The Nimmo Brothers, Thunderbird Five.

Lev 2 Esquires Bedford. 16th October 2009.

Exactly a year ago on their last Esquires visit, THE NIMMO BROTHERS performed to a paltry turn out. Tonight's gig could not be more different . The room fills early and grows steadily throughout. At last the Glaswegian siblings are finally afforded a real and proper Esquires welcome.

Alan and Stevie Nimmo are backed up by their guitarist, plus they have a new drummer on board. He's still getting to grips with the finer points of all the songs. After a huge build up by promoter Rob Vernon, to loud cheers and applause, The Nimmo's arrive on stage. However, disaster strikes as the technical gremlins afflict Alan Nimmo. There's no brotherly love to be lost as Stevie jokingly says "He's got two amps and none of them work!". The trio play on regardless until the minor problem gets sorted. Alan eventually joins in and the band are now in total cruise control. Stevie croons in a bluesey way "Everything I do, I do it all for you". Sensing the buzz of enjoyment that the audience are having, Alan vehemently declares "We'll do our best to keep you here". "Nothing in Chicago is for free" is the perfect tune. The Nimmo's are beginning to make their guitars literally 'talk the blues'. Sometimes soulful, sometimes a tad heavier. With the alcohol consumption rising, the all-ages crowd are freely moving some limbs. Alan notices and seizes upon it "I see you are in the mood for dancing". They perform "Slow Down" which is from their "Picking up the Pieces" album. The lyrics seem so natural for this band as Stevie sings "Tell me brother, what's on your mind?".

The Nimmo's have been playing together for 15 years. They recall the early days and tales of The Blackwater Blues Band. The fans are important to them and for that reason they dedicate "Reason to Believe" to everyone her tonight. This song features a Little Feat riff that preoccupies my mind constantly throughout. The climax to this tune rocks out completely. Everything is taken down a notch as Alan graphically describes how they recently toured America. The effect of witnessing so much poverty and racism left a major impression on them. So much so that they composed "Lights going to shine on better days". Not only are the quartet consummate musicians, light hearted humour plays a major part, especially with Alan. He states quite categorically that he is neither Russ Abbot or MC Hammer! A fun moment occurs when the band break into a little "Hammertime". The jam concludes with RHCP! Naturally everybody shouts for more and the encore is a certainty. The Nimmo Brothers do not disappoint the punters. A loud cry of "Do you want some rock 'n' roll?" comes from Alan. It sets up a final piece of all out participation as the band and most of the crowd engage in singing "the shape I'm in" simultaneously. After this the crowd leaves, fully filled up with the sound of the blues.

Starting the evening are THUNDERBIRD 5. This perennial and popular Sunday Sessions band run through a collection of seventies and eighties covers. Vocalist Phil Brown leads the quintet through some Who ('Won't Get Fooled Again'), a bit of Bowie ('Ziggy Stardust'), and even some Slade ('Gudbuy t'Jane') for the more mature glam-rockers.