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Readers I will be honest with you and admit that before this assignment I was unaware of this relatively obscure blues rocker from mid-west America. You may well find yourself in that very same position reading this review. However, I beg you to remember, as I should have, that first impressions are often incorrect.
I have to say in all honesty when I arrived at the basement pre-performance that my scepticism continued. Despite this intimate venue being one which I have become particularly fond of, the small cohort of blues buffs seemed to detect that I was not one of them. A clearly very keen queue of fans waited eagerly to enter, I soon followed suit near the back. As I sat slightly nervously I slowly began to relax as I was taken in by the jovial crowd and an inviting ambience in the venue. Talking to a few fans on my table the excitement was palpable in their voices and with this a hopeful anticipation built in me...
Enter Catfish Keith. ‘HEY’ALL!’ he clamours in a deep, earthy voice. The evening of music is started by an original entitled 'Catfish Blues' and from then on I was transported back to an America of the past with a barrage of deep delta blues. The rock steady reverberations felt throughout the venue captured the audience, including an initially sceptical me, into a foot-tapping frenzy. The nature of this primal music may not be at the height of fashion, but its irresistible rustic charm is by no means dead. Of late blues and folk music has experienced a revival with notable pioneer, Seasick Steve, headlining numerous festivals this summer and becoming a huge force in popular music. Furthermore, recently both Tom Jones’s Praise & Blame and “voice of an angel” Charlotte Church’s latest album Back to Scratch have returned to the blues roots of rock and pop music showing the enduring popularity for what has sometimes been considered a slightly outdated genre.
Catfish Keith may not have the pulling power of these acts, but one thing that was overwhelmingly clear after seeing his performance was that this guy is a true musician. Changing comfortably between three different guitars, tapping his feet off and growling out lyrics in his raspy tones, this one man band showed his musical quality and I, for one, was hugely impressed. Another point to stress is that Catfish Keith is first and foremost a huge music fan and his appreciation for core blues artists such John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters was clear to see. The performance was as much an education in the progression of blues music as it was an exhibition of his own talents. This exemplifies the persona of this hugely affable performer who was more than happy to converse with fans and even approached me during the interval to ask if I was enjoying the performance. How many gigs would you get that sort of treatment?
Not for everyone, but if you are at all interested in blues music and want to see a skilled, knowledgeable and friendly practitioner at work I suggest you try and catch a show on Catfish Keith’s current UK Tour.
Catfish Keith will be playing at Sheepscar, Leeds on 7th November: www.catfishkeith.com/tourdates.htm
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