Along with some other AoS members I saw Mud Morganfield with a backing band at the Victoria Hotel, Menai, Anglesey, last Sunday.
As you might imagine from his name Mud Morganfield is Muddy Waters’s son. This concert was a long time coming; having been previously cancelled owing to ill health of the organiser. However in the end the concert was able to go ahead.
In the past Mud Morganfield’s backing band has been ‘The Dirty Aces’ a four-piece consisting of: Giles Robson, on harmonica and occasional vocals; Fillp Kozlowski, on electric guitar; Paul Bisson, on electric bass, and Tim Bryron drums.
For this concert ‘The Mud Morganfield Band’ consisted of Steve ‘West’ Weston on harmonica and occasional vocals, a guitarist from Denmark whose name I missed, bassist on upright bass and drummer. Again, unfortunately I missed their names as well (!) It was nice to see, and hear upright string bass used – shades of Willy Dixon!
Before the Big Man came on his backing band played a couple of numbers. I was very impressed by the harpist who didn’t have a bad blues singing voice. The guitarist was an accomplished blues guitarist and certainly had the technical capability, though I found his ‘touch’ rather heavy. However it is churlish of me to be too critical as I am unable to play any musical instrument at all – though I used to play on the linoleum as a small boy.
It is always difficult being the son of a world famous musician and clearly Mud Morganfield had a lot to live up to. Rather than simply doing covers of his father’s numbers, Mud sang a mixture of his own compositions as well as some of his father's numbers.
We were sat near the back of the function room that was seating about 100, and the set up of the PA of the backing band was sufficient and well balanced. However the gain of Mud’s microphone was too high and whilst not distorting, caused the speakers to ‘shout’ on vocals to the detriment of vocal articulation. After a couple of numbers the soundsman was able to improve matters by adjusting levels, but not before losing the harp microphone channel, and at one time the whole of the PA!
Whilst I enjoyed the concert overall, the highlights for me were Mud’s cover versions of ‘Mannish Boy’ and ‘Forty Days and Forty Nights’, which is more or less what I expected.
After seeing my poor efforts at concert photography you are probably glad I haven’t show any photographs of my accompanying AoS members. Well I wouldn’t have taken any anyway for the following reasons. Chris (codename The Grand Wazoo) is a high level officer in MUDSHARK, a clandestine organisation whose covert activities are to fulfil an avowed mission to secrete copies of Frank Zappa’s work into every lending library in the land. As such an important member, his identity must be kept secret. And Marco is, as everyone knows, nosferatu or one of the un-dead who cannot have their likeness captured on film. Shame, as he was dressed for the occasion: wearing a tight-fitting black turtle-neck sweater and black tights with a carmine pink Ra Ra skirt and matching shoes.
All in all and excellent and thoroughly enjoyable evening: convivial company and some excellent beer available at the bar.
Mud Morganfield
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