Gig Review
Geoff Achison & the U.K. Souldiggers
Saturday, 17 October 2009:
After a two-year hiatus since his last visit to our venue, we were very pleased to welcome this diminutive dynamo from Australia! Gracing the Bluesnight's stage for the fifth time, Geoff Achison turned in a stellar performance in front of a full house! Sometimes artists playing their last gig of a lengthy tour can be found feeling, looking and sounding tired and ready to head for home. Nothing could have been further from what the capacity-plus Bluesnight's audience witnessed for the next two hours. Geoff Achison and his U.K. Souldiggers – the legendary drummer Sam Kelly, ace-of-bass 'Spy' and keyboards maestro Paul Jobson – came on in high-energy mode and never let up 'til the last note of their last number!
Geoff kicked off with a couple of solo numbers played on his deep-bodied Gibson acoustic. Memphis Slim's “Mother Earth” – most often heard as a piano piece – made full use of Geoff's precise finger picking to underpin its distinctive melody line. The second number - “The Apparatus Song” - is a personal account of a time when Geoff worked in a factory and noticed the noises made by the machinery and the rhythms they engendered. Re-creating these on the guitar produced a contemporary work whose origins were at once both instantly recognisable yet strangely unfamiliar in terms of 'musical' sounds. Quite an intriguing piece!
Joined on stage by the full band, things really picked up; each number being a superb workout. “Crazy Horse”, with it insistent chorus swung beautifully. Geoff's latest CD “One Ticket/One Ride” got an airing with the title track, which alternates between driving funk and a gentle ethereal feel. “Rule The World” is up-tempo and really cracked along, driven by Geoff's guitar work and Paul Jobson's organ solo. “Magic Belt”, a song about Geoff's son, is a slow blues that builds up powerfully with very strong bass lines and drumming.
Note: Click thumbnail to view full artist image.
Photo credit: Paul Martin.
... continued
The second set began with Geoff's acoustic fast-paced rendition of the blues standard "Mystery Train". With the band back on stage, Geoff Achison & the U.K. Souldiggers got cracking with a shuffle that was very tight and solid! The next number “Never Give It Up” (a song about hope), was in some ways quite poignant with a tight guitar solo. Muddy Waters'/Freddy King's “Sugar Sweet” had a driving rhythm in which Geoff's incredible fretboard dexterity was matched by Paul's keyboard mastery, before segueing into some entertaining scat singing. “Edge Of The World” kept up a pace mixing shuffle and march. “Overtime”, a request from a fellow Aussie in the audience, barrelled along, and all four muso’s got a chance to strut their stuff.
No night like this would be complete without an encore and we got Robert Johnson's “Walking Blues”. With its syncopated, rocking pulse blending age-old Delta blues with the most skilful of contemporary interpretations, this was a cracking finish by Geoff Achison & the U.K. Souldiggers to what must rank as one of the very best in more than a decade of Bluesnights.
As he left the stage, Geoff promised to return in 2010 – make sure you get to see him!
Review by: Lewis A Harris.
© Bluesnights. The Dorset Blues Society.
17 October 2009.
