The publicity for his present solo concerts is based on recollections of a rocking night at the Grughalle Essen in 1980, my own decision to visit the Harmonie on Monday was the memory of some great albums made by the man in the late 1970’s, and most of the audience were of an age that suggested this probably wasn’t their first Graham Parker concert, but also that the last was a long time ago. Carrying the past on your back is a heavy burden, Chobhams biggest music hero seemed unconcerned about the load.
Tag Archives: harmonie
Band of Friends Interview
“Three or four years ago I just started listening to the music again. All the old albums I’d played on… and thought: ‘This is great!'”
– Gerry McAvoy
It’s a funny thing. One man’s favourite musician is another man’s signal to head for the bar. One man’s great guitar solo is another man’s ‘too many notes too loud’ and one man’s hero is another man’s villain. With one notable exception: Rory Gallagher. I’ve yet to find anyone with a bad word to say about the Irish Bluesrock icon. So why, when longtime Gallagher bassist Gerry McAvoy came to write about his life on the great man’s road, did Gallagher’s brother try to stop publication? In an exclusive interview, 3Songsbonn asked McAvoy, former Gallagher drummer Ted McKenna and the man they both believe is the closest thing to Rory Gallaghers sound this side of the celestial Blues Chorus – Marcel Scherpenzeel for their views on the man and his magic.
Popa Chubby – Roar Power
“Motörhead meets Muddy Waters” is how Ted Horowitz aka Popa Chubby describes his own musical style. With a love for the Blues and musical roots buried deep in the Punk scene of his native New York City, Chubby concluded that if Blues is the root of contemporary music then it should be at least as ‘dangerous’ as the Rock and Punk it spawned. At least that’s how I explain the steely edged Stratocaster shrieks, and the volume that occasionally threatens to reach mark 9 on a scale of ten, but for the most part remains at it’s 10 max. Even the bodies packed tightly into every available orifice of the Harmonie couldn’t absorb so much sound. There’s a sticker on Chubby’s guitar saying ‘Support your local Hells Angels Geneva’ Maybe it should say instead – ‘This guitar can seriously damage your health’. Certainly the skulls emblazoned on it’s strap are a warning.
Larry Garner – Blues Poet
Blues is not normally considered a genre for poetic license. Thursdays guest at the Harmonie though managed a whole evening without once mentioning waking up early in the morning or riding the rails. In the course of the evening he probably even spoke more words than he sang lyrics. Poet of the Blues? It’s a media created title that Larry Garner has been playing under for some years now and with good reason, as Thursday proved.
Remembering Johnny Cash with Texas Heat
Johnny Cash lives in Leverkusen. Maybe I should qualify that statement ‘Johnny Cash lives in Leverkusen’. Bernd ‘Marty’ Wolf is the Leverkusener keeping the Man in Black’s memory very much alive by presenting his music in the Tribute Show ‘Just Cash’. The turnout at Harmonie showed that Cash’s music is as popular as ever here in Bonn , Where a lot of people were ready to walk the line back to Folsom Prison and share Johnny’s hurt once again. Wolf, who got to know Johnny as a translator during his German tours, proved to be the perfect guide for their journey, joined by the excellent Band Texas Heat.
Julian Sas – Home at the Harmonie
“‘Hey Joe’, the first song Julian Sas ever learned to play on the guitar, really needs neither introduction, nor comment. Julian’s version is probably one of the best live versions of this song available anywhere today”
John Harrison reports from the sixth ‘Sold Out’ Harmonie concert by Julian Sas in as many years.
From Bamako to Bonn
It’s a funny old World where Blues gets attributed so readily to Mega-money musicians like Eric Clapton and The Stones and ‘authenticity’ means Joe Bonamassa and Walter Trout. The Blues sprang in reality from many thousands of Black People out of a spiritual need, and whilst there are few Artists around today who fill that description, two of the best were In Bonn at the Harmonie on Sunday: Eric Bibb and Habib Koité:
Jessy Martens – Brand New Blues
Three time winner in the 2012 German Blues Awards and a Finalist in this years ‘German Blues Challenge’, the star of Jessy Martens would seem to be on the rise. But how good is a German Blues Award winner? On the evidence of her appearance at the Harmonie on Thursday, very good indeed. If you’re reading this in mainland Europe get to a concert, and if you’re in Britain, America or Australia do yourself a favour and get a copy of the new CD. This girl has a big future!