You say what you like about Troy Redfern, but you cannot argue that the geezer looks the part.
Before he even plays a note, you see him hat on, feather in his hair, dreamcatcher type thing around his neck and you just know.
But of course, what you don’t know from appearances is whether you’ve got a collection of songs. And my goodness, Troy has those.
Three albums in three years to be accurate and they’re amongst the best anyone has in that time. This tour is in support of his most recent. “Invocation” And he’s here to play a lot of it, beginning with an album track “All Night Long”. Which is immediately heavier than you’d expected, there is a crunch here, and in particular, with three piece bands, there is a real balance.
He’s clearly proud of the new stuff and well might he be . They’ve all fitted in well, but somehow “Van Helsing” with its infectious chorus shines above all.
And when they do “The Fever”, the first single, he unleashes some tremendous slide guitar.. And when he lets yourself go, like on the mystical, “The Calling” he is really special.
Not just new stuff, but also songs dusted off for the first time on this tour as well with “Ghosts” appearing in the set.
It segues nicely into “Sweet Carolina”, a kind of stomping glam rocker is turning to the jam – in a way it acts as the centrepiece here.
There is the feeling that Redfern is so talented on the guitar, that he could be anything he wants to be and the bluesy as it gets “Done”, proves that, and that’s before he has a boogie with “Voodoo Princess”.
“Dark Religion” is appropriately darker than the others. And there was no encore for this show. Instead, he does “Waiting For Your Love” (“my favourite off “The Fire Cosmic” album” he says) before ending with “Sanctified”. It becomes a real jam.
And really, with the skill he’s got and the songs he possesses, he should be in rooms much bigger than this. However, as he notes himself, looking at the crowd, which is not it must be said, particularly huge, it is difficult for people to tour at the moment, given that nobody’s got any money. That does not mean, however. You have to put on a show that has half measures.
Troy Redfern is too good for that. And he’s too experienced for that. You name them, he’s played with them, either solo or with his band and he’s evidently enjoying these longer headline gigs- and if he’s content in the main, to let his music do the talking, it shouts very loudly that Troy Redfern is a superb musician.
