘Falling From The Sky’.

Mitch Laddie reminded us of Walter’s ability to write moving ballads, as he covered the guitar instrumental ‘Marie’s Mood’. The effervescent Andrew Elt joined him for some intense rocking on Walter’s ‘Mercy’, on which Elt’s incredible banshee wail was perfectly offset by Mitch’s searing solo.
Danny Bryant poignantly rounded off part one of the evening with John O’Leary on harp and Nick Newall on sax, on the deep blues ‘Days Like This’. His emotive vocal and a defining solo full of ringing notes and volume swells will surely make Walter smile.
Part two opened with a bang, as Del Bromham’s expanded 6 piece Stray featured the fiery harp player Stevie Smith and Cherry Lee Mewis, who brought a joy de vivre to the narrative driven ‘Ballad Of JD’ and the Trout style ‘Words’.
Bassist Glynn Evans moved from the drum riser to the front to join Bernie Marsden, who brought class and polish on three songs. The beautifully nuanced, meandering blues ‘A Place In My Heart’ was a highlight and featured Nick Newall on sax and Alan Glen on harp.
Each artist seemed to bring an extra layer to the cake, no more so than the blues catalyst himself Otis Grand. His instrumental ‘C Minor Blues’, a cutting edge boogie and the swinging  ‘Bye Bye Blues’ with Marcus Malone on vocals was sublime, while Laurence joined Otis for a guitar wig out on Larry Williams’ ‘Slow Down’, as Marcus successfully exhorted the crowd to join in.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man, and Family legend Roger Chapman went back to his blues roots for Sonny Boy’s ‘Help Me’ which is a traditional Walter Trout opener.  He revelled on Jimmy Reed’s ‘Shame Shame Shame’  and growled out a mean ‘Got My Brand On You’, by which time he stomped the stage, waved his first at the balcony, and swore about the fact he had to relearn old blues lyrics, in a magical moment.
Jon Trout’s major gig debut proved to be an emotional moment, but with a helping hand from the house band and Andrew Elt, Walter’s son nailed the reason why we were all here with a slow blues ‘When My Dad Plays The blues’. Jon’s opening solo got deserved roar from the crowd, before a gloriously ragged ‘Going Down’ (a traditional Walter set closer), including a Pete Lamont trombone solo, saw upwards of 20 musicians on the stand.
It was left to Walter’s tour manager/vocalist Andrew Elt to send out a final heartfelt message to the man for who so much goodwill had been generated on a memorable night.

Review by Pete Feenstra

Review of The John O’Leary / Alan Glen All Stars
The Back To The Flamingo Club
At The Bull’s Head, Barnes London

Translated from the Dutch:

 Line-up:
  
ALAN GLEN - Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals
JOHN O'LEARY - Vocals, Harmonica
         Glynn Evans  - Bass
         Papa George -  Vocal, Guitar
         Bob Hokum – Vocal, Guitar
         Ali Maas - Vocals
         Ali McKenzie -  Vocals
         Peter Miles - Drums
         Nick Newall - Sax
         Tim Penn - Keyboard
         Andy Twyman – Vocal, Guitar
         Alan Vincent – Guitar

Every last Monday of the month, the blues and R & B enthusiast can enjoy a great evening in the Bull's Head, for over fifty years known in jazz circles.

"Back to the Flamingo " is the musical motto of this Monday evening, of course, a reference to the legendary music and dance club The Flamingo, where live bands of high quality played such as ... Zoot Money and Georgie Fame, they started it all, like blues and rock - oriented artists at The Marquee.

Alan Glen and John O'Leary form the spindle. Alan Glen (guitar, vocals, harmonica) you will know of Nine Below Zero and a reincarnation of The Yardbirds, John O'Leary (vocals and harmonica) his credits include Savoy Brown. The Guests of The All Stars may vary, but tonight features the creative Peter Miles on drums, the rock-solid Glynn Evans on bass, the sparkling Tim Penn on the keys and the improvising Nick Newall on sax. Guitarist Alan Vincent for me is a new member. Perhaps not a house - hold names, but all have a long track record of creating great music. Nick Newall played with Zoot Money and the Kinks, among others. Peter Miles drum credits include Jo-Ann Kelly, Rocket 88 and Jack Bruce.

You can enjoy something different every month at The Bull's Head, because there are always different guests joining the band.
Tonight's set began with John O'Leary ' Young - Fashioned Ways, "" Drifting Blues "and" Walking Blues ". It was then the turn of Ali Maas, a singer who leads her own group. Ali Maas is always rocking, her head and long hair in all directions shaking. 'Hound Dog' is cut out for her style; you can also detect influences of Koko Taylor, Janis Joplin and Big Mama Thornton.

Papa George climbs on the stage for an unexpected but clever version of T-Bone Shuffle. He's a great slide guitarist with his own songs catalog. Then Andy Twyman - a newcomer shows his talent. Actually, his acoustic blues is not devoid of humor. A great talent, he played Classics like " Shame, Shame, Shame " and, ' Little Red Rooster '. Keep an eye on him.

John O'Leary also opened the second set, with Alan Glen engaging in his well - aimed R & B guitar playing. The next guest is another veteran; Bob Hokum has a thundering guitar with lots of showmanship. Anyway, Ali Maas is again of service and with her " I Just Wanna Make Love To You” my rock joy does only increase. 

I look forward to the last guest Ali McKenzie of The Birds, the English Bird’s with Ron Wood and Kim Gardner, his voice is still intact. Perfect for R & B. McKenzie also swings as the best and with 'Hoochie Coochie Man' and " Rock Me Baby " to finish.

To the Glen O'Leary All Stars McKenzie, Newall, Thanks
In this world of pure commerce, it is pleasant to know that talented and confident artists give the best of themselves in pure pleasure. We should also thank once Peter Feenstra. You know him as the author of numerous sleeve notes and as editor and CD boxes (including the Family), but “Back to the Flamingo” is his Great idea and organization.

Eddy Bonte,

RADIO 68 www.radio68.be

www.keysandchords.com

http://www.keysandchords.com/…/the-alan-glen-john-oleary-al…-

December 2014