The
Revolutionaires: Ed Stephenson (guitar, harmonica; vocals); Paul Wilson
(Hammond SK2, keyboards); Rich Stephenson (bass guitar); Elliot Stephenson?
(drums)
A first time appearance at Pilgrim
for the Revolutionaires. The 'Revs' as they're sometimes known, hit the stage
with the decibel count off the scale. It was loud - that's LOUD! Across two
sets, the Revs treated an onside crowd to a fast-moving Shake, Rattle
and Roll rhythm and blues/boogie woogie/jump jive revue.
Describing frontman Ed Stephenson as
'energetic' doesn't begin to tell the story. All-action, Gretsch guitar cranked
up to 11, dancing/leaping around the stage, 'Fast Eddie' made Chuck Berry's
duck walk seem positively sedate. From Roll Over Beethoven to Kansas
City to a Paul Wilson boogie-woogie feature and Alright,
Okay, You Win (according to Fast Eddie, Count Basie's Alright,
Okay, You Win) the Revs' version was nothing like Joe
Williams with the Basie band, and that was no bad thing, they should do it
their way and they did just that. Little Richard's Keep A-Knockin'
(But You Can't Come In) closed out the first set. Phew!
Half an hour or so later, ears still
ringing, the Revs came back for more. Green Onions, Flip,
Flop and Fly, the vocals more Ed Stephenson than Joe Turner. Sonny
Thompson's I'm Tore Down (Freddie King's version uppermost in
the mind) blew the doors off the place, more 'Joe Turner' with the Revs
playing I Want a Little Girl, and Fast Eddie's stupendous,
high-octane harmonica showcase, the Revolutionaires certainly made an impact
here at 54 Pilgrim Street. Russell
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