Tenby Blues Festival 2021 – Day Three – The Grand Finale
Dom Martin
In my report of day two of the Tenby Blues Festival, somehow the Beatles cropped up. Well, here I go again…
At the end of Helter Skelter, you can hear Ringo complaining: ‘I got blisters on my fingers!’ And there are six guys who I suspect have blistered fingers this morning. The first two bands at the De Valence last night were both just three-pieces, and each thrilled the Sunday-night audience with their speed, finesse and downright entertainment value.
First up was my personal highlight of the entire festival. After two frenetic songs from Dom Martin and his band, I wrote down ‘Wow! Like Rory Gallagher, but he can really sing!’ I say this with all due respect to the late, great Gallagher. I was a big fan, and I went to see him several times. Martin comes from Belfast; famously, Gallagher was brought up in Cork. On a global scale, perhaps not so far away.
It wasn’t a one-man show, though. The bass was turned up nice and high, and the bass runs were superb throughout. Behind the two axemen, a bravura performance on drums tightly tied the set together. All three musicians showed they were clearly masters of their craft.
Halfway through the set, I smiled smugly as I recognised a Rory Gallagher cover. There were two or three of these, and the band did great justice to them, but the original Dom Martin tunes went down equally well.
By the end of an all-too-short set, the band knew they had us in the palms of their hands, and they toyed with us with frequent stops-and-starts on Gallagher’s What’s Going On. It was a fitting climax, followed by a standing ovation and a cwtch-bow from the band. They knew they deserved it.
The event MC told the crowd that the festival had already started talking about getting them back next year to do a 90-minute headline set. Given the inevitable word-of-mouth from this performance, I’m absolutely sure it would sell out.
Second up was the James Oliver Band. Oliver was introduced as the Welsh Titan of Twang. He’s known for being a comedian who can play guitar a bit, and the banter between tracks doesn’t disappoint. The music itself was also entertaining. The frontman’s style, and his dexterity and speed of playing brought to mind influences such as Duane Eddy and Hank Marvin. But there was light and shade too. The band launched into a lovely version of Albatross, the early Fleetwood Mac track. I must have heard that song a hundred times, but I’d never seen it live before, and so it was the first time I’d realised that all those different sounds can come from just one guitar. Every day’s a school day!
Oliver raced through several other covers, plus his own light-hearted songs about chickens and ducks, and others with titles such as She’s a Mean Little Mama – if I Don’t Behave She’s Gonna Hit Me with a Hammer. I laughed when he announced the title of the song, but sure enough, it turned out that those were the words.
Both the covers and the silly self-penned songs were filled with energy and with Oliver’s nimble guitar. The audience loved it all.
The final act of the festival was the Kat Pearson Band. Dressed to impress, all in black like a female Lee Van Cleef in a spaghetti western, Kat underlined these credentials by starting off with Bad Luck Woman. Her band has a softer, more nuanced sound than the first two bands, with the addition of a keyboardist, but it’s none the worse for that.
Kat is a real blues veteran, with roots in Oklahoma, and many of her songs are stories, like the country-tinged Cane Creek. When watching Dom Martin or James Oliver, you got the impression that almost anything could happen. Not so with Kat. Here was a very professional outfit, with every note and nuance tuned to melodic perfection. No blistered fingers for these laid-back folks.
Kat brought a soulful voice and a feline grace to proceedings. At one point she told the audience: ‘You guys are looking so beautiful – what is it with Tenby on a Sunday night?’ Coming from this lady, it was high praise indeed.
It was a fitting end to a top-notch festival. For me, it was the best night of the weekend.
It all kicks off again on 18 November 2022. Mark it in your diary and get your tickets as soon as they come out – they may not last for long!
Kat Pearson
