Black Bart play the Bishop Blaize

Article Date: 16 Jun 2010

As a warm up to their forthcoming performance at Romsey's annual Beggars Fair, this was a hottie, in all senses of the word. A packed pub on a warm June evening hummed with anticipation before Black Bart got themselves tuned up and tuned in.

Right from the off, Rob Joy, lead guitarist, got into the rhythm with the appropriately named, "Get Rhythm" and the band flexed their tightly honed musical muscles. Followed up with "TownTo Town", a track off their latest album, written by bass player Pete Jones and they were driving ahead.

Simon Stanley-Ward's evocative vocals gave us a fusion of country rock blues, covering excellent songs like "Home By The River" and one of my favourites, "I'm Going To Jail" before finishing part 1 with "Stand In The Rain". The beat, steady and driven was provided by Sam Blincoe on drums and Pete Jones on bass guitar.

A welcome respite from the heat inside and I chatted outside to one of the many unsung heroes of bands like Black Bart. People who support them everywhere they go, sell their CDs, get signatures for their mailing list - too much to mention.

Back to the second half of the show and we were really motoring. The girls behind me were getting animated - I like to think it was the music and not the cider - perhaps both! Starting with "Friend Of The Devil", Rob Joy effortlessly went into the opening riff of "Broken Like A Mirror" - the opening track on their new self-titled album. Rob is the creator of most of the songs and though not using it on this gig, a virtuoso slide guitar player. You can see a video of "Broken Like A Mirror" below:

Although this session naturally showcased Black Bart's latest album, they weren't averse to performing some excellent covers too. "Dead Flowers" and "Jolene" are stand out songs given an excellent treatment by the band. "Jolene" probably accounted for the hordes of (well four or five) women asking for autographs and photographs at the end of the gig.

A foot-stomping evening was rounded off with an encore rendition of "Who Made The Water", a rousing, eliciting, crowd pleaser.

On this evidence (and I have seen them several times before) Black Bart are a very tight and together band. They are on the brink of breakout and deserve to have commercial success.

Catch them at the Beggars Fair in Romsey, 2.30pm 10^th July 2010, main Cornmarket stage. See www.blackbart.co.uk and www.beggars-fair.org.uk for more details.

Steve Bratt June 2010