THE FIRST BLUES STAGE @ CENTRE STAGE Thursday 22nd May 2008
On arrival at the First Blues Stage, the expectant audience were warmly greeted by venue host Paul Burke, and seated casually around tables, in a friendly environment.
Paul Burke took to the stage to introduce the evening, then was joined by Son & fellow musician Bob Burke for a great opening set, which was lively, fun & entertaining.
Bob Burke followed up with a guitar based, Rock meets Blues solo performance, & tantalised the audience with his velvet like vocals!
Pete Christie & his guitar took to the stage to join Bob Burke in a smashing performance, encompassing blues based music with great rhythm & spontanaity, and literally feeding off each others performances!
Next to the stage were Pete Read & his electric guitar, who brought to us a Soulful Blues set, drawing the audience further into his music with his vocal talent & musical capabilities.
Pete Read was closely followed by a strong set from Sugarhand David McKenzie & his guitar, who further enthralled the enthusiastic audience, bringing Music & Song together in a way that is unique to his performance.
As a short interval was called, the happy audience buzzed with excitement & were served flawlessly by the attentive bar staff.
The happy chatter in the room dulled to a silence as superb vocalist Aimee Newsome Stone & guitarist Andy Stone took to the stage, Aimee brought to us warm sultry tones, accompanied by Andy Stone's beautiful acoustic melodies, with Aimee joining Andy on guitar for the last song of their set.
Next to the stage was accomplished guitarist & composer G P Hall, Just as the performers before him, he captivated the audience, first with upbeat, raw, gutsy, Blues & powerful vocals. Then with beautiful tender melodies. Finally G P Hall wowed the audience with his own fast, daring & intricate Flamenco composition, Pyroclastic Flow. As the applause faded, the atmosphere was fantastic & the stage was once again handed over to Pete Christie.
Pete Christie's last set showed off his vocal talents alongside appealing guitar based Blues melodies, with integrated rhythm & style. As the set came to a close, encores were shouted by the 'music hungry' audience, at which point we were thrilled with a chance duet by Pete Christie & Tinderbox lead vocalist Monique Houraghan, which was perfectly timed & beautifully executed!
After a heavy applause, the stunning evening was brought to a close by Paul Burke.
All credit is due to the performers & organisers. The expectations of the audience were by far superceded at this First Blues Stage.
Centre Stage is a wonderful venue which is acoustically brilliant! With such an eclectic mix of quality, talent & style, every gig is a guaranteed "must see", & Centre Stage is definitely a venue worth investigating...
Reviewed by Link2Music
Pete Christie &
Paul Burke
G P Hall
Andy Stone
Aimee
Newsome Stone
Pete Christie &
Monique Houraghan
