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On Tuesday 13th November 2018, Seasick Steve arrived in Brighton, in support of his most recent album, Can U Cook? He was supported by country singer Prinz Grizzley & His Beargaroos.
Prinz Grizzley & His Beargaroos
Prinz Grizzley took to the stage, accompanied by his “Beargaroos”, and displayed an impressive blend of country, folk and blues. The four-piece band pulled off some incredible vocal harmonies and certainly got the crowd warmed up for Seasick Steve. It’s truly amazing to see a German singer, demonstrating such an authentic, Southern States, wild-country vibe, with some honest, personal lyricism. A very high calibre of support that is bound to find some great success, even within this rather niche genre.
Highlight: The vocal harmonies the band performed at the end of the track ‘Wide Open Country’ and the whole performance of ‘I Can See Darkness’ – beautiful track!
Seasick Steve
Seasick Steve is a wonderfully modest performer. Despite taking to the stage, to whoops, cheers and thunderous applause, in some respects, he still seems quite timid and reserved. Sure, he packs a punch when he needs to, busting out a move or two and rocking out with grungy, self-made guitars, in all the right places but equally, there are moments when his crowd interaction is somewhat mumbled and understated; he’s a unique performer, that’s for certain.
His honest yet simplistic, sometimes even satirical lyricism and bluesy songwriting style are perfectly matched by his husky, yet incredibly powerful vocals. He successfully merges a blend of country, blues and rock to create an all-consuming sound that found the audience losing themselves to the beat. Sure, there were the odd moments when a drunken audience member would lose themselves so much that they would attempt (and fail) to start a slow clap along to one of the more mellow, folky songs, before eventually giving up, but a Seasick Steve show is all about enjoying yourself, being free to participate however you like and not being afraid to be judged.
One thing that surprised me was the diversity of the crowd – you had your typical, Southern-American wannabes, middle-aged (and beyond) music-lovers – who probably heard of Seasick Steve on stations like Radio 2 but then there were the odd few teenagers – a demographic I hadn’t expected, but was pleasantly surprised to see thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Seasick Steve is a brilliant performer, and the fact he’s 77-78 years old and able to command the stage presence he does, just goes to show what a uniquely talented individual he is. If you haven’t seen him perform before, I can’t recommend him highly enough – I didn’t know loads of his songs before I went, but found myself utterly captivated. He won’t disappoint!
Highlights:
- Seasick Steve‘s wonderful dance moves were highly entertaining – the guy really knows how to rock out!
- The vast range of home-made guitars he uses, are something truly unique and frankly spell-binding to behold – what a talent!
- His crowd interaction was hilarious – particularly when he got to the, “marketing part of the show,” where he talked about making the new album and showed off the vinyl sleeve, making a special mention of a picture in the top corner, where he’s “making out with a dog.” Hilarious!
- The simplistic, yet humble stage set-up made it almost feel like you were watching a performance in his back yard – very intimate.
Setlist
Don’t Know Why She Love Me But She Do
St Louis Slim
Bring It On
Chewin’ On Da Blues
Sun On My Face
Hate Da Winter
Shady Tree (Dedicated to the ladies with long hair)
Can U Cook?
Started Out With Nothin’
Down On The Farm (Dedicated to farmers)
You Can’t Teach An Old Dog New Tricks
Young Blood
Barracuda ’68
Encore
Insta This (Unreleased)
Thunderbird
Finally, I want to say a MASSIVE thanks to Hannah Leeland for setting up this review for me and to Seasick Steve and Prinz Grizzley for putting on an incredible evening.
Enjoyed this? Check out some of our other live reviews here:
Muzik Speaks Live Reviews
Matt – Muzik Speaks
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