Words/pics Juan Fitzgerald
Like a vintage jazzy record put on by an old Hollywood Seamus down on his luck , looking for solace in a whisky bottle, as the rain beats down and outside the Neon light flitters, flickering streaks into the room . The needle drops on the hi-fi and the melancholy vocals of Miss Amy Boone starts crooning out ” Darkness isn’t such a hard road , if we don’t go down it alone ” & soon the sound of a trumpet gently slips in, as Seamus drifts off into a fitful midnight sleep !!
This picture enter my head last night , watching The Delines as all the exquisite stories from their brand new record ” Mr Luck & Ms Doom” unfolded & came to life , created & arranged by songwriter/author extraordinaire Mr Willy Vlautin & his lo-fi jazz soul combo from Portland Oregon USA. Fiction songs with titles such as “Mr Luck and Ms Doom” “JP & Me” and “Don’t Miss Your Bus Lorraine”, brought a soul full misery to Gosforth Civic & the audience just loved it. A special mention to the jazz infused instrumental ‘Lynette’s Lament ” that showed up the special talents of keyboard/ trumpet man Corey Gray who’s a diamond in this troupe & ”Haunted Thoughts” that was as good a piece of dusty country soul as you’d hear anywhere, not forgetting the encore “Calling In “ which featured four part harmonies by the whole group as a special finale. A band that were/are totally at the top of their game.
Londoner Peter Bruntnell supported as a solo artist, just a couple weeks after killing it in The Central Bar with his band. He has always had great songs, whether he’s been on his own, or not & has been a regular troubadour at Jumpin Hot for many, many years . In fact, in the 40th year of the Jumpin Hot Club, the return of these two class acts was most welcome by everybody. Even with football shenanigans only ½ mile away the place was packed & this could easily have been the show of the year.
Juan Fitzgerald