Philip Sayce is one of the most exciting axemen on the scene at the moment. His three piece outfit create a huge, funky, Blues roar and he grabs the eye continually with his beaten-up Strat and platinum hair.
He plays hard, fast, fingers a blur on the fretboard, but the sound is always true to the spirit of the Blues. Riffs disappear into a flurry of solo and then reappear as though the diversion was something completely natural.
He brays his vocals, fitting perfectly with the emotion of his sexy and sassy style but clear and real with it.
The packed crowd at the Islington Assembly Halls were loving it. Feeling the power and the funk of his playing, digging the facial contortions and showmanship.
On numbers such as ‘Blues Ain’t Nothing But…’ or ‘Tongue Twister’ he stands out as one of the loudest and fastest in the scene but on ‘Standing / Aberystwyth’ the soulful emotions pour off the frets. His version of Hendrix’ ‘Manic Depression’ is both true to the original but completely in the now.
In a world of AI and artifice, he is a bastion of real, a great example of just how exciting and effervescent great live music can be.
Support was by Tom Moriarty and he played a short acoustic set that bodes really well for the full album versions of the songs due for release in early June. The album is ‘Chapters’ and looks to be well worth checking out.
Photo by Phil Honley
