| Son
of Dave
The Elbow Rooms, Islington - Jan 2006
Reviewed
by Jim Ryan of The Vulnerable Things
Photo by Sian Eldridge
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Don't
touch that dial! Mr. Of Dave loops the loop. |
The
Elbow Rooms in Islington usually hosts nights dedicated to indie/rock
bands, however tonight it felt more like a late-night jam at a notorious
juke joint off Highway 4 in Chulahoma, Mississippi. This was thanks
to the amazing talents of Canadian Bluesman Son of Dave and the
excellent night run by Goldierocks.
Son of Dave comprises of just one man, Ben Darvill who in a previous
life was in chart-topping rock group the Crash Test Dummies. But,
right from the start you can hear that he was brought up on the
blues and this is sweet devil music for sure! The only accompaniment
he has on stage is his trusty harmonicas, a shaker and a tambourine
(oh and of course his loop pedals). Yet, he manages to produce the
sound of a whole band, enough to think that the Blues Explosions
rhythm section will soon emerge from the back of the stage.
Son of Dave beat-boxes, howls and moans through his loop pedal to
produce his rhythms. You can hear the obvious Chicago blues influences,
here. Although a very fine harmonica player he has the ability to
move away from playing the instrument in a conventional style, creating
his own unique sound.
With his beat-boxing he may not be one for the blues purest, but
he appeals to a real cross section of listener (at 25 I was probably
one of the oldest members of the crowd that night)! If blues music
is going to survive, long into the 21st century, this is one man
(and his harmonica) dragging it in the right direction.
Son of Dave is progressive and real good time music, there wasn't
a single person not gettin' down to his performance. Make sure you
catch him live soon. With the release of a new album in February,
you shouldn't have long to wait.
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