Goin’
Up The Country’ at Worthenbury Village Hall: 23.04.10
The latest gig organised by the ‘Goin’
Up The Country’ guys, saw a welcome return to the intimate
surroundings of Worthenbury Village Hall for the amiable, all-round
nice guy, Jim Crawford-originally from Lancashire, but now residing
in Appledore, in North Devon, who as well as keeping busy gigging
does many guitar workshops.
We were richly entertained by two marvellous sets
featuring Jim Crawford’s exquisite fingerpicked acoustic guitar,
electric slide, a touch of banjo and ukulele, not to mention his
fine voice,as he delivered a mix of superior Delta and country blues
covers,along with his own wonderful Americana-flavoured songs.
Crawford has a nice line of inbetween song patter
that often had the audience in stitches, adding to the enjoyment
of the show. Starting proceedings with a gentle take on Bukka White’s
“Jitterbug Swing” followed by the lovely “Make
Me A Pallet On Your Floor” he then switched direction to deliver
a quite stunning “Trouble In Mind”-such a fabulous song.
Another first set highlight was his own more rootsy
“Sugar Cane”, a song he modestly said was written in
his kitchen whilst doing the washing up! Another staple of acoustic
roots performers, “The Cuckoo" provided some lovely banjo
work, greatly appreciated by all those present. His acoustic fingerpicking
is up there with the best in this country, and his tasteful slide
work on his Gibson Archtop was equally appealing and superb all
night.
A longer second set led to a much-demanded encore
and saw him return to perform the self penned
title cut of his album "When The Rains Came"......a song
that garnered play on Radio 2 when recorded by British chanteuse,
Beth Rowley.
Another gem of a gig from the Worthenbury guys.....a
trip to their cracking little venue is highly recommended...nice
people, great atmosphere and always top entertainment!
GRAHAME RHODES
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