Darren Watson
7th July 2021
Tikokino Community Hall, Tikokino, New Zealand.
Review by Rob Harbers, photography by Andrew Caldwell.
The first night of the current season of the Small Hall Sessions took place in the appropriately rural (given the origins of the music involved) setting of the Tikokino Community Centre. For around an hour and a half, master bluesman Darren Watson brought the atmosphere of the Deep South of the USA to the deep centre, or thereabouts, of Hawkes Bay. This is a man who’s been playing this music for 30-some years, honing the craft, and this experience is evident in the passion, skill and enjoyment with which he plies his trade.
Opening act this evening, though, was one still at the blossoming stage of a musical career, Sinead Hegarty, one half of The Cellars, and becoming a familiar face to regulars of these Sessions. Her two-song set was fully original material, both numbers displaying charmingly sweet lyrical themes, delivered with a visibly increasing confidence that will carry her far – give it another few years and she’ll be headlining some of these herself! More evidence of the depth of talent here in the Bay, and a powerful endorsement of EIT’s training programs in performance art.
Main man Darren Watson took to the stage with the apt lyrical introduction of “Hello Everybody” contained in the song “St Hilda’s Faithless Boy”, a stripped and emotive autobiographical ode to the art, kicking off a set that ranged across nearly a century of musical history (not a century of HIS history – he’s not Keith Richards!). From Johnsons far more palatable than BoJo The Clown, i.e. Robert and Tommy, came the oldest numbers, stretching back to 1927 for Tommy’s “Big Road Blues” and nearly as far for Robert’s “Crossroads Blues”. These fit seamlessly with the rest of the set, most of which is original material, showing the extent to which this is a player steeped in this tradition, honouring the source material while also bringing fresh perspectives to bear.
Some of these perspectives infuse a political element into the lyrics, particularly exemplified by “National Guy”, which nicely skewers someone who shall remain nameless, but is paid to have opinions, which he then inflicts on the rest of us through the oversized platform granted him. Opinions? They’re like arseholes – everybody’s got one!
This political thread runs through other songs also, including “Too Many Millionaires”, and the elegaic “Ernie Abbott” which pays tribute to the innocent victim of 1984’s bombing of Wellington Trades Hall, a crime which remains unsolved to this day. The political element has garnered some criticism at times – pretty much to be expected for one who dares to express an opinion through song, but as far as I see it, more power to his bow!
It wasn’t all political though, far from it – a cover of Ray Charles’ “Hallelujah I Love Her So” demonstrating the line that exists between blues and soul music. “Mean Me Right”, written for the late Mac “Dr. John” Rebennack, but unfortunately never performed by him, continued this thread. Darren’s ability to write for other voices resulted in the song “Got No Soul”, originally recorded with the now-departed Rick Bryant in full voice on 2005’s “Pacific Soul” album.
“Black Cadillac” an ode to excess, continued the opinionated lyrics, while a touch of personal experience was reflected in “Alison Jane”, the story of an affair, followed by the other side of the same affair as documented by “Un-love Me”- a song exorcising the remnants of the dalliance.
Without running through lists of songs though, the essential message is: go catch one (or more?) of the shows in this short tour, and see a man at the peak of his craft, whose most recent album was nominated for Best Folk Album at the NZMAs. Catch a dose of pure blues, and dispel the mid-winter funk, while enlivening your soul. Don’t folk about – just do it!
Were you there at the Tikokino Community Hall for this intimate gig? Or have you seen Darren Watson perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Note: The Small Hall Sessions provided passes to Ambient Light to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only.
If you enjoyed this content, please consider donating towards the running of Ambient Light, covering expenses and allowing us to expand the coverage you love by visiting our PressPatron page.