AT 75-years-of age, you could say John Mayall is a bit too long in the tooth to be playing rock and roll. In blues music terms, however, he's but a mere whippersnapper. A blues performer since 1956, while the Manchester-born veteran may appear a litt
le more stooped these days, he still bestows a long, flowing mane of white hair, and, by the sounds of things last night at the Picture House, he has still got his chops, too.
A lot of Mayall's hard work now comes from his forever-changing band of young(er) musicians. But that's not to say Mayall can't put them in their place when he wants to, pulling out all manner of tricks on the keyboard and harmonica when the right time required it. The downside was, there were very few here to see it – about two-hundred people to be precise.
With AC/DC's Glasgow gig the hottest ticket in Scotland last night, it's fair to say the legendary Aussie rockers' rare appearance at Hampden had a massive effect on ticket sales to see Mayall; but as is often the case when playing to a smaller, intimate audience, both artist and audience seemed more determined to make the most of it.
And that they did, as Mayall and band focused their attention on the works of those blues artists that have influenced them the most. From Freddie King to Sonny Boy Williamson and Albert King, this was straight-down-the-line blues played the old-fashioned, electric Chicago way, Mayall taking great delight in flipping from keyboard to harmonica whenever the mood took him.
"How many old timers are in here tonight?" he shouted across the room following the Bo Diddley stomp of Chicago Line.
"That many, eh?" he replied, acknowledging the decidedly more vocal element of the, ahem, predominantly mature audience.
Up until then, the set had become bogged down in formulaic blues patterns and lengthy jamming, innovation ignored in favour of repetition.
But then came the unexpected – a new song. And a refreshing change of pace it was, too, Mayall demonstrating his guitar-playing abilities on Number's Down, a jaunty, almost psychedelic tune that proved to be the only pause in variation all night.
Soon it was back to the blues, though, and with a nifty tip of the hat to the Peter Gunn Theme halfway through the boogie-down of Freddie King classic Hide Away, the rest of the two-hour show petered out in an impressive, if never ending series of guitar noodling.
Of course, no John Mayall gig would be complete without the obligatory solo for each individual member of the band, but by the time it was ready to say goodnight, those who had bothered to show up headed for the exits seemingly content with what they had heard.
John Mayall may literally have not changed his tune in years; however, when it comes to demonstrating the true heart and soul of traditional electric blues music, there can be few better living specimen around.
The full article contains 518 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
