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He makes it look effortless”. Later on during his set, Walter would talk openly about how much work went in to make it look effortless. The band take the stage without fanfare. No fuss, just four dudes ambling on and locking into a blues shuffle. What a band though! The über-cool Johnny Griparic is back, playing one of the most stunning bass guitars you’re likely to see. Long time drummer Michael Leasure is at the back, bringing the power and precision. Renowned keyboard player Teddy Andreadis has recently joined the band. You might know him as Teddy Zig Zag playing with GNR, a seasoned player who has also worked with names as varied as Carole King and Chuck Berry. Then there is the main man himself, Walter Trout. With a beaming smile as he nods to familiar faces in the crowd, he moves the mic stand back a few feet and plays alongside the others, rather than in front of them. A band in the truest sense of the word. Walter Trout is a great communicator and a fantastic storyteller. He’s happy to be here, he’s “just happy to be anywhere!”. After a blistering first fifteen minutes, he takes time to pause and tease that the band have just finished a new album ‘Survivor Blues’, scheduled for release early 2019, and is going to play a song from it. As he is introducing ‘Me, My Guitar And The Blues’ a loud crackle starts to emit from an amp, so he adds the line “And a fucked up amp!” to the title. Crisis averted, it’s back to the music, and the band are off again. The last few years have been very prolific for Walter Trout and he shows no sign in letting up, so look out for more news about the new album very soon. ‘Battle Scars’ is the album that Trout wrote after his health battles, and he jokes with the crowd that by playing some of the material, he’s bringing the atmosphere down. Crippled by liver failure, and with seemingly no chance of survival, his life was saved due to a liver transplant funded by a fan campaign. Like I said, the bond between him and his fans goes above and beyond the normal. When talking about the battle back from the operation, spending many months in hospital, he mentions that he suffered brain damage and the subsequent struggle to re-learn everything, including talking, recognising everyone, and of course, re-learning the guitar. He jokes that he had to re-learn chords etc “like I was ten years old again”… ”So here’s the opening track from the album ‘Almost Gone!’” The album is also visited with the emotional ‘Please Take Me Home’ which he dedicates to his wife, Marie, for her unwavering love and support. Very, very emotional, and when it finishes, Walter turns to the band and says “you played that so fucking beautifully”. Current album ‘We’re All In This Together’ is a stunning collaboration between Walter Trout and so many of his fellow blues players. He rattles off so many names that play on the album, before mentioning that he has a few special guests coming on.,, and on walk the Nimmo Brothers, King King’s Alan and his brother Stevie. Both are accomplished players, and obviously big fans of Walter Trout, as the massive smiles on their faces attest to. They strap on their guitars and steamroller through ‘Gonna Hurt Like Hell’, which featured Kenny Wayne Shepherd on the album. It’s a mutual appreciation society as Trout pays respect to them as “the most badass musicians”. They’re up there for about fifteen minutes, and both take their turn in the spotlight. There’s something very kin-like about blues guitarists. A family scenario that is often missing from other genres, and it’s a joy to witness. It’s also a joy to witness Walter Trout’s tour manager Andrew Elt join him on stage for the last ten minutes or so, and raise the energy level. Elt has a fantastic voice and plays a mean guitar. Thee end result is an incredible jam that has them dancing in the aisles, at the bar, in the toilets… and no doubt outside vaping as well. After a brief run through of ‘Scotland The Brave’ and band solos, Walter pleads for more people to become organ donors, saying that he was still here “…because someone signed up” and “in a world that’s gone crazy, you can do something and make a difference”. Walter Trout live on stage in 2018 – a celebration of life. Review: Dave S Images: Dave J [gallery type='flickr' user_id='132278830@N06' view='photosets' photoset_id='72157704064486114' media='photos' columns='3' tag_mode='any' sort='date-posted-desc' per_page='37' layout='square' caption='title' thumb_size='s' main_size='z' ]]]>
