Blues Boy and Moonchild

It's not easy turning an English village hall into a Mississippi juke joint but it nearly happened at the Longthorpe Memorial Hall in Peterborough last night. Former Ichiban blues men Artie 'Blues Boy' White and Travis 'Moonchild' Haddix put on a show which would not have been out of place in Chicago or the deep south, with off colour jokes from a bemused looking Artie and searing guitar from Travis, and the locals were politely enthusiastic. Not many people could get away with wearing a bright pink jump suit on stage and Artie isn't one of them. He was far from dynamic, sitting on stage like an immobile Mr Blobby, but his deep soulful voice carried him through, as did his slightly lewd stories. Travis, meanwhile, bounced around beside him and showed that he is an excellent guitarist and blues singer. They were well supported by the Mike Carr Allstars, whose jazz routes showed through at times but who proved themselves well able to transfer their talents to the blues.
Travis, who is from Cleveland, said that he had never played with Chicago-based Artie prior to the show the previous evening in Stamford, but you wouldn't know it. They seemed like old friends, even if Artie did seem to be a in a trance most of the time. This was my first visit to one of the Shakedown blues gigs in this unlikely corner of the UK, but full marks to promoter Gerard Homan for putting the shows on and attracting blues artists of the first rank. I will definitely go again.