It’s a cold, slightly blustery night in Leicester, yet people are out in force for the first night of Wille & The Bandit’s UK tour. Tucked away in a corner of the city, The Musician is something of an unsung gem – a laid-back, friendly venue with great sound and a small, but decent, selection of beer at the bar. Although it’s a shame to note the venue has cleaved rather closer to tribute bands these days, the original acts that it does book (typically in the prog and blues genres) are of a high quality and it’s good to see a decent turnout for tonight’s event.
Opening proceedings, we get something of a treat in the form of the Troy Redfearn Band. A three-piece, the band deal in a particularly fiery style of blues, incorporating elements of hard rock and even grunge into a blistering display. Opening with the ferocious Delta slide of Otherside, the band overcome a few technical gremlins that plague the second track to deliver a lovely, slow-burning blues with a Rory Gallagher feel. The band even throw in a new track that takes traditional slide blues by the scruff of the neck, pumps it full of amphetamines and sends it staggering out across the dancefloor. Troy’s one hell of a guitarist, skilfully weaving slide work and solos into the spaces between the hulking riffs. Add an engaging performance from the band and you’ve got one hell of an opening act, with the only real criticism being that they didn’t play for long enough. You can check out the band’s website here, and we fully recommend that you so do.
The venue has filled up nicely by the time Wille & The Bandits take to the stage and, having been satisfactorily warmed up by Troy, the audience respond well to the opening one-two punch of Bad News and Find My Way – a potent opening gambit that sets up audience and band alike for a special and eclectic set. With his trademark slide guitar very much to the fore, Wille demonstrates fluid proficiency on the languid, Gilmour-esque loveliness of Scared Of The Sun, whilst his band are on particularly impressive form, providing a rock-solid backdrop for his expansive soloing. As such, tracks like Keep It On The Down-Low sound funky and fresh, whilst an expanded Four Million Days emerges as an acoustic tune before exploding into multi-hued life.
And then, of course, there’s the monstrous ebb and flow of psychedelic space jam Angel, a piece written for Wille’s mother, that just runs and runs. Wholly instrumental, it showcases the more progressive side of The Bandits, and it leaves many in the room stunned at the band’s wide-ranging musicianship. In contrast the short, snappy Make Love offers up echoes of South African blues master Dan Patlansky, whilst Jack The Lad remains a hard-hitting, slightly punkish outing in the vein of The Levellers. It all comes to a head as the band leave the stage for a brief moment, the sound of loud applause ringing in their ears loud enough to encourage them back out for a blistering One Way, which brings the evening to an immensely satisfying conclusion.
With excellent support from Troy Redfearn, and a lengthy headline slot from Wille & The Bandits, tonight is a rousing success, both bands delivering memorable performances to an enthusiastic crowd. Wille & The Bandits have been in the shadows for too long – the strength of this headline set suggests that the band are poised for bigger things, and there’s no question that they deserve it. Eclectic, exciting and intelligent, the band are rolling across the UK now, be sure to get yourself out to a show – this is not a tour to miss.
