On a hot night in Kendal, Aynsley Lister and his band rocked up with everyone in the right mood for top quality blues… and that’s exactly what we got. 

This tight three piece unit are one of the most exciting British trios to be heard on the blues circuit having as full a sound as Rory Gallagher back in the 70’s. Aynsley Lister must be used to superlatives to describe his guitar virtuosity by now and its hard to conjure up a new one so I’ll just stick to my favourite expression following a much enjoyed gig…stunning!!

Opening with Everything I Need, Lister gave us everything we wanted with the entire set selected from most of his many album releases from his earliest days to his latest release; Along For The Ride. Intricate,  gentle percussion and mellow guitar tones flow before erupting into stronger riffs and soulful vocals.

From the event in his earliest of days as a burgeoning teenage talent he gave us Soundman, dedicated to the chap who advised him to have more control over the volume of his act.  He even offers a jazzy feel, reminiscent of the great Robben Ford, who was popular when Aynsley Lister was just starting out.

Shooting forward to more contemporary times, he played his ‘Bond theme/Floyd sound’ (his words not mine) track, Eve Part 1, inspired by drama series Killing Eve. The vocals were distinctly Bond, the guitar clearly Gilmour. His ability to blend mellow and heavy is a feature of all his  work, and his many styles including  intricate solos,  sensational slide , bouncy beats, romping rock in his exploration of every inch of the fretboard are total joy and sometimes all in one tune.

During the second set, Lister ramped up the volume and clearly heeded the advice of the soundman as it was all well under control; particularly in the soulful Free and live favourite Hurricane.

 As vocalist and guitarist he takes centre stage but his accomplished guitar work could not be delivered as effectively without his backing from drummer Craig Baker and bassist Jonno Martin. The interplay he had with drummer Craig during  Made Up My Mind  and the neat bass riffs of Jonno demonstrated this. Jonno also had his stage management role to ensure Aynsley  got the right guitar out although even he was left non-plussed when his new fuzz pedal needed to get a Hendrix effect failed.  Aynsley Lister might never reach the heights of expert roadie but the audience were left spellbound by his performance right to the very end when he completed the night with his traditional Prince cover of Purple Rain.

They say that the best make the difficult look easy and this was evident in bucket loads tonight.

Aynsley Lister online: Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

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