Catfish, the UK And British Blues Award-Winning band have, over a few short years, earned themselves a reputation as a first class live band. Matt Long (Vox/Guitars) is one of the most exciting front men on the blues circuit today, his performances charged with real emotion and a passion for the Blues. Playing alongside Matt are his Father, Paul Long (Vox/Hammond/Keys), a well-established Radio producer/broadcaster and artist in his own right; Kevin Yates on Drums and Adam Pyke on 6 String Bass.
The Rec Rooms is a small venue in Horsham, West Sussex, that is steadily building a fine reputation for itself as a live music venue. Decorated with Old record players, guitars and Lights made from old drumkits, its intention to be a major player on the live music scene is very clear.
The band opened with “Leading Me On” from their “Broken Man” album, released in 2017 to critical acclaim, before introducing two songs from their forthcoming album “Burning Bridges”, due for release in a few weeks. Matt Long’s voice belongs to a man of far greater years, heavy with experience and full of gravel but still able to convey the emotion of the songs with ease and he sings the first two numbers before handing vocal duties over to Paul Long for “Ghosts”, from the new album. Paul’s voice and Keyboard combine to create a deep, slow, melodic landscape of sound, to which Matt and Adam add dramatic aspects, the song in some ways reminiscent of Pink Floyd at their best.
“Better Days” follows, another crowd-pleaser with Paul’s swirling Hammond, some soul-filled guitar and vocals from Matt, complete with little reggae break in the middle, getting hands in the air and bodies swaying from the seated audience.
One of the standout songs of the set for me was another new one, “Soulbreaker”. The Spine-tingling opening chant gives way to a heavy riff as the song builds to its conclusion. Due to the passing of two men that had a major impact on the British Blues Scene in recent weeks, Jules Fothergill and more recently, Dave Raven, there was an emotional tension to the room tonight. Matt paid tribute to Dave Raven for his pioneering work in Blues Broadcasting and dedicated “Archangel” to his memory.
A full-on rendition of the title track from the “Broken Man” album followed. This is an epic, multi-layered song, slow starting, taking you on a journey into heartache and pain and out through the other side, Matt’s voice and guitar dripping with emotion as he tells of the search for the Broken man, Paul’s Hammond painting soundscapes around him, while Kevin and Adam add dramatic accents driving the intensity of this opus.
“Make it Rain” (Foy Vance) closes the set; an emotional piece at any time, but more so tonight with Matt paying a very moving and emotional tribute to Jules Fothergill before launching into the song. The silence in the room when Matt turns the guitar right down is almost deafening in its intensity, and you can feel the emotional tension cranking up a few more notches. The song climaxes and the Audience are on feet and rightly so, the bad having put every ounce of themselves into this set tonight.
Catfish invited the evening’s openers, Yoka and Ray, on to the stage for the Encore. Yoka and Ray Qureshi are a duo that I have wanted to see for some time but, due to the vagaries of the Friday night M25 and a venue so well hidden it had me and the satnav totally flummoxed, I missed the majority of their set, so it was a bonus to have on stage with Catfish for a mashup of “Tennessee Whisky” and “I’d rather go Blind”, Matt and Yoka’s powerful vocals combining perfectly and earning them another standing ovation.
It was an emotionally-charged night for sure and both Catfish and Yoka & Ray delivered performances up there with the best, that sent the audience home buzzing. The songs from the new Album sound exciting and the Album, “Burning Bridges” is available to pre-order from their Website.
Tags: Catfish Blues Band The Rec Rooms
Catfish Setlist:
Leading Me On
Break Me Down
Ghosts
Better Days
The Root of All Evil
Somebody Lend Me a Dime
Soulbreaker
Too far to Fall
Archangel
Broken Man
Breaking up Somebody’s Home
Make it Rain
Encore:
Tennessee Whisky
Rather Go Blind
