With Lloyd Spiegel’s latest release ‘Cut & Run’ sitting at #1 on no less than six different music charts, it was no surprise that his now annual visit to The Ellington Jazz Club on Beaufort Street in Perth was a complete sell-out. This is a chance to see one of Australia’s finest acoustic bluesmen up close & personal in this most intimate of settings and after witnessing this back in 2018, I just knew I couldn’t miss one of the live highlights of the year.
With his trusty Cole Clark guitar draped over his shoulder, Spiegel took to the small stage along with his drummer Tim Burnham and opened proceedings with a ripping version of Brownie McGhee’s ‘Walk On’ before firing into the upbeat ‘Rock and a Hard Place’ from his 2010 release ‘Tangled Brew’. We are treated to a fine rendition of Muddy Water’s ‘Louisiana Blues’ before we see Burnham depart the stage for the first of the unaccompanied sessions of the night, as Lloyd strips it back to some of his finer intricate guitar work, as he plays the first of his tracks from the ‘Cut & Run’ album, the beautiful ‘Old Wounds’ soon followed by ‘Ramblin’ On My Mind’ before Burnham’s return to his drum kit.
Spiegel is always a man for a comical yarn and tonight we were treated to a hilarious tale of his escaping the clutches of an 86-year old German groupie as Lloyd introduces ‘All The Cats Are Grey’ – cue fits of laughter with the reference to the story. Another new one, ‘Rattle Your Cage’ transfers effortlessly to the live set before we revisit last year’s #1 Australian Blues album ‘Backroads’ and the opening track ‘The Kick Around’. The first set finishes in fine fashion as the whole room is mesmerized by Spiegel’s ten minute guitar soloing during ‘Murder for Breakfast’.
Lloyd Spiegel can be a reviewers nightmare – he often likes to play without a set list, as he is one of those performers who goes with the flow & feel of the evening and after a short break (I have visions of Lloyd spending his backstage time with his fingers dipped in a bowl of ice cold water trying to cool them off) the second half of the show opens with ‘King With No Crown’ before Spiegel talks about the influence Dutch Tilders had, not only on his own blues playing but also on the Australian Blues scene in general, as he tells of his pride & the honour of being asked to announce Tilders Induction into the Hall of Fame recently… and a perfect opportunity to play Tilders own ‘Back To The City’.
The musical chemistry between Spiegel & Burnham is always something to try to watch during the evening and it is at its best during the fast paced Little Richard classic ‘Lucille’ which has the crowd whoopin’ & a-hollerin’ throughout. We get informed (sadly) that Spiegel has decided to “put some of his older songs to bed after this tour” as he plays one of the crowd favourites in the form of ‘If I killed Ya When I Met Ya’ from 2008’s Timber & Steel. ‘Tokyo Blues’ is the third & final of the new tracks from ‘Cut & Run’ to be aired tonight before Lloyd is alone on the stage once more for a couple of unaccompanied songs – ‘Tangled Brew’ and a stunning version of ‘Dirt Road to Paradise’.
And with the return of the one-man percussion section, we are back to full speed again with John Lee Hooker’s ‘This is Hip’ and a chance for us to see Burnham’s talents with a wonderful drum interlude during Bo Diddley’s ‘Who Do You Love’. Spiegel leaves to a standing ovation from the flabbergasted crowd, before returning to tease with us once more, playing intros to Dire Straits ‘Money For Nothing’, Chuck Berry’s ‘Johnny B Goode’ & Aerosmith’s ‘Walk This Way’ before closing the night with Tom Waits ‘2:19’. This is always one show where the artists leave everything on stage, as the exhausted pair left to a second & well-deserved standing ovation, before heading to the merch desk to sign CD’s and have photos taken with fans & friends both old & new.
The pair now head to Blues at Bridgetown for this weekend, where they play three shows, before returning back to the east coast to continue the ‘Cut & Run’ tour up until early December. Check out http://lloydspiegel.com for all up & coming tour dates.
Set List: Walk On, Rock & A Hard Place, Louisiana Blues, Old Wounds, Ramblin’ On My Mind, All The Cats Are Grey, Rattle Your Cage, The Kick Around, Murder For Breakfast, King With No Crown, Back To The City, Lucille, If I Killed Ya When I Met Ya, Tokyo Blues, Tangled Brew, Dirt Road to Paradise, This is Hip, Who Do You Love
Encore: 2:19
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Linda Dunjey Photography
