Barry's Views

Review:

Rollo and the boys always give a good show and this was no exception. The crowd should have been bigger but then it was the weekend of the beer festival ..... New drummer Malc D'sa is a real find, steady and propulsive with the rolling rhythm of a good 'showband' drummer, the perfect platform for a swing outfit like this band. Martin Bentley is a fabulous bassist, his walking basslines sounding even better on the big upright bass, and Steve Fossey has developed into a subtle and expressive rhythm man with some telling lead breaks. Then there's Rollo whose harp covers a big range of styles, from punchy Chicago diatonic to a lovely spacey chromatic sound providing plenty of sonic thrills, his warm vocals riding on top. Covers are well-chosen and originals are equally strong, certainly not true of all British blues bands, with a good range from Chicago to West Coast swing. I could tell I was enjoying it by the way the Guinness was disappearing from my glass and it was absolutely no trouble joining the enthusiastic dancers. You can fool your mind but never your body when it comes to these things and mine was more than happy to groove along with the rest! Given the slightly disappointng turnout, you couldn't fault the band who gave it everything and then some!

Dave Kingsbury