Review: Douro International Blues Festival 2008

by Tom Watson.

The Douro International Blues Festival returned to the municipal auditorium of Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, for two evenings (May 30, 31) of traditional and contemporary blues entertainment featuring Nobody's Bizness (Portugal) and Chris Jagger's Atcha (United Kingdom) on Friday, and Budda Power Blues (Portugal) and Shemekia Copeland (United States) on Saturday evening. Vila Nova de Gaia, often referred to simply as Gaia, is a bustling hilltop community on the southern side of the Douro river across from the somewhat better known northern Portugal city of Porto. This year's event marked the third iteration of the festival since adding an international flavor by including artists from outside Portugal, and its seventh year overall.

While Gaia may not be as well known internationally as its cross-the-river rival, the city's government is making an admirable effort to showcase its cultural and commercial potential by sponsoring events such as the Douro Blues Fest. City promotion aside, the Douro Blues Fest is certainly a benefit to music lovers within driving range of the comfortable, 324-seat municipal auditorium. For 15€ (approximately $23 USD or £12 GBP) per show, or 25€ for both nights, festival goers enjoyed top-name entertainment in an intimate setting that, in the case of Chris Jagger's Atcha and Shemekia Copeland, flew to Portugal for a one-night performance.

Friday, May 30, 2008

This is my second experience with the Douro International Blues Festival. The format is the same as last year: each night offers an opening performance by a blues group from Portugal (though one of the opening acts last year was from Spain) followed by that evening's headliner from outside Portugal. Friday night's opener is Nobody's Bizness, a five-piece group based in Lisbon. Chris Jagger's Atcha from the U.K. (yes, Chris is Mick Jagger's younger brother) headlines the first night of the Fest.

I'm invited to Chris Jagger's Friday afternoon sound check by Gordon Wride. Gordon's a blues man himself who lives in Wales, performs solo and as the Revelators, is responsible for booking Chris Jagger's Atcha, and is the fellow who alerted me to this year's Douro Blues Fest. I'm not familiar with Chris Jagger's music or his music industry backstory, but Atcha's MySpace page (link below) and other related websites bring me up to speed. Atcha's MySpace offers music from the group's last album, Act Of Faith, and as I listen to "Baby Come Back" what cynicism I had from the Chris-Mick connection fades. Chris Jagger can sing. Not only can he sing, as I listen to more tracks and dig a bit deeper, I'm convinced he's also a very capable songwriter.

Sound checks can be tricky business. I'm not sure that if I was an artist I'd invite the press. They're not a performance so there's no stage dress, lighting or showmanship involved. It's basically a technical moment to set monitor and venue speaker levels and tweak the rider gear provided by the local promoter. They're of no help for a review, but often press are invited to conduct post-check interviews. That's why I'm there.

I sit at the back of the auditorium and have my first live look and listen to Chris and Atcha. It's a laid back affair. You can't miss the Chris-Mick facial resemblance. Sound check's over and Chris comes to the area where I'm seated and does a video interview for Gaia's official website. He's very charming. We then spend a few minutes seated alone. Chris talks about his basically rural lifestyle (including chickens) and the recording studio in the barn. He's been in and around the music business since the '60s and most especially enjoys songwriting. His approach to the blues is eclectic and includes elements of Cajun, swamp and Zydeco. His performance goal is simple: help people smile, dance and think. In addition to Atcha, he's working on a more acoustic-based project with bassist Danny Thompson, which he believes will give him the chance to focus more on the storytelling aspect of songwriting. No label or release date yet. It's a pleasant chat.

The Friday night show

The evening kicks off with a group from Lisbon, Nobody's Bizness, consisting of Petra (female vocalist), Luis Ferreira (guitars), Catman (vocals, harp), Pedro Ferreira (guitar, backing vocals), Luís Oliveira (bass, backing vocals), and Isaac Achega (drums, percussion). Their presentation is a mix of primarily Delta blues standards with a very urban twist somewhat in the vein of Cowboy Junkies, or try to imagine a resonator guitar and female vocalist in a piano bar setting (until Catman's at the mic with his low register growl and harp). Very entertaining and refreshing take on standard numbers by the likes of Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon.

Though you couldn't tell from their performance, music is not what the members of the group do for a living. It's an avocation, though not surprising since Portugal's not quite ready to support a professional blues club circuit. You can listen to their music on the Nobody's Bizness MySpace page as you view the images below.

