Joanne Shaw Taylor
There may be bigger, seated, venues on this string of UK dates, but for the intimate, close-up feel of Joanne Shaw Taylor's brand of the blues, Norwich's Waterfront is going to take some beating.
It is Sunday, and the seventh night of a ten-date UK tour for Joanne Shaw Taylor. No day of rest for this hard-working blues-rock guitarist, returning to Norwich Waterfront for her first visit since performing here just two weeks before the country was plunged into lockdown in March 2020. She has a new album out in June, and we got a taste of what to expect with the inclusion of singles 'Sweet 'Lil Lies' and 'Wild Love', but for the rest of the evening it was a chance to play catch-up, and to celebrate her previous nine album releases.
She opens with 'In The Mood', an explosion of guitars and drums, and the opening track from 2019's 'Reckless Heart'. It is followed by a version the Otis Rush song, 'Keep On Loving Me', taken from her award-winning 'The Blues Album'. The band – Shane Sanders (rhythm guitar), Steve Lehane (bass), Phil Whitfield (keys), and Eric Savage (drums) sound good, if rather loud, but then, after another couple of tracks there is a short pause, with the band leaving the stage as the sound engineers attend to 'a couple of gremlins'.
Upon the band's return, we are treated to earlier hits like 'Watch 'Em Burn', 'Diamonds In The Dirt', and the thunderous 'Dyin' To Know', which some will remember from JST's television appearance a couple of years back on 'Later With Jools Holland'. She takes time out to introduce the slower 'Fade Away' and 'Runaway' (each from 2022's 'Nobody's Fool'), helping to share and explain the grief process that follows the death of a loved one, and it is a poignant and moving point in the evening, a moment of contrast and contemplation away from the ferocity and intensity of her and the band's playing from earlier in the evening.
'Going Home' is a song written to be an encore if ever there is one, and the Waterfront crowd leave happy. There may be bigger, seated, venues on this string of UK dates, but for the intimate, close-up feel of Joanne Shaw Taylor's brand of the blues, Norwich's Waterfront is going to take some beating.
Opening support came from young English blues guitarist Connor Selby, whose seated performance was heartfelt and authentic, channelling elements of early Clapton and Peter Green with his own unique talents. One to watch.
Joanne Shaw Taylor's UK tour continues with three more dates, including a seated gig at The Apex in Bury St Edmunds on Wednesday.
