Matt Woosey Live

Artists: Matt Woosey
Venue: Ronnie Scotts
Town: London
Date: 21st June
Website: http://www.mattwoosey.co.uk

When I was introduced to Matt Woosey at the Rickmansworth Festival I, naturally, asked him what type of music he played: "British Blues" was his reply. Now, I'm not terribly convinced that it is possible to have a style of music directly attributable to an entire location. If Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and the Chess brothers had crossed paths in Cleveland rather than Chicago would that style have changed or would it just have a different name? I'm sure that there are clever geographers out there that could answer that (or at least theorise it).

This labelling was enough to interest me but it was a couple of songs he played in the Owlsworld marquee long after the main festival had finished that convinced me I needed to see this guy play with his band.

Woosey plays an acoustic guitar, he plays it fast and he plays it hard, sometimes with a slide but mostly without. At the end on the opening track 'Walking the blues' his suit jacket was off as he was dripping with sweat. This intensity continued through 'Cruel disposition' and 'Blues don't leave me' "I will drink anything you put up here" he said mopping his brow and stream of long necked bottle of cold beer were put at his feet for the rest of the set. He took a quick breather as he introduced the next song, a cover of Willie Dixon's 'Little Red Rooster' which starts slow(ish) and then picks up speed as he moves seamlessly into Rory Gallagher's 'Too much alcohol'. "We're gonna show you our soft side" said Woosey by way of introduction to 'Don't need money'. This was a welcome slowing down of things in a set that was played at a relentless pace. The final song 'That's my baby' was almost as much Jazz as it was blues.

I know what Woosey meant when he said he played 'British Blues', his songs cover the same ground as all blues songs do; hardship, women, alcohol but he plays, or rather, sings, in a way that is not a mere copy of the originators. Woosey is not trying to be someone else, he is being himself and that comes out in every note he sings or plays.

John 'The Jacket' Hawes
Photography:Craig Chmiel