Ben Poole Haven Club Oxford 13-2-19


















Last year Ben Poole released his latest and greatest cd Anytime You Need Me and this batch of dates in support of the cd followed on from the end of year UK tour.

For around 80 minutes we were treated to a masterclass of blues with Ben and his 2 band mates showing a tightness and understanding only a lot of road dates could produce.

Here is what they played.

Take It No More 
Win You Over
Start My Car
Have You Ever Loved A Woman (Freddie King cover)
The Question Why
Further On Down The Line
Don't Cry For Me
Let's Go Upstairs
Stay At Mine
Found Out The Hard Way
Anytime You Need Me
Encore of Dirty Laundry

Opener Take It No More with it's fuzzy bass line and driving tempo and guitar riff was superb with Ben's melodic breathless vocal style a delight.The first of many wonderful guitar solo's fitted in just so and Ben add libbed both vocally and soloed in the outro to great effect.

The new album was well mined with Start My Car's insistent guitar riff and kick ass drum rhythm leading into another smooth as velvet vocal on the chorus.Ben again added extra soloing textures and each note is picked with dexterity poise and technique bringing to mind in the longer solo's Joe Bonamassa.His fingers blur at times and just when you think he can't pick any more notes he delves even deeper and the audience on a couple of occasions applauded at the sheer magnitude of what we were witnessing.

Further On Down The Line is another show highlight with Ben's vocal shining brightly and the mid song solo lengthy and never a note missed in the opportunity to show ever more emotion.

Don't Cry For Me was stunning with it's picked add lib soloing beautiful and the slower balladic feel giving Ben the chance to show off his full vocal range showing feel texture and emotion in every pore.The mid song solo took it down to a whisper before building it all up to a band crescendo showing Ben knows the art of timing and band dynamics and the light and shade worked superbly.

Found Out The Hard Way and Anytime You Need Me rounded out a set that had flown by with Ben ever smiling and us in awe of what we had seen from someone so young.

Encore time and Ben's cover of Don Henley's Dirty Laundry with it's funky bass line and it's great chorus and Ben again added soloing add libs through out and his solo showcased everything he is about.

The fantastic thing is this is just the beginning and we can say we were there at the start of a career that deserves to head to the stratosphere.
















 

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