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RV's Memorial Concert BBQ
25th July 2002, Guisborough, England
Cost $15 US
(details on Merchandise page)
Review submitted localy and to Blues Matters by Michael Mee
Make mine an Arvey wallbanger
Steve
Arvey
Barrels, Saturday August 31
by Michael Mee
I SUPPOSE you could call Chicago’s Steve Arvey a blues musician, you could call a cat a dog if you like. In truth he’s more a force of nature, a force that the basement of Barrels, Berwick on Tweed struggled, and at times failed, to contain. The cocktail of blues/rock and even some ‘home-grown’ country left the audience punch drunk but thirsty for more.
Some people play music and look like accountants, some look like they were born to play. With 13 gigs in 12 days Arvey could be forgiven for looking a little crumpled but it all added to the bar-room blues feel.
As the opening of It’s My Soul attacked the nervous system of the audience, the thought struck that, in less politically correct days, Arvey would be described as having a ‘black voice’ full of raw, undiluted emotion. And, as the band moved into A Deep Elum, any concerns at how ‘tight’ they would be with less than two hours rehearsal was quickly dispelled. Drummer Mike Hellier and keyboard player Julian Grudgings are well known and admired but alongside Arvey, as the new boys, was Kevin Jefferies on bass. As the song rose and fell like a series of tidal waves Jefferies lived up to the expectations of a guitarist who has played with the likes of Brian May and Steve Harley.
Arvey is a high-octane, testosterone-fuelled performer, probably more a man’s bluesman, How Do You Spell Love (Misery) was typical of the “if she hasn’t done him wrong yet, she’s about to’ nature of the music. It also introduced the growling Arvey, this is how Wolfman Jack would have sounded had he taken up the blues. It was not really a night for great introspection, Arvey attacked the audience with the likes of Chicken Heads (not literally of course). While all this mayhem was taking place Hellier and Jefferies held firm and Grudgings looked on indulgently rather like the music teacher roped into the 6th form band to keep an eye on things. But we knew it was all a facade and the night was peppered with magic Grudgings moments, Going Down Slow being simply the first of many.
As with all performers whose staple diet is live music, ‘if you can’t play there’s no pay’, and Arvey demonstrated often and with some style that he knew his way round a guitar, Love Ain’t Easy and the rock ‘n’ roller When I Get Drunk were prime examples. As if to show those enjoying a drink upstairs what they were missing, he joined them during a rousing ‘hellfire’ St. Peter’s. You can picture the scene: “That’ll be a pint for me, a gin and tonic for the wife and you’d better get the blues guy one as well”.
The second half was introduced as something different! Different? After what had gone before, well he managed to draw the emotional rack tight with Blues Messiah a song that mentioned crossroads, who could he have been on about? After the pure stadium rock, with obligatory guitar solo, of WRFG it was time for the audience to earn their corn during You Can’t Always Get What You Want,they passed with flying colours. The encore was the title track of It’s A Fine Line and Arvey by now was playing it for all he was worth, you could see the man was loving it. Was it loud? Well I don’t envisage sinus trouble for a while.
Speaking afterwards Arvey said he’d like to come back and play some acoustic blues and that’s a mouthwatering prospect. Me? I’m off to Cleethorpes, by-passing Guisborough.
Michael
Mee
Chief Sub Editor
The Southern Reporter