Michael Littlefield (guitar, vocals)
(Review by Russell).
A third gig in three days for Michael Littlefield and Bebop Spoken Here took in all three...Friday evening's residency at Billy Bootleggers for the hottest blues band around, King Bees, Saturday afternoon's House of the Black Gardenia gig in Tynemouth, and this, a Sunday afternoon solo country blues set down in the Ouseburn Delta.
Outdoor events abound at this time of year. Not one but two festivals utilised every available music venue in the Ouseburn as the sun continued to shine. The hilltop Cumberland Arms has got outdoor gigs down to a fine art... gig-goers turn up in time for the advertised start (3pm), the first set starts at four (that's an hour's worth of drinking time before a note has been played!) and several hours later the pie-eyed wander off home.
First up at this festival on the terrace overlooking the valley's industrial heritage was Michael Littlefield. A man who knows his Chicago blues guitarists, this set of forty-five minutes or so showed us another side, his interest in country blues. From the traditional Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor to Magic Sam, the easy going Littlefield entertained his audience under a burning sun. A couple from Robert Johnson - Kind Hearted Woman Blues and 32-20 Blues - suggests Littlefield has studied the legendary bluesman (perhaps wearing out a vinyl album). Close your eyes and you could have been in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
Some Jimmy Reed, some Charley Jordan, a sing-a-long Sweet Home Chicago, Littlefield's set went down a treat. Country blues on a fly-swottin' lazy Sunday afternoon, down by the Ouseburn/Mississippi.
Russell.
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