When? Sat 10/05/2008
Where? festivaltent
After organising a few successful festivals in the usual format, the guys from the Blues Store at the East Flemish Zele, decided to present a blues festival featuring only women at the microphone. A task that should not be taken lightly, it proved. Is it coincidence or just the unpredictable nature of the female species? It took quite a bit of effort, phone calls and stress to find three groups of that kind. In the end the “Storeboys” succeeded in their quest to align three ladies and get them on the same stage at the same night.
When I entered the wonderfully large tent at the Zele marketplace, the first group had just started. They were swinging quite nicely. That was no surprise, because none other than ex-Swingbee singer Jill Hilliger kicked off this festival with allure and drive that was only preceded by greats as Kate Bush, Janis Joplin and Bette Midler. Accompanied by the Banana Peel Blues Band, with Willy De Vleesschouwer on guitar, Harry Van Buel on keys, Eric De Wolf on Bass and Gerry D'Haeyer on drums, she treated the audience to one swing song after the other. Sparkling style and complete compositions which had a familiar feel to them... or maybe not. Recognizable melodies with bluesy jazzy and rootsy influences. Soon the diva got rid of her pretty shoes and sang most of the set barefeet. Full of enthousiasm she thrusted her songs through the microphone, stamping her foot to the rhythm. You couldn't miss it. The musicians, experienced as they were, accompanied her in style. The guitar player, by the way, one of Belgium's finest in my humble opinion, added a steaming solo from time to time on something that appeared to be a brand new guitar. An entertaining set, but it could have contained a little more of that true rootsy blues music. It was stomping nicely, but the tears and misery were kind of missing. In any case the 'Jill Hilliger Band' was a nice start to what was going to be a good night.
The tent was already reasonably full at the start of the festival, but during the first band's show it got nice and crowded. As usual in Zele, community of proud ground workers, cable diggers and builders, the beer was flowing freshly and richly. The tent, the location, the toilets, the bar, the service, the sound, light and stage were all in perfect order, a compliment to the 'Zelenaren'.
The second band I had seen two years before. They made a solid impression on me then. I was looking forward to 'Cadillac Red', with Eric de Schutter on drums, John Krause on bass and Jimmy Hontelé on guitar. I had been in a jam with Jimmy before and I knew I had to look out for him. The singer, Lilliane Clarijs, used to do backing vocals with a.o. Blue Blot and Kid Safari. That was quite something and she would prove it. There was some heavier blues involved in this. Wild women's blues, angry women's blues, furious women's blues. It got heavier by the minute and a little more after that. Lilliane almost sang our shirts off. What a powerful voice. She was as enthousiastic as Jill Hilliger but kept her body a little more under control. And indeed, as I had expected, the guitar player showed his value. He played one wailing guitar solo after another. He used all strings and notes, all frets and keys, all tricks and sounds that his Strat could handle. He earned several applauses from the content audience. As usual I couldn't care less what the songs were called, what counted was the music, and that sticked, was well put together and groovy. Still, also with this gig I had the feeling I was missing something, like the goosebumps-on-your-back blues. It's probably me.
I will not mention a list of the songs played, no playlist, no titles. I'm trying to describe the atmosphere, the feeling, the thrill. Anyone who visits a festival like this knows that the atmosphere is alike but different anywhere. I know one thing for sure, blues festivals and blues shows always take place without arguments and nastiness. Everyone knows everyone, just like the celebrities interact. “Hi Joyce, what's new girl?” and “Hi Eddy, how are you?” and the “Wow, great, wonderful”, you know. Have a pint, some chit-chat, arrange to meet at the next festival and taking some pictures. Cosy, isn't it? And then the great music. What more could anyone want?
The third group was smashing! Connie Lush, a little chubby lady from across the water, the UK. She was named best British female blues singer and is a talented singer-songwriter. When she grabbed the microphone and wished everybody a good evening, I knew enough. There were going to be fireworks. The volume of her voice was definitely not like her posture, unlike her timbre. I heard my friend Michel say “oh my...” softly when she sang her first notes. His eyes were wide open as he was staring at Connie in amazement. He even forgot to take pictures. Well, a lot has been written about this lady. What more can I add? Almost two hours of sparkling soul blues. Great originals, accompanied by real pro's, one instant quiet as a mouse, the other monumentally symphonic. Everything was right, perfect to the detail. Knitted together nicely and varied with great contact moments with the crowd. A class act! But still, even here I missed the real, pure blues.
Oh well, I must be getting old. The older, the more nostalgic you get. I really hate not being able to escape it. And Michel... he will never get old. Never, no way. Happy as a horse, galloping around the blues meadow. The poor bastard.
Translation by: Jean-Paul Harreman
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