Gary US Bonds at Ronnie Scott's

Back again for a two night residency at the newly refurbished Ronnie Scott's, Gary US Bonds showed that he's lost none of his enthusiasm and sense of fun. I took my two sons aged 20 and 23 to see him, wondering how they would respond to what must appear to them to be an artist from a prehistoric era, but they enjoyed the show and danced along at the end with the rest of the audience. Gary responded to requests that I called out, including Dear Lady Twist and Seven Day Weekend, but unfortunately his band did not know his early material with the exception of New Orleans and A Quarter to Three. But despite that it was a great rocking show, most unlike most of the rather more sedate jazz usually featured at Ronnie's, with several tracks from his new album and some Springsteen material. What made the show so much fun, though, was Gary's sense of humour. He had a permanent smile on his face and was constantly making funny asides and comments, sometimes to the discomfort of individual members of the audience. If not quite as exciting as his show at the Borderline a couple of years ago, it was nevertheless a great evening. Even my kids thought he was good.