10/27/2012 Americana UK, Concert review , 'Pokey LaFarge and the South City Three, Oran Mor, Glasgow, 24th October 2012'

Having seen Pokey and his gang several times before a good time tonight was all but guaranteed. However months of touring with Jack White in the states and playing in amphitheatres such as Red Rocks in Colorado to around 9,000 folk has acted somewhat like a physical fitness programme to the extent that having honed their act for larger crowds in a tight space such as Oran Mor they are positively explosive. All the familiar ingredients were there, Pokey’s larger than life stage presence (along with his huge voice) and the superb musicianship from his cohorts, Adam Hoskins on guitar, Ryan Koenig, harmonica, washboard and percussion and Joey Glynn, double bass.

Staggering several new songs from their upcoming spring 2013 release throughout the set Pokey et al didn’t deviate from the old time template that has underpinned their success with newcomers ‘Central Time’ and ‘Please Don’t Do It’ getting a great reception. However the real crowd pleasers were the rip-roaring renditions of songs from the previous albums all of which the crowd seemed to be word-perfect with given the sing-alongs and chorusing that persisted through the night. Ever the showman Pokey peppered his intros and some of the song lyrics with references to Glasgow and interacted with the packed front row to the extent of accepting a sample of the local nectar from one chap’s hip flask. As for the band Hoskins and Glynn obviously enjoy the repartee but appear content to let their music do their talking. Koenig on the other hand is a fantastic visual and vocal foil for Lafarge’s chief barker as, with a sly glint in his eye and an attitude that oozes Mississippi cool he provides his harmonica wizardry and on washboard conjures up a world of vaudevillian sounds.

Presentation and grandstanding apart the meat and bones of the quartet are in the songs and the playing. Pokey has the ability to write songs that sounds as if they’ve been around forever. The traditional ‘In the Graveyard Now’ and Frankie Jason’s louche ‘Fan It’ sit very comfortably with ‘Drinkin’ Whiskey Tonight’, ‘La la Blues’ and ‘Pack It Up’. Almost all of the songs feature opportunities for dazzling displays of virtuosity be it Hoskins’ nimble guitar picking, Glynn’s bass runs or Koenig’s harp while LaFarge himself is no slouch on guitar. The vocal interplay and call and response at times feels like we’re in a revival tent while Hoskins added some fine mock trumpet to ‘Home Away From Home’. With some fine scat singing on ‘Garbage Man Blues’, one of the four encores performed, they ended the show with a very entertaining duel between Hoskins and Koenig on ‘Walk Your Way Out of this Town’ refereed by LaFarge as they strove to outdo each other. The result I reckon was a draw with the winners being the audience.

This band is on fire right now, a listen to their latest album, a live recording of a gig in Amsterdam does its best to capture this but in the flesh they are simply excellent.