Wednesday night. Middle of the week. Hump day. Fortunately for us, Robben Ford is here to blow away the grey skies. He’s accompanied by regulars Wes Little on drums and Brian Allen on bass, plus British keys player Jonny Henderson, often heard with Matt Schofield.
Henderson fits right in with the band, and throughout the night Ford cues him to take solos or they trade fours back and forth.
The set includes six tunes from Ford’s terrific new album, Into The Sun, opening with Rainbow Cover and Howlin’ At The Moon. Midnight Comes Too Soon provides the first extended solo from the skilled guitarist, whose jazz background shines through whenever he leads the band into uncharted territory.
Highlights of the evening include a red hot blast of Cannonball Shuffle, dedicated to Freddie King, and a brilliant take on High Heels And Throwing Things, which starts out much funkier than the studio version before the band opens it up with extended spots for both Little and Allen to really stretch out and show what they can do. The slow blues Fool’s Paradise takes the tempo down with Ford showing his jazz chops, before they bring back the musical muscle for Cause Of War.
Nobody’s Fault But Mine cooks so sweetly it even inspires one of the security team to start playing air guitar. It’s the perfect antidote to the mid-week blues. Marvellous./o:p
