A weekend of blissful blues

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Mumbai’s iconic Mehboob Studios resonated with some top-class blues music at the Mahindra Blues Festival held over February 5 and 6. Luke Kenny and Mojo Jukebox opened the festival with a guitar rendition of Beethoven’s Fur Elise. Besides that, there is not much that can be said about the band apart from the fact that they didn’t quite fit into the whole bluesy mood.

With a voice that powerful, Shemekia Copeland delivered a performance that was beyond brilliant. Funny and unassuming, the daughter of the legendary Johnny Copeland exemplified everything the genre is meant to be: soulful, sensual, insightful and foot tapping.
Jonny Lang came on next and was welcomed with a resounding round of applause. Shy and introverted, Lang let his guitar do the talking and boy, did he mesmerise! Lang proved every accolade he has received so far with a phenomenal performance. The flipside though were his vocals, which at times seemed boy band-ish. With three back-to-back vocal heavy numbers, Lang ended up sounding like Bryan Adams. He picked up the tempo though with Lie to Me, and left the audience wanting for more.
The second day opened with a performance by Saturday Night Blues band. Light and easy, the band kept it simple and that worked with the crowd. Next up were Soulmate from Shillong. Soulmate started out well and were immediately lapped up by the crowd. As the gig progressed, however, it seemed like the band were running out of ideas. Without much depth and variety, after a point all their songs sounded the same with lead singer Tipriti resorting to more theatrics with her Janis Joplin-esque voice than letting their music grow.
When Matt Schofield took to the stage, the crowd had no idea how his organ trio was going to sound and nothing prepared them for the brilliance of organist Jonny Henderson. Henderson plays a Hammond organ, performing basslines using his left hand, and playing chords and lead lines with his right hand. Schofield, one of the top 10 British blues musicians of all time, went from blues to jazz and funk, taking a captivated audience with him. One of the best things about listening to an artiste we’re unfamiliar with, is the sheer surprise factor and that probably worked best for both Shemekia and Matt.
When Buddy Guy finally took to the stage, the crowd went berserk. Chants of “Buddy! Buddy!” rang through the arena. Buddy Guy was everything one expected him to be: extremely talented, quick on the guitar, entertaining and naughty. He had the crowd with him from the start and waded through the crowds as he enthralled them all. I wish though that he hadn’t been so gimmicky and all about playing to the gallery. A man of his stature need not resort to such crowdpullers as his music alone would have been magnetic. Having said that, Guy had the crowd cheering him all along, especially when he did covers of Albert King, John Lee Hooker, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix.
Special credit must be given to the organisers who ensured that the performers came on stage with clockwork precision. Without frisking for cigarettes and ensuring there is a designated smoker’s zone as well as a bar, Oranjuice pulled off an event which was disciplined despite the lax rules.
This goes to show that if you can trust your audience, they won’t be reckless. Mehboob Studios is a magnificent venue for festivals with ample space for people to relax and soak in the music. Remarkable talent, excellent organisation and a good selection of single malts made this one amazing weekend.