Tonight, the Echo Hotel Music Club opened its doors for the first time and, in doing so set the bar very high for future gigs with a sold-out show featuring two top artists. Echo Hotel is the brainchild of local councillor and music fan Verd Nabbs and is located in a local community centre, Elizabeth Hall, Hook, Hampshire.
The first act to grace this brand-new venture was Jade like the Stone. Jade Like the Stone is Jade Danielle Williams – front-person from the band Du Bellows and a contestant on ITV’s “The Voice” in 2018 (Chosen by Sir Tom Jones no less) – solo project. The first song, one of Jade’s own, is being performed for the first time tonight. Jade’s haunting voice and soulful keyboard fills the room, quickly silencing the chatterers. To be fair the room is filled mostly by people that are highly appreciative of live music, so shatter was minimal. Fellow Du Bellows band-member Richard Leeds joins Jade on stage, providing guitar and backing vocals for the rest of the set. Songs from the new EP, “World on a Wire”, “Young Thing” ((a personal message to grow up properly) and set-closer “Particles” were mixed with Du Bellows tracks reworked for Keyboard and guitar – “Paper Souls” and “Fire in the Blood” among others. “Fire in the Blood” stood out for me. I’veheard the full band perform this track, and it is incredibly powerful. Delivered here in a stripped back setting, just Jade’s voice and Richard’s guitar, it was equally as powerful, Jade’s emotional delivery and stage performance holding and captivating the crowd. An encore was rightly demanded, and Jade obliged with a great cover of Stevie Nicks “Rhiannon”.
After a short break, more beer and the raffle, people were seated, eagerly anticipating the appearance of Rufus Black, a band much talked about in the run up to the gig.
Normally performing as a 5 piece but reduced tonight to a four-piece due to the absence of guitarist Ben Jones, called away to provide guitar for “The Voice UK” (There seems to be some sort of odd synchronicity here tonight), powered through a set of funky, soulful, blues and rock. The band – Vocalist Gavin Condor (Whitesnake, Manfred Mann), Scott McKeon on guitar (Tom Jones – see, synchronicity!, Lana Del Rey), Bass player Leighton Allen (Kelvin Jones, The Hoosiers), Drummer Russ Parker (Robbie Macintosh, P P Arnold) and Ben Jones (Mary J Blige, The Voice UK band) – formed in 2015 in Dorset, and have since gone on to play Glastonbury, Bestival, Ronnie Scotts, to name a few. Condor has a true Rock God voice, think Gillan, Plant, but switches to more soulful groove on the funkier numbers such as “It’s your thing”, the opening number. He also has a restless charisma – prowling around the stage, hanging off the mike stand as he bared his soul through songs such as “Shut Up”, “Make a move” “Still haven’t seen you cry” and other songs from their album “Rise Up”. Scott McKeon, playing a very lived-in ’62 Stratocaster, punctuates Condor’s vocals with cutting and incisive solos and some exquisite riffing. His solo on “Still haven’t seen you cry” is something to behold, and his deft blues feel on their version of The Weekend’s “Can’t Feel my Face” was spine-tinglingly good. Throughout the set, Allen’s Bass and Parker’s drums held it all tight and steady, with the Bass lines coming through rich and steady.
Ray LaMontagne’s “Repo Man” had people clapping along happily. The Set closer” Whisky Town” is a dark, dark song, delivered with masses of feel and another solo from McKeon, reflecting the pain and suffering in Condor’s words. Of course, the band was never going to finish on a low note, and soon they were back on stage for the well-deserved encore, performing “The Letter”, the old Boxtops classic before ending the night “With a little help from my Friends” including the mandatory singalong, a great end to a fantastic night of music.
Congratulations to Echo Hotel Music Club for putting on such a fantastic night of top-class music and looking at the list of gigs they have lined up for the rest of year, this is one Hotel I will be checking into regularly.
RUFUS BLACK Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube |
JADE LIKE THE STONE Facebook | Website
Echo Hotel Music Club Facebook
*Originally Published in Patchchord News
Dubbel Xposure Photography 