Barry's Views

Review:

The Britannia Boat Club is as misleading a venue as you could get. Hidden away on a small road, just off Trent Bridge, it is hardly noticeable from the main road. It looks, from the outside and even once you have climbed the flight of stairs up to the bar, exactly as you would expect a boat club to look. However, once you walk through the door from the bar to the stage this all changes. It is as if you have been transported below ground into a large cave, albeit with comfortable seating and a lounge bar atmosphere.

With the lights shining bright and the audience chatting noisily, Sam and the band came onto the stage. Tonight was the first time that vocalist/guitarist Sam Wilkinson had performed in Nottingham with his new self titled band. The noise of the audience lulled with anticipation and Sam began to sing a slow ballad without any accompaniment from the rest of his band. This was perhaps a slightly nervy start but, as it seamlessly became a heavy blues piece with the backing of the band, the nerves appeared to fade. The set was a mixture of new songs as well as a few he had written a number of years ago and covers such as Eric Clapton’s ‘Old Love’, Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Wait Until Tomorrow’ and ‘Mary Had A Little Lamb’, which Sam mused “Buddy Guy claims to have written this but I’m pretty sure it’s just a nursery rhyme.”.

In the second half of the set Sam played his songs with a greater air of confidence than the first half and really made the covers his own. He performed the blues standard ‘Five Long Years’ in which he showed the strength of his voice by, part way through the song, stepping away from the microphone and singing loud and clear with the confidence his opening song lacked.

Sam made the transition from heavy blues to ballad effortlessly throughout the set. The emotion he puts into his songs is inspirational and makes it difficult not to get carried away and lose yourself within the sometimes heart wrenching fluidity of his guitar solo’s, whilst watching him balancing precariously on the edge of the stage.

His bassist, Scott Barnes, and drummer, Mark Barrett, who had never rehearsed together before, really rounded off this superb performance. All in all, a good night for local blues music and a great gig from a promising young Musician.

Adam Barnes