The Place: 100 Club, London, W1

The Gig: Stephen Dale Petit

As a serious music fan and a Blues obsessive, this was one gig that I was looking forward too. Plus it gave me a chance to check out the legendary 100 Club, host to such greats as Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Bo Diddley, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and The Who, to more current acts such as Ben Folds Five, Oasis and The White Stripes.

Needless to say, I was excited.

Stephen Dale Petit is a guy from California now living in London who is on a serious mission to bring the Blues back into the mainstream, and to give it a boom as it enjoyed in the early 60’s. Indeed he has formed the New Blues Revolution.

A tall order for sure, and with modern Blues greats such as Doyle Bramhall II, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Derek Trucks having their ever growing fan base but not hitting the mainstream all that much, the task seems even more daunting. But as a Blues fan I would love to see it happen and if Stephen Dale Petit can do it then all the better, but more on him a little latter.

Support for the night came from a three piece named the Dave Sinclair Trio. They seemed to draw an influence from acts such as The Police and The Jam. They played an original set, which although not 100% to my taste or liking, they worked hard with the stand out number for me being London Dust. Other notable numbers were Was I Strong Enough and Motion Sickness. The Rhythm section also deserves a mention, and they gave a good base which the guitar and vocals rode quite comfortably.

On to Stephen Dale Petit. The set started with another three piece, and I thought the sound would be too thin, but I remembered the fullness of sound achieved by the great trios such as Cream, The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Buddy Guy’s band.

Any fears of a thin sound were soon vanquished by the sheer volume and combined attack of the guitar and great rhythm section. Stephen Dale Petit’s guitar rang loud and true, reminiscent of Freddie King with a great touch of vibrato.

The guitars alone were impressive, there was a whole rack of Gibsons, including a blue Firebird and a gorgeous flame maple Les Paul. Stephen Dale Petit certainly brought a great sound out of them.

After a few numbers, the band was joined by a fantastic horn section, and an amazing harmonica player by the name of Lorenzo. He played with a great combination of feel and attack, and was such a character on stage that I could have watched a whole set of him on his own!

As well as performing his own material, with 7 Cent Cotton being the standout number for me, there were several tributes to some of the giants of the Blues and Jazz world.

As a Clapton devotee I was delighted to hear near perfect renditions of Steppin' Out from John Mayall’s Blues Breakers, and I'm So Glad from the Fresh Cream album.

There was also a wonderful rendition of The Crave by jazz forefather Jelly Roll Morton.

Rather than just play note for note copies of the numbers, each seemed to have its stamp of originality, while al the same time remaining faithful to the originals.

I can't compliment the horn section enough. Each was given their chance to solo, and the rhythm section drove the band wonderfully. With brass and harmonica like that, I couldn't help but wonder how good a version of Albert King's Born Under A Bad Sign or Muddy Waters' Rollin' And Tumblin' or B.B. King's You Upset Me Baby would sound.

After a great set, Phil May, founder member of The Pretty Things joined the band for a spirited jam of Bobby Troup's Route 66. Although this song is somewhat of a standard for most Blues bands, and may well be overplayed, I can't help but want to move every time I hear it.

All in all this was a great gig, and such a fun evening. Stephen Dale Petit is a wonderful guitar player, taking influences from all the great Blues players but still managing to put his own stamp on things.

Will he bring The Blues back into the mainstream? Its hard to tell, but with endorsements from Eric Clapton and Radio 2 he stands as good a chance as any, and it certainly seems an admirable quest.

If you're a fan of The Blues, a fan of Guitar, or even just a fan of live music I'd say go see him, Stephen Dale Petit is well worth checking out.