A brief intermission, then Chris Jagger's Atcha takes the stage with Chris on a Taylor T-5 guitar and a rhythm section consisting of Charlie Hart (keyboards, squeeze box accordion, fiddle), Malcolm Mortimore (drums), Jim Mortimore (guitar) and Paul Emile (bass). Yes, that's the Charlie Hart of Ronnie Lane's Fishpool farm fame. Charlie and Chris have a long-time association and often songwrite together. You might also recognize the name Malcolm Mortimore (Gentle Giant, Frankie Miller, Tom Jones and many others). I'd met Malcolm at last year's Douro Blues Fest and it was a pleasure to see and hear him again, this time with his son, Jim, on electric guitar (an early '70s Japanese Greco Tele). Jim is coming into his own as a performer and producer in the U.K. and produced the "Junkman" track (among others) on Act Of Faith that features a guest appearance by guitarist David Gilmour.

Chris and Atcha deliver a show of rousing world blues a la Chris as he had described in our chat, an engaging mix of traditional blues, country and rock, spiced with a variety of Louisiana flavors. Most of the songs are originals from Atcha's Act Of Faith album, and although the majority of the audience isn't familiar with the material, prior exposure isn't necessary due to the music's infectious nature. Listen to Atcha on MySpace as you browse the images below.

Rural life agrees with Chris Jagger at the age of 60. The man's in shape. The highpoint of the show has Chris donning a washboard and climbing through the seats to mingle with the crowd while spooning the board, which got the previously somewhat sedate audience in an uproar. He would join the audience again during the group's finale, this time to dance.

A completely engaging performance showcasing Chris Jagger's skill at singing, songwriting and live performance.

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Saturday night opens with Portugal's own blues-rock power trio, Budda Power Blues, featuring guitarist, vocalist and frontman, Budda, with Nico (drums, backing vocals) and Tó Barbot (bass, backing vocals). The group hails from Braga, a town north of Gaia, and demonstrate that the influence of Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Muddy Waters is truly international.

Wait a minute, they also do blues-style cover versions of Henry Mancini's "Pink Panther Theme" and the Ghostbusters theme. This has to be one of the most entertaining blues-rock power trio cover bands I've ever seen. Great mix of musicality, creativity and humor. Their version of Jimi's "Red House" includes a comedic section where the volume is brought down to essentially zero and Budda acts like he's channeling Hendrix. Sacrilege to purists, but excellent entertainment. It's great to see and hear Budda play the only reverse-headstock Stratocaster I've seen in Portugal. I'm guessing it's the Jimi Hendrix Voodoo model.

Listen to Budda Power Blues via their MySpace page while browsing the photo gallery below.

Shemekia Copeland and band, the festival's closing act, take the stage for an incredible set of originals (the set's an excellent sampling from all four of her albums [Alligator Records] with an emphasis on the latest, The Soul Truth), plus an unforgettable cover of "Ghetto Child," a song penned by her late father, blues guitarist, songwriter and performer, Johnny Clyde Copeland. The band includes Arthur Neilson (guitar - his modified 1998 Epiphone '58 Korina Flying V that he's named Lucy), Kevin Jenkins (bass), Jeremy Baum (keyboards) and Rod Gross (drums). The group's tight, energetic and professional.

I'm familiar with Copeland's recordings, especially the recent album and her debut recording, Turn The Heat Up (Alligator Records, 1998), and as good as those records are, they can't do justice to her live performance. She's the whole package - blues, blues-rock, R&B, soul, funk - sliding easily from one style to another (and often mixing them up), then delivering a heartfelt ballad with operatic power. With an engaging personality as abundant as her vocal prowess, her show is not to be missed. Most of the original material delivers classic blues and R&B context, but with a contemporary feminine perspective - let me tell you those good old heartbreak stories from the lady's point of view.

But, the showstopper, or I could say heart stopper, is the final set number, "Ghetto Child." She leaves the stage without a microphone and sings directly to the audience a capella. This is the blues from her heart to ours and the answer to those who prefer opera - if you're looking for emotional content, why take five minutes to do what Shemekia pulls off in a second? I've heard that this is often her show closer. "Ghetto Child" alone is worth much more than the price of admission.

Shemekia returns to the stage, bows and exits to a standing ovation. A minute later she returns and kicks off the show's encore and festival finale with a rousing version of R&B standard, "Let The Good Times Roll," during which she's joined by Friday night's headliner, Chris Jagger. The good times roll indeed.

Listen to samples of Shemekia's music from her website while browsing the gallery below.

Related Links
Vila Nova de Gaia - official municipal website
Trovas Soltas - production company that organized the festival
Slim's Blues (Gordon Wride)
Review: Douro International Blues Festival 2007

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