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Blind Boys of Alabama – Melbourne

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charels edwards on Blind Boys of Alabama

The Bluesfest sideshow season is at its end. We’ve really enjoyed Meshell Ndegeocello, I’m sorry I missed Snarky Puppy, Elvis Costello was hit and miss.

And I wasn’t sure what to expect at tonight’s show, Blind Boys of Alabama. Would it be a couple of wheezing, wizened old dudes dusting off their gospel history? Or maybe some kind of cabaret mixing old and new, as I knew they’d recorded and played with a range of artists from other genres.

It’s hard to believe the original Blind Boys started in 1939. Membership has slowly changed over the years, but they’ve always had high standards and achieved many accomplisments including Grammy awards and collaborations with theatre, film-makers and many other musicians. Their wonderful version of Tom Waits’ “The Devil Down Below” introduces each episode in the first series of The Wire. (The show used five versions of the song, one for each series. Waits’ version is also great in series two.)

To my delight, Karen Rouse had scored front’row seats in the balcony. Backed by a powerfully sympathetic trio on keys, drums and bass, two old blind guys and a not so old guy » Continue Reading.

Elvis Costello & The Impostors – Palais Theatre, St Kilda, Melbourne Thursday 4 April 2024

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charels edwards on Elvis Costello & The Impostors – Palais Theatre, St Kilda, Melbourne Australia Thursday 4 April 2024

Elvis on my mind by charels “Mr Timing” edwards Even at this late stage of his career, my respect for Elvis Costello is huge. In my hierarchy of post-WWII songwriters, Joni Mitchell is at the pinnacle but Mr MacManus is somewhere in a top five which also includes Bob Dylan, Lennon / McCartney, and Leiber & Stoller. One thing Elvis and Joni have in common – besides whip-smart, challenging lyrics – is their insistence on exploring and expressing themselves in different musical genres. It’s kept their work interesting in ways that few other musicians achieve for whatever reason – those who don’t stretch their musicianship much, if at all, during their careers and sooner or later settle for being highly paid tribute acts of themselves. (If they’re lucky, that is. I’m thinking here of a particularly RS band, but there are many, many examples at both global and local levels.) So an Elvis Costello and the Impostors gig, even one that runs for over two hours uninterrupted at St Kilda’s glorious Palais theatre, is inevitably blessed with choosing from too many » Continue Reading.