Pokey Lafarge and the South City Three. Rob Heron and the Tea Pad Orchestra

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Seems like every time we mention Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three here they’ve added another feather to their cap. Pokey recently had a song featured on the American TV series Empire Boardwalk, a rendition of Lovesick Blues (and there’s a great story behind this involving Jiminy Cricket, see here). In addition the band have been supporting jack White to huge audiences in the states including the famous Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Radio City Music Hall. It’s great to see that they are gracing our shores again over the next few weeks and even better to hear their latest release Live In Holland that captures their rip roaring act perfectly.
Recorded at the Paradiso in Amsterdam the 14 cuts will be familiar to anyone who’s seen the band recently. Culled from the band’s two albums and singles and Pokey’s solo releases Marmalade and Beat Move and Shake along with a cracking version of Bob Wills’ Devil ain’t Lazy the live setting allows the band to cut loose and Pokey to holler and play the audience, wisecracking and adlibbing. It all adds up to a rollickingly good listen with the band seemingly enjoying themselves as much as the audience. It’s almost impossible to pick out highlights as throughout the album Ryan Koenig blitzes the crowd with his harmonica wizardry while Adam Hoskins’ guitar zips and slides splendidly. Joey Glynn on bass gets his moments to shine also especially on the raucous In The Graveyard. While Pokey, the ringmaster, ushers in the solos and is in fine booming voice the band deliver great harmonies and vocal asides that add to the vaudevillian element they create. Almost a perfect document of one of the most exciting bands around right now if this doesn’t move you then you should call a doctor

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Newcastle band, Rob Heron and the Tea Pad Orchestra are supporting Pokey and his gang on the upcoming UK tour just in time to promote their debut album Money isn’t Everything. While Newcastle isn’t St. Louis musically the tea pads inhabit much the same territory as the south city three, old time blues, ragtime and jazz with some Cajun riffs thrown in. While Heron tends to croon and scat rather than holler the syncopated rhythms and jazzy vamps are all there and executed with finesse, Ben Fitzgerald on guitar in particular plays some scintillating Django type runs. With three songs rerecorded from their EP including the mini epic Great Fire of Byker (about a huge conflagration on Tyneside) there’s a dramatic improvement in the sound and they come across as much more confidant and assured. Heron writes most of the songs although it’s hard to believe that they’ve not been dredged up from some archive of old time Americana. A version of Bob Miller’s Bank Failures from the 1930s nestles comfortably with Heron’s songs particularly the title track, in fact the album could have been called Songs For the New Depression and one wouldn’t have been surprised to find Buddy Can You Spare a Dime here, maybe they’ll do it live. With songs of escapism (the sousaphone led thump of Rich man Blues), booze (Hangover Blues) and exotica (the south American styled Biarro Alto) there’s a definite retro feel here that harks back to the dichotomy of the jazz age when the bright young things partied and the working class worked. A great debut and on the strength of this a great double bill on the forthcoming tour.

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Ernest Troost, Rob Heron and the Tea Pad Orchestra.

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Ernest Troost. Live At McCabe’s. Travellin’ Shoes Records.

For a man who’s main job is writing (and winning Emmys for) film and television scores Troost is a surprisingly good acoustic folk and blues performer. I reviewed his 2005 album All the Boats Are Gonna Rise favourably but missed out on the follow up Resurrection Blues. Here he delivers a fine set of songs old and new, solo and accompanied that proves to be an excellent companion to his studio releases. Kicking off with Resurrection Blues and the magnificent Travelin’ Shoes I was afraid that it would be downhill from there but Troost delivers several pieces that can match these. With tales of ne’er do wells and desperadoes balanced by some delicate love songs and dust blown ballads it’s not surprising to see that his songwriting has been compared to the likes of Dave Alvin and Richard Thompson. Switchblade Heart which earned Troost a songwriting award at the Kerrville Festival is the outstanding example but the black humour of Disturbin’’Blues combines his writing with his live appeal. A lively ““Piedmont” blues styled song Disturbin’ Blues features Mark “Pocket” Goldberg on bass, Dave Fraser, harmonica, Debra Dobkin, drums and Nicole Gordon on harmony vocals. They appear elsewhere throughout the album and Gordon in particular is excellent and is given the opportunity to sing lead on two of the songs. In all this is a great live album that captures the artist in fine style and is well recommended for anyone looking for an updated Woody Guthrie or a less cynical Loudon Wainwright.

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Switchblade Heart

Rob Heron and the Tea Pad Orchestra. Teepy Eepy. Independent.

We caught the tail end of this band’s set when they supported Pokey LaFarge on his recent Glasgow gig. A nice fit indeed as they draw from the same musical well as Mr. LaFarge with old time country blues and swing featuring large. They looked good and sounded swell from what I saw and heard and copies of this, their five-song debut were being snapped up at the end of the gig. Coming from Newcastle (with one Glaswegian in the line up) they offer a nod to Northumberland tradition by having an accordion player in the line up. Listening to this However one would imagine they were born and raised in some Southern US state despite the references to their hometown in The Great Fire of Byker based on a massive scrapyard fire which happened in Newcastle last year. They set off comfortably enough with Quaich Keeper’s Blues, a fine shuffle about the demon whisky while alcohol features again on the graveyard vamp that is Tonic Wine. Here they exhibit a sly humour with the song starting off sounding like a New Orleans shuffle before Heron extols the delights of what appears to be Buckfast and his character heads off for a night on the town ending up at a reggae party. At this point the band switch from New Orleans to Jamaica with some dub effects thrown in, sounds odd on paper but it’s great to listen to. Whisky features again in Killed by Love while the last song She Don’t Like The Fish has some great Django type guitar runs on a rousing song that has a great sense of dynamics and a wonderful scat filled chorus. Given their Northumbrian origin one wonders if this is not a modern (although swingtime influenced) riposte to that well-known diitty, When the Boat Comes In. Overall this young band has some fine players and a promising songwriter in the shape of Mr. Heron and we look forward to watching their progress.
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She Don’t Like The Fish

