Friday 20th June 08 - Oli Brown Band at The London Bar, Driffield By Steve Rudd

Whoever came up with the idea of putting a band on at The London Bar deserves a pat on the back. It was certainly inspired. Moreover, whoever decided to allow Oli Brown and his band to play deserves to be bought free drinks for an entire evening. Indeed, Oli Brown & Band put on an incredible show in what has to be Driffield's narrowest pub.

Hammering out cracking Blues riffs like they were going out of fashion, there's no wonder that Oli has received rave reviews across the land, not least from John Mayall who remarked that Oli is 'a real talent.' He could say that again, because that's genuinely the case; as soon as Oli began playing it was obvious that he holds Jimi Hendrix's music in high regard.

Backed by Simon Dring on drums and Fred Hollis on bass, Oli's songs set new standards in the contemporary Blues genre. His epic riffs and nifty licks rumble beneath his soulful, often intensely gritty, vocals. Having recently released his debut album, Open Road, a number of tracks from the CD were aired with exhilarating precision, Fred's thundering bass-line on New Groove underpinning myriad guitar theatrics from Oli, his left hand a blur as it swept up and down the neck of his Stonetree custom guitar.

Gasps of awe echoed around the bar after every song. The gathered masses realized just how much of a treat it was to see Oli, Simon and Fred in such an intimate venue - and for free - given that the guys have got used to playing large venues over the past couple of years in support of performers such as Buddy Whittington, Aynsley Lister and The Fabulous Thunderbirds. OK, so people at the back of The London Bar wouldn't have seen much, but thankfully the sound travelled well, provoking the crowd to beg for not one but two encores, with a storming rendition of African-American work song Black Betty pummeling the Fender Supersonic amps for all they were worth.

When you're just eighteen years old and as extraordinarily talented as Oli, critical and commercial success seems inevitable. For sure, Open Road is bound to raise the profile of the Oli Brown Band even more. And rightly so. www.olibrownband.com www.myspace.com/oliblues

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