The third edition of Simply the Blues had exciting UK blues guitar veteran Mick Clarke and his band as the headlining act for the evening. Simply the Blues has been an initiative by Anil Mehta’s StarKonnect Events to popularize this genre of music in India in its purest form. The event was held at St Andrews auditorium Bandra on Saturday 27^th October 2014.  

Having been the host of the previous two editions, Luke Kenny gave a lowdown of the evening to come.

Delhi based band Big Bang Blues started off the night with three original songs giving the crowd a sample of the powerful vocal range of lead singer Ipshita Roy. Crisp guitar riffs and some nifty keyboard work with a Hammond sound created the mood for things to come. The band comprised of Shivam Khare – Keyboards, Kapil Chetri - Harp/Guitar/Slide - Sushant Thakur - Guitars/Slide Ipshita Roy – Vocals, Vila Sorhie - Bass and Adhiraj Mustafi on Drums.

After a brief introduction to the vision of Simply the Blues, Anil Mehta showcased the special cigar box guitars, which are a modern form of the old guitars used by the African slaves to give vent to their angst and despair. A video of prolific guitarist Warren Mendonsa of Black Strat Blues playing on a cigar box guitar was applauded by the audience.

The Mick Clarke Band came on comprising lead singer and guitarist Mick Clarke, bass player Eddie Masters and drummer Chris Sharley. The tracks from their various albums comprised a lively set with shuffles, boogies, rock based and down home slow blues.

Mick Clarke uses a 1963 Gibson SG for most of his songs and a Fender Squire guitar for slide playing. He also played on a cigar box guitar which had a clean, wholesome tone. His playing influences have been a wide variety of artistes ranging from Freddy King, B.B.King to Eric Clapton and Z Z Top.

The crowd that included music lovers, die hard blues fans and a few celebs, congregating at the venue were treated to a truly international setting. Those who came in early were treated at the watering hole, to some alcoholic beverages. As for those who missed it, the interval made up for it. After all, what is the Blues without a drink, good friends and live music?

By Savio Miranda

Photos by Verus Ferreira