Davy Knowles and his trio tore through an absolutely ferocious, uninterrupted ninety-minutes in Higher Ground’s Showcase Lounge September 8th. Nevertheless, as in prior visits over the course of this blues-rocker’s extended history in the Green Mountains–by his own laughing admission. lin the evening, dating back to when he was but nineteen years old (titular leader of Backdoor Slam)—the modicum of restraint the threesome applied to their musicianship made it all the more powerful.
The dynamics of the performance on this final show of the band’s current road trips were never more apparent than during the two cover-tune encore (one other ‘famous’ piece of outside material, The Waterboys’ “Fisherman’s Blues,” elicited only a smattering of a response). The arrangement of the Beatles’ “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window” owed more to Joe Cocker’s version than its original iconic authors’, yet Knowles was careful to accent the chord changes throughout, as much perhaps to emphasize the tune’s jocular tone as his implicit recognition of this year’s fiftieth anniversary of the Abbey Road album from which the song comes.
The trio’s rendering of ex-Byrd David Crosby’s paean to paranoia from CSNY’s Deja Vu, “Almost Cut My Hair,” was more in keeping with the often foreboding air permeating the bandleader’s own songs over the course of the evening (i.e. “Oxford MS”). Besides hammering down on the rhythm guitar pattern, Knowles’ solos had a wicked edge rendered all the more prominent for the space around them, thanks to the admirable self-discipline of bassist Tod Bowers and drummer Jeremy Cunningham.
The intensity of this closing was decidedly remarkable considering it came at the end of a single set proceeding at a fierce, breakneck pace from the very outset. Immediately upon taking the stage in an amiable shuffle, dressed in jeans, checkered shirt and (clashing) t-shirt as if he’d just walked into the venue off the street, Davy Knowles utilized his Paul Reed Smith guitar as more than just a talisman of expressive power on tunes like “Fires” and “Catch The Moon” (though he did hold it aloft high two or three times, just often enough to be effective with the gesture).
A new self-composed song called “Every Man for Himself”(perhaps to be featured on his forthcoming Mascot/Provogue label debut?) illustrates how its author is more articulate with his axe than his words. But he imbues his lyrics with a sense of fresh enlightenment, as if he is, in that very moment, discovering the kernel of truth at the heart of the cliche(s). He enacts a similar alchemy with guitar riffs at the foundation of such numbers as “The Devil And The Deep,” an approach akin to how he assumes different angles, both insinuating and full-bore, from which to launch his taut, tuneful solos.
Davy Knowles would appear to know full well he’s reconfiguring the seemingly innumerable progressions that have been in process since the mid-to-late Sixties British blues boom. But he is not in any way self-conscious of his roots, but rather proud of them. So, on this late summer/early fall Sunday night, on numbers like “Ain’t Much of Nothin’,” he reinvigorated his influences as fully through his singing as his guitaring In so doing, the hoarse tone of his voice at times recalled the singular Scotsman Frankie Miller, while the non-stop flow of the concert brought to mind memories of one of the Isle of Man native’s self-professed heroes, the late, great Irish bluesman Rory Gallagher.
With no keyboardist in tow as on previous visits, this was by far the dirtiest sound this comparatively young musician and bandleader’s proffered at this venue since 2016. Yet in front of a crowd comfortably filling the room, alternately reverent and rowdy (with the requisite chatterboxes all too evident at the quietest moments), Knowles also impressed with the absence of affectation(s) that afflict so many other artists populating this musical idiom. His frequent smiles from the stage as he egged on the attendees for responses were only the most overt display of the ingenuous, infectious pleasure he takes in playing for an appreciative audience.
Little wonder Davy’s also sufficiently down-to-earth to meet with fans after the show and give every indication he’s enjoying those conversations. By all appearances, everyone went home happy after this particular tour stop.
Photos by Ross Mickel at Bootleggers Beware
2 Responses
Doug Collette’s remarkable phrasing and wordsmithimg take on Davy’s performance is at the pinnacle of anything I’ve read in the past. Having flown the standard for Davy since I first met him in 2007, and thirty four concerts since, I feel relieved that I don’t have to climb the mountain of articulation to press forward Davy’s magic.
Mr. Bailey: I am extremely flattered by your complimentary observations especially because you know as well as I do (perhaps better having seen the man much more often than I) exactly what an inspiring performer Davy Knowles is.