Louisiana came to London last night when swamp pop legend Tommy McLain and the Lafayette Marquis, C C Adcock, put on a short but sublime set of swamp songs. The venue was the tiny basement bar at the Laylow Club, a place new to me that apparently attracts the Notting Hill set and which is located near Ladbroke Grove in west London. Tommy and C C are in London for a recording session and this was the second of a scheduled three Sunday night shows at the Laylow. And what a treat it proved to be.
Tommy, now aged 80, played keyboards and showed that he retains a fine voice, while CC, always an excellent guitarist in whatever style of music he is playing, provided instrumental and vocal support. They were joined on stage by a very young drummer and a second guitarist for part of the time as they tackled songs associated with Little Band of Gold, the much lamented former Louisiana super group, songwriter Bobby Charles and Tommy himself. These included LBOG's 'Jukebox Songs' and 'Memories' and Bobby Charles' 'Street People'. Tommy was wonderful on my personal anthem 'Before I Grow Too Old', which was released on Charlie Gillett's Oval label in 1975, and he finished with 'Sweet Dreams', the song that brought him universal fame in 1966. He explained how this record changed his life. I've seen him performing solo in New Orleans in the past, but in recent years he has been a star guest with Little Band of Gold and other versions of it.. Still sporting his trademark Father Christmas beard, now totally white, along with spangly jacket and rings, Tommy finished appropriately enough with a brief snippet of 'Jingle Bells'.
Each week there is apparently a support act who follows CC and Tommy on stage and this week it was Little George Sueref, with drummer and bass player, who was joined on stage for part of the set by CC, crouching at the side, as George's beautiful high pitched voice and harmonica playing filled the tiny space with soulful blues. This was truly a night to remember.
Finally here's a photo of me with Tommy.
2 Comments:
An unexpected treat, Tommy wearing well and sounding good! And CC Adcock a class act. If the LayLow can keep up this standard I'll be back...provided advance info issued. Only got to this one via a friend's friend in the music biz.
I managed to attend all three fabulous shows but only after a lot of digging when I spotted Tommy and CC on the bill at Port Eliot Fest. With regards to the previous comment, I would not pin your hopes on more shows of this type at the Laylow, this was very different to their usual fare!
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