At 8.30 pm Mick Kidd and Dave Blight took to the stage of the Governor Hindmarsh Hotel in front of a milling and male-dominated crowd to open for Dr. Feelgood. The well known local musicians seated themselves centre stage and launched into the first of many original songs in what could be only loosely described as in the blues style.Cut You Loose goes well beyond the normal limitations of a blues song as Kidd's sonorous voice rose over his riffs and slide guitar lines, his right foot pounding out the rhythm on a suitcase turned stompbox as Blight's harmonic wailed and lamented. Blight's atmospheric beds and subtle moody interjections were the perfect foil for Kidd's fast and furious picking and slide work.
Both musicians have strong and authentic blues voices but they are poles apart. Kidd's vocal growl and Blight sustained pure notes complemented rather than competed. This was not what I was expecting, as the duo's sound filled the huge back room of the Gov with their skilled and assured musicianship. They presented intelligent, original songs with strong hooks that went well beyond the three chord trick that one might usually expect from blues songs.
I'll be looking out for their local shows and would suggest that you see them live if you get the chance.
9.30 saw Dr. Feelgood explode onto the stage with an energy I have not seen in decades. They played full tilt from the first chord, with an absolute assault of high powered songs back-to-back, with hardly a moment to draw breath. The audience was staggered by the sheer power of the band's opening gambit as the boys displayed their superb playing and great showmanship. The band worked as if they were a collective consciousness.Kevin Morris's drums and Phil Mitchell's bass were locked in seamlessly as if the two men had played together for years and years, which, of course, they have; since 1965 in fact.
Steve Walwyn's guitar roared and raced around the room like a demented Formula One car as Robert Kane leapt and bounded, dancing with his microphone stand, leaping from one part of the stage to another, ensuring that every audience member had eye contact. I got the distinct impression that they had done this a few times before. It was exhausting just to watch, and this was just the introductory offering of what would become a 90-minute set packed with songs and solos and sweat and antics and so many memories.
This is one of the hardest working bands I've ever seen in live performance and was a long way from the telephone chat that I had had with Kevin Morris a few days earlier, where he discussed building sand castles with his grandchildren on his rare days off.
The first assault ended after around 20 minutes of high energy rock and roll and after tumultuous applause, a strange stunned silence fell over the room. "It's nice to go abroad and still be able to speak English", said Kane, calmly, after thrashing us with his incredibly physical performance. What a front man.
This was the first show of the Australian leg of a nine-month tour for these rock veterans, and the first time the band has been back to these shores for over thirty years. It was a very special first for an emotional Steve Walwyn, as he told the audience that he had never played in Australia before. "I'll never ever forget this show", he said, with his hand over his heart.
I believed him, too. The emotion was only too evident, and it allowed the audience to see this extreme guitarist as the simple, down to Earth man that he is. The fact that he's also a musical genius is beside the point. Walwyn's playing was monumental and yet sensitive.
He slid effortlessly from brittle hard rock power chords to 'woman tone' blues runs of great sensitivity with an authority and a deep understanding of the music that only maturity can bring.
The whole band is populated by nice men who respect each other. This is obvious in the exchange of grins between band members while playing but also in the subtler, less obvious movements on stage. Walwyn is taking one of his breathtaking solos so Kane relinquishes centre stage to him. When Walwyn took the vocal lead from his stage right position, Kane went stage left to provide backing vocals on Mitchell's microphone, allowing the bass player to take the centre position.
"What an ego", I heard someone say as Robert Kane pranced and danced and posed on the stage. "What a professional" was the thought running through my mind.
The Gov stage is a difficult one to work in terms of making contact with the audience as the seating is wrapped around the sides of it as well as directly in front. Kane's solution was to hand hold his microphone for much of his performance so that he could keep moving, and keep addressing small pockets of the audience sitting off to the side. His microphone stand became his dance partner as he turned to face his colleagues as he soloed. He would step right to the front and centre when leading the vocals or cutting one of his superb harmonica solos, but back right off when he wasn't.
Phil Mitchell's bass sound could stop the heart of an ox at fifty metres. You don't hear his bass so much as feel it in your chest. This guy can play. He rarely glances at his instrument and never takes his eyes off Kane and Walwyn, but his ears must rotate like a predator seeking prey as he hears every stick strike from the drum kit behind him. Rock solid would be an understatement, as he grins his way through each song and solo with an ease and confidence that belie the complexity and accuracy of the foundation that he's helping build.
The outwardly calmest member of the band sits behind his kit at the back of the stage, quietly being loud and brilliant. Kevin Morris is a machine in terms of his timing and dynamic range, but you can watch him mouth the lyrics as he plays, and hear the tiny shifts in stick work as the words of the song affect his interpretation. Make no mistake, he's not just tapping along with the song, he's driving it, pushing it. Dr. Feelgood may well be a limousine, but the engine is in the back.
Dr. Feelgood delivered an amazing show. I was not ready for the sheer power and energy that these four men generated and sustained for over an hour and a half, and neither were the rest of the audience. No quarter was asked or given in this 'take no prisoners' performance.
Dr. Feelgood is often cited as, "the greatest rhythm and blues band EVER". There's a reason for that, and it is that they simply ARE the greatest rhythm and blues band ever. What a gig.
Reviewed by Ray Smith, Thursday 3rd May 2018.