Joanne Shaw Taylor – RNCM, Manchester: Live Review

By Mike Ainscoe on 19th February 2024 • ( Leave a comment )

Joanne Shaw Taylor, Connor Selby – RNCM, Manchester – 17th February 2024

“It’s a Blues gig. You’re not here to be happy!” That might sound rich coming from a young musician who has a constant smile on her face, but Joanne Shaw Taylor continues the upward trajectory that repays the faith of Dave Stewart and Joe Bonamassa.

Here at the RNCM last week, we had Fairport’s Ric Sanders declaring “that’s exactly how to play the drums!” in tribue to his bandmates. Had he been here tonight, he would no doubt have been enthusing “That’s exactly how to play the guitar!” as JST, along with her crack band, mined The Blues Album and her recent Nobody’s Fool record, along with the old and the new; dipping back into what’s becoming a rich legacy while adding a couple of new tracks to the set. Taking regular trips from her stage centre rug to peel off an assortment of vicious and intense solos, she recalls previous visits to the venue, regaling the lit-up audience (she wants to see who’s paid to see her) with reminders of smoke alarms, and avoiding the pantomime call and response with the audience requests.

Cobwebs blown away, had there been any after reports of a dynamic show at Amsterdam’s famed Paradiso, Can’t You See What You’re Doing To Me and a soul-drenched If That Ain’t A Reason both cook to the point of alerting some sort of heat activated alarm systems in the building? Otis Rush, James Ray and Albert King all given due respect,the same audience seems a bit nonplussed when she mentions Joe Bonamassa – the long association celebrated with her oft-recounted tale of him scuppering her chances to make a video for Bad Blood alongside Billy Bob Thornton, yet he ‘amy’ have been right when picking out Won’t Be Fooled Again – her nod to the Eighties, yet set to in the tone of Stevie Nicks and not Duran Duran style.

The result of working with famed Rock producer Kevin Shirley, new songs from the forthcoming album make the setlist too. Wild Love and Sweet Little Lies might not be as drenched in the Blues idiom, but it’s good to see where her current muse leads. In contrast, heading back to her early work, Watch ‘Em Burn and Diamonds In The Dirt highlight what made her such a shining star and hot ticket when she emerged onto the scene. The former is possibly the highlight of the show. Breaking out the Gibson, there’s a brief pause to the guitar and Hammond dominated Blues swing as she takes on a low-key solo that soon builds, gaining traction into a forceful and devastating finale, with the whole quintet at full power.

There’s a brief respite from the electricity as the band slims down for an emotionally slowed-down Fade Away – a deeply personal perspective and one that explores the lasting effects of grief be they good or bad. Runaway too shows that the Blues isn’t the only box she ticks, the cool little number offering the sort of waft of cool air that Joanne herself gets from the stage left air con/fan.

The flag might fly tall and round from the Bonamassa, Gale Ingram and Fish masts, but along with her partner in the support slot and the likes of Dom Martin doing sterling work to fuel the fire that’s burned brightly for so long, the genre is in safe hands.

Opening up, a regular support position with JST, is Connor Selby. An award-winning, highly regarded young Bluesman, he’s set to return for a tour with his band in the Spring. Tonight he’s sat solo with his guitar delivering a short set that fits perfectly with the melancholy Blues standard. Amongst a selection from his album that includes his love letter to the Blues complete with time honoured tradition of all manner of trauma with which to deal – the “only one thing I want, only one thing I need” needs no prompts to guess the answer. “I’m gonna keep on singing the blues,” he sings in time-honoured tradition. As he signs off with a particularly raucous highlight of the set, Emily, even in solo guise, it’s a potent piece, possibly even more so and one that leaves anyone unaware of Connor Selby, with a lasting impression.