Monday 4 November 2013

JD Smith and Swampmother @ Windmill Brixton

I thought I was done with this "blog", but I suppose while there's great music in venues that aren't at capacity, I can mobilise my fingers for long enough to tell you poor sods what you've missed.

Tonight at Windmill Brixton you missed - I'm assuming, but hey, maybe you were there! - JD Smith and Swampmother, two raw, dirty slide-blues players who captivated their audiences enough to, well, coax this sorry typist out of retirement, for one thing.

Swampmother was maybe the rawer of the two; distortion, foot stomping, things coming off guitars that weren't supposed to ("That's what happens when you get someone to build a guitar for you."). Whereas JD Smith was more classically blues rock; guitar tones that make you wish you had the dusty boots, ageless hat and begravelled voice to forge a successful career out of walking for aeons beside a highway and sleeping under the stars. Deep, heartfelt, soul-galvanizing stuff.

So there you go. You should see them both. Apparently JD Smith will be playing the Windmill again in December. Swampmother I don't know, but she's on the web. Look for her.