17 June 2010 (gig)
19 June 2010
Oh my word, what a night!
It takes a lot to get this reviewer out of North London and even more to get him down to South London but having missed Chubby at The Jazz Cafe I girded my loins and headed down into Sutton to see this legendary New Yorker and it really was time well spent – he was great and the support (more later) a real surprise.
For those who don’t know him, Popa Chubby is a New York Blues guitarist and rocker and his playing is about as large as his physical presence.
He kicked off with a snorting version of ‘Motorcycle Mama’ and swiftly moved into some classic Blues with Albert King’s ‘Falling Rain’. His beige – ok, some might call it Gold – Strat was burning out some gorgeous Blues riffs and solos and every foot in the place tapping out the beat.
He has been playing live in bars and clubs for thirty years and you don’t survive in that environment without learning how to play the audience as well as the guitar and he makes the crowd very much part of the show with his comments and introductions but they are here to hear the music and he didn’t let them down there either.
‘2nd Avenue Shuffle’ featured his funkier side and numbers like ‘Stress Will Kill You Every Time’ and ‘Another Ten Years Gone’ ripped out more great solos.
To quote the man himself ”I sit down to play the Blues and stand up to rock ... and if I’m playing Country I’m laying dead” and he promptly got back on his feet to rip into ‘Noise Making Love Machine’ and a wicked version of ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ followed by ‘Steel Horse’ and the weirdest version of ‘Hallelujah’ you will ever hear – Alexandra Burke listen and learn!
As ever, he closed on Hendrix’ ‘Little Wing’ and I headed back to North London happy that I had managed to see one of the real originals of Rock and survived an excursion into South London – a result all round!
Support for Popa Chubby was from a new name to me – Ron Sayer Jr. I expect to be hearing a fair bit more from him in the future.
He gave us a good 40 minutes of Blues and rock and mixed up the originals and some covers including Free’s ‘The Stealer’ but his original songs are good enough to focus on. ‘Little White Lies’ is a funky and danceable number and ‘What Would You Do’ reminded me of Ian Parker with a dense sound and great riff. His guitar style is full on and he solos well and he has a fair voice to go with it. The audience was very appreciative and he has a good way with them – one to watch.
