Gig Review: The Boneshakers + Adam Giles Levy
Tuesday 1st October – The Marrs Bar, Worcester
Before I tell you what you missed, I ask the question: where were you??? The Boneshakers have toured Europe and the UK over a number of years. Today, they are bigger than ever, with Billboard-topping albums and, in the UK, chart-topping streams. They have sold-out gigs across the UK, and then they came to my home town, to our premier music venue, and I’m ashamed to say only a handful of people turned up – two of those from Cardiff on an overnight stay!
The Boneshakers have been around for a long time, inadvertently named by Bonnie Raitt back in ’98. Like all bands, they evolve over the years, and the magic fairy dust came in the form of Jenny Langer. Since signing to Gulf Records, you could argue the band has truly found its sweet spot.
Veteran guitarist Randy Jacobs (Was (Not Was)) opened up with bassist Holly Montgomery and drummer Arthur Thompson, with a funk-blues Mucho Mas, before introducing the sassy, sexy vocalist Jenny Langer, launching into Ball and Chain. The band rolled on breathlessly through their collection of blues and funk, sprinkled with a not insurmountable dose of soul. Despite the lack of bodies, we were in for a great and memorable night. Jenny is very personable, and you can’t spend over 40 years in the business without knowing how to squeeze every string-bending note out of your axe. That’s Randy, right down to his long, pointed boots – it’s a brilliant combination.
A funky riff fills the air, Jenny declares, Here I Am, lifted from last year’s big-selling album, Live To Be This, followed by a brilliant Mr Alice, “doesn’t live here anymore”, with Randy taking a superb solo lead. Jenny introduces a song that was on their first indie album as a duo. Unsurprisingly, it charted worldwide, in no small part due to the strutting blues of One Foot In The Groove. Fabulous – Jenny at her sassy best, with Randy backed by the incessant rhythm groove of Holly and Arthur.
A touch of classic blues with Catfish Blues takes us into a slow, throbbing vibe, with hints of a Tony McPhee riff slipping the net as Randy takes us down into the depths – one fish to bottle and take home. There is sooo much all you “music lovers” missed, but I’ll jump forward to the Bonebreakers acoustic slot, where their newly released Pull Up The Roots gets reprised.
Arthur steps forward and straddles his cajón, Holly clutches a bass uke, Randy has a cigar-box guitar, and Jenny, well, she’s Jenny – what more do you want? They break into the lovely groove of Luck Won’t Last, a plastic horn toots away, “me oh my”, the band are sparking, breaking out into Fire On The Bayou, Arthur beating out a great tattoo on the cajón. Enough heat there to ignite the cigar box, and Jenny fans the flames, a hint of Led Zep as the song burns out.
It’s a brilliant evening. We few are feeling very privileged to be here. I’ll go home happily clutching a couple of signed vinyl albums, and the band will turn to Ice Cream and Cigarettes, knowing they have played their hearts out to those of us who had turned out. Can’t miss a fantastically embellished Bow Wow Wow, getting down to some gritty lyrics. You needed to have been there.
By: Graham Munn