Matt