In its bi-centenary year at its present site, the
Grade II listed Lit & Phil is on something of a roll with sold out events
across the board - concerts, conferences, lectures and more. On a sunny, warm
May afternoon a full house welcomed country blues guitarist Michael Woods. It
was pre-Covid when the Newcastle based left-hander last appeared at the
Westgate Road venue.
From
Blind Blake to Blind Wille Johnson, Joe Wilson (Tyneside's 19th century
songwriter) to Tommy Armstrong's The Durham Lockout to Skip
James, Blind Boy Fuller and more, the affable Woods played fingerstyle and
bottleneck, mostly on National steel with vocals as accompaniment. Placing the
songs in socio-political context, Woods' unamplified, light voice demanded a
cocked ear.
At the conclusion of Woods' one hour set the attentive audience, some undoubtedly blues aficionados, demanded an encore. Our Newcastle folk-blues troubadour obliged with Muddy Waters' I Cant' Be Satisfied. Satisfied indeed. Russell
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