Pokey LaFarge & the South City Three, Classic Grand, Glasgow 25th June

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The Pokey LaFarge carnival rolled into town last Saturday for a triumphant show at the Classic Grand. I say carnival because there’s an element of old time showmanship surrounding Pokey and his band. Apart from the thrift shop (although dapper) threads Pokey always comes across like a cross between a showground barker and a vaudevillian M.C. While he might not always enjoy the “old time” tag that follows him around there’s no doubt that he invokes a happier, more innocent time that comes across in the shows and records. Having said that Pokey and the band don’t display any stuffiness or reverence when it comes to playing songs written half a century ago instead injecting a large dose of vim and vigour into them. His own songs, influenced by the likes of Jimmy Rogers do hark back to the past but are delivered with a youthful joy, looking backward and forward at the same time the effect is dizzying.
A packed Classic Grand crowd was treated to a hectic, fast paced show, crammed into around 80 minutes due to an early curfew. In addition LaFarge himself was due to celebrate a birthday at midnight and was keen to start the celebrations early. The crowd, most of whom were well familiar with the band from previous performances joined in with several shouts of Happy Birthday and a rendition of the eponymous song at one point.
While the band played several songs from the new album (Middle of Everywhere) crowd pleasers from his last two albums were delivered with gusto. Claude Jones, Hard Times Come and Go and Walk Your Way Out Of this Town all featured. A fantastic version of the 1920’s vintage Sadie Green The Vamp of New Orleans was a particular favourite while the crowd surged when Drinkin’ Whiskey Tonight from the new album was played. Throughout the show the South City Three demonstrated some superior picking, plucking, slapping and blowing. Bassist Joey Glynn had numerous short solo spots while guitarist Adam Hoskins either alone or sparring with Pokey played some sweet jazzy Django runs. Ryan Churchmouse Koenig’s harmonica and vocal asides were a joy to hear while his donning of his washboard, bells and horns and all added a Spike Jones surrealism to the show.
Hats off however to their rendition of Pack It Up, a song they recorded for vinyl release with Jack White of the White Stripes. With the lyrics adapted almost as a tour diary this was a tour de force with audience participation included.
All in all a great night, Pokey and the band are on fire right now so if they set up a tent by your way be sure to join the queue.

Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three. Middle of Everywhere

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Firm favourites of Blabber’n’Smoke, Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three have never let us down, live or on record. Listening to or seeing them live is a kick, a reminder of how good and reaffirming the power of music can be. On the face of it they could be classified as yet another bunch of “old time” revivalists like dozens of others whose albums regularly arrive here at Blabber H.Q. While we have a great respect for and enjoy rootsy bands who are keeping old traditions alive, sometimes in an exhilarating fashion, Pokey et al are heads and shoulders above them when it comes down to sheer joie de vivre with an exuberance that might best be experienced live but which informs the recordings also. I’ve yet to meet anyone who hasn’t fallen for them after the first song or two.

A pocket dynamo LaFarge commands the stage, a born showman indeed. On record he writes songs that seem to have been in the catalogue forever such is their immediate familiarity. Middle of Everywhere is chockfull of songs that could have the listener scrambling through their record collection seeking the original version to no avail however as Pokey has written all of this fine album. In the liner notes he points out that St. Louis, his hometown, is musically speaking at the centre of the south, the mid west, the city and the country. The album bears witness to this being a melting pot of his oft noted influences including ragtime, swing, country blues and early jazz. Less bluesy than its predecessor, Riverboat Soul, Middle of Everywhere leans more towards western swing on many of the songs with Adam Hoskins’ lap steel playing adding a nice touch. The guitar playing throughout is excellent with Sunny Side of The Street and Shenandoah River in particular graced with some fine solos. The addition of cornet and trombone on Feels So Good turns the song into a neat jazzy vamp as Pokey sings about his “dancing girl.” As befits a young man girls are on Pokey’s mind and on Mississippi Girl he sings their praises on a superb ensemble piece. While the good time feel of Weedwacker Rag and Drinking Whiskey Tonight are both guaranteed to have audiences on their feet the best song here reminds one that Pokey can write fine reflective pieces (such as Beat Move and Shake It’s Arkansas). River Rock Bottom ebbs and flows seductively, reminiscent of Dan Hicks in his prime it’s a tender and sad hymn to the blues.

Throughout the album The South City Three perform stellar duties. Hoskins’ guitar embellishes Pokey’s playing perfectly while Joey Glynn’s upright bass adds a fine natural depth. His skirmishes with Ryan Koenig’s washboard on several songs are a treat while Koenig’s harmonica is always tasty. Over all this Pokey sings with confidence, at times crooning, other times hollering yet hardly ever breaking sweat he is in command throughout, oozing charisma and style.

Pokey and the band are currently touring the UK so do try to catch them. Dates on the website with a Glasgow show on 25th June at the Classic grand.

Mississippi Girl