Two weeks
into their current UK tour and it was a case a finally catching some Arkansas
Dave in a mode that best reflects a road band. A slight jolt from a late entry
to the Maverick Festival a fortnight earlier swiftly ironed out and, as they
entered the final furlong of this current trip, a drop off in the West Midlands
presented an opportunity to see them away from the hustle and bustle of a fully
blown festival line-up. This four-piece combo led by Dave Pennington lived up
to reports, both from word of mouth and from published reviews, as they adapted
well to surroundings not always conducive to live music.
This
lunchtime performance in West Bromwich was the first of two shows during a one-day
visit to the area. Both initiated by the Birmingham Jazz and Blues Festival; a
celebration of genre driven music held for a 10 day period across multiple
venues on an annual basis. The evening gig would present the band the
opportunity to ramp up the volume, but this 50 minute midday set still possessed
enough velocity to blow a hole across a venue that has had a somewhat checkered
past.
Sandwell
Arts Café may not be a well-known name across the West Midlands, but folks will
remember the furor around the Public in West Bromwich town centre. This
ill-fated arts venture with the striking structure may well have split opinion
in its early days, but it is now reborn as an extension to the burgeoning
Sandwell College, all while the layout to this industrial town has re-shaped. The open
nature to the venue’s location within the building looked out onto the
lunchtime shoppers, but full focus on the band offset any distraction.
In the past, open atrium-styled, performing spaces can struggle with live rock music.
However, a low hanging roof over the stage helped compress the sound and few complaints could
emerge that the band did not come across well. In the presence of around thirty
or forty attentive folks for this free show, Dave remained on acoustic guitar,
letting his lead accomplice Drew de France raise the heat with the rocking
work. Bass and drums provided the usual solid framework as the band leapt
forward with a raft of tracks from their current album mixed with a fine
assortment of apt covers.
Before you
ask, they do hail from Arkansas – Camden to be precise, a contrasting quip
added to the repertoire after spending time in the somewhat different London
version. Their style of blues is straight from the strand of Americana where
this named style melds with country, gospel and any other roots-infused
influence. Early on, Dave commented on Arkansas and its neighbouring states’ claim as the cradle of
Americana, citing both Muddy Waters and Johnny Cash while covering classic
songs of theirs.
‘Champagne & Reefer’ and ‘Get Rhythm’ were clearly identifiable numbers
added to the set celebrating the impact of the Southern greats on music active
today. From the self-titled debut Arkansas Dave album released earlier this
year, ‘Bad Water’, the Tom Waites
tune ‘Chocolate Jesus’ and ‘On My Way’ led the way, with the latter
closing the set with everybody in humming mode.
A little
post-gig research revealed that the band have visited the area before with a
Birmingham show in July 2017. There has been slightly more press about them on
this trip and hopefully momentum can build to a return in the future where they
get a fully-fledged gig that’s promoted in conjunction with their pure
Americana attributes, which clearly frame this brand of blues rock.
As the band
headed north to perform at the more acclaimed and focused SummerTyne Festival
on the final leg of the tour, small but significant memories formed of the time
lunchtime gig goers ventured down to West Bromwich town centre to sample a
slice of real deal Southern USA. Live music
operates in mysterious ways and the world is healthier for it.