Smokestack 2016

For over 50 years Dave Speight has been tenderly plucking his way through the diverse labyrinth of the blues which is blissfully evident as he guided his audience through an emotive set at Smokestack.  His approach to this style is somewhat unique.  When you watch Dave perform you become involved in a kind of blues seminar, in the loosest sense, and this has clearly developed from many years of playing so passionately.  You are almost unaware of this educative aspect of his performance due to his laid-back approach; he immaculately covered a range of seminal artists, from Luke Jordan’s ‘Church Bell Blues’ through to a re-working of Robert Johnson's ‘Milk Cow Blues’ all of which enticed the audience with an authentic brushing of personal feeling.

However, along the way, Dave subtly delivers brief footnotes to each song as well as informing his audience of a brief period spent with a local ‘jug ‘band’ that has also been going since the 1960s, the Hot Pot Belly Band (sometimes three gigs a night and always mayhem).  On top of this he narrated a tragic story ending in death by alcohol poisoning - all of which was effectively guised by a twelve-bar blues accompaniment, cleverly diffusing this impartation of knowledge as an inherent part of his performance.

So far, I have been speaking of Dave’s talent which he showcases through the eclectic assortment of old blues, however to ignore Dave’s own material which he so eloquently delivers, would be something of a travesty.  By no means do the old blues overshadow his individual song writing skills, but instead they act to support his work on an equal footing - a testament to how experienced this artist truly is.  After Dave caressed his last note, there was a very satisfying and settled repose in the reassurance that learning about the blues can indeed be a very pleasurable way to spend an evening.