Otis Gibbs, Luke Tuchscherer, Olivia Rose.
Holy Molys Lev 1 Esquires Tuesday 28th October 2014.
Making a very welcome visit back to Esquires is OTIS GIBBS. He first appeared here back on September 17th 2011. Many of those people who saw him on that memorable evening are back for a second helping. Tables and chairs are placed around the room and a standing crowd gathers in front of the bar (shut tonight). The stage is dimly lit and has no props except for a medium sized rug in the centre stage.
Otis steps into view. He is a tall, stocky gent and tonight he is all clad in black, even his distinctive baseball cap. The only visible difference in hue is the long grey beard which, by the sheer scale of it, should gain him automatic selection for ZZ Top! A delay affects the beginning of the set as he has trouble with the onstage monitor. Otis finally concedes that he will play "without nets". Otis has a rare gift for being a storyteller, both with and without guitar. He is a class operator, at present still more cult than mainstream, and the set is dominated by the many anecdotes. His first concerns a visit to Frankfurt where the local TV station mistook him for a homeless person. "Where only the graves are real" is a perfect opener. Ah, "those fake friends". Otis never misses a trick or a moment. A member of the audience briefly looks at her phone. Taking longer than it should, maybe a status is being updated. Our guest seizes upon this and defiantly announces "I am fat and ugly but at least I'm not on facebook"!
When Mr Gibbs was last at Esquires, he was showcasing the "Joe Hill's ashes" album. A timely reminder of that autumn evening occurs when he performs the title track from that 2010 record. Life on the road, many miles from home, can obviously become very boring. Just recently he has been in Utrecht, Holland, via Amsterdam. "How do you break the jet lag?" he enquires. Well Otis has the answer, buy a jigsaw. He ponders the pieces before declaring "Man I gotta put that sucker together". The box states 4 - 6 years, but Otis triumphantly reveals that he did it in seven hours! This genial man has a new album this time around. It is called "Souvenirs of a misspent youth". It was recorded in Nashville and on his own label Wannamaker. A few of the tracks are aired tonight. Amongst these are "Back in my day blues" and, especially, "The darker side of me". The latter one tells the tale of a stranger who, arriving in town, thinks that he has found the perfect resting place, only to be cruelly cheated out of his wages. Otis continually bares his life story, warts 'n' all at times. He tells of being introduced to music at the age of four by a drunk 'uncle'. Although the fella was not a blood relation, he just happened to be "shacking up" with the young lad's auntie! Otis grew up in rural Wannamaker. As a child, the town would hold a Tractor Day when all the children would take turns to drive the farm vehicle to school. Were these rural folks or just a bunch of hillbillies? They were certainly not "Second best".
One song that did make me smile was "Small town Saturday night" (and I don't know if Otis knows this) which contains a distracting "have a banana" guitar bit. A friend comments that Bill Bailey said that every song can be broken down into Cockney! The UK and USA have always had strong ties and this proud American acknowledges the fact by stating that we share "a common language to make these tales resonate". Otis is not a set list man and doesn't announce any song titles. He is fortunate enough now to be a full time musician. It is a great career, but he does fondly remember the long ago days when he planted trees. "7176" to be precise. He tells of a work colleague who sadly passed away at thirty. He performs "Something more" as a tribute with "Why do the good die young? I'm losing faith". These gritty blue collar songs keep a healthy sized Tuesday crowd hooked. The story telling in between is both humorous and reflective. "Preacher Steve" and "Ain't nothing special" are split by a homespun yarn about a tobacco chewing ex-girlfriend! As "Kansas City" closes the set, Otis explains his dislike of the encore farce. He milks his long and well deserved applause, but remains on stage. His final show of strength is played unplugged and the encore is a mariachi style mix of "Karluv most" (from the album "One day our whispers"). He walks around the room almost strumming face to face with the audience. It rounds off a perfect evening. As I obtain a copy of the latest album, Otis Gibbs unwraps the cellophane seal and prints his name, before adding "Thanks for giving a damn!". I am so glad that I gave up an hour of my time to be in the valued company of such a compelling musician.
Support begins with OLIVIA ROSE. A local songwriter, she is joined tonight by one of the town's busiest musicians Mr STEVE WOODWARD. Her country blues set is mellow and thought provoking. Olivia concedes that "most of my songs are depressing". Lyrics intrigue, such as "Please don't ask me why things just die, see the picture from my point of view" on the reflective "Another place another time". "The problems of love" is enhanced as Steve is seated with the 'weeping' sounds of the lap steel. As she discards her guitar, Olivia calls "The storm" "a tricky one", but this soulful ballad is my favourite of the set.
LUKE TUCHSCHERER performs a few tracks from his critically acclaimed debut album "You get so alone at times that it just makes sense". The R2 magazine awarded it four stars and compared it to "Heartbreaker" by Ryan Adams. "Women", which tells of "being nice to your lady", and "Dear Samatha" are both powerfully played and pure emotion is etched on Luke's face. A rousing "Before I go crazy" is a cover from his band The Whybirds. A relaxed and talented musician and always a joy to watch.
Review by Martin Stapleton. www.bedfordalternativemusic.co.uk