A man walks on stage at 9 o’ clock, from his worn clothes, grey beard and leathered skin an ignorant punter could have mistaken him for a vagrant, but the rest of the audience know this man to be Seasick Steve. He is here at the iTunes festival promoting his hobo- blues and new album, ‘You Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks’.
Seasick opens with Diddley Bo, accompanied by his equally weathered, yet equally talented drummer Dan Magnusson. The song is named after his first of many home-made instruments, in this case, a one stringed guitar-thing that he plays with a screwdriver. However, the skill with which he plays it makes it sound like six through a tube amp, and combined with the blues-rock force rushing from the kit and his gravelly southern drawl, the audience are made to move in the opening song.
After the opener Seasick gives us our first surprise of the night by introducing his bassist, the legendary John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. The crowd is astounded by the introduction, and he doesn’t fail to impress. He blends years of musical experience into the ensemble, calls and responds, and also shows off some fingerwork on the mandolin. Throughout the show Seasick continues to bring on guests; the first being a shy girl in the audience, then Jack White and Alison Mosshart of the Dead Weather which is a huge crowd-pleaser, and finally a girl who had introduced herself to me earlier saying, “Hi, I’m playing with Steve in a minute, how do I get backstage?” her name is Amy LaVere.
Despite having to bring on an array of guests and changing his guitar and the arrangement between every song to maintain the audience’s interest throughout the show, Seasick’s knowledge and love of the blues was visible; the Roundhouse transformed into a broken-down blues bar in Memphis for one night only.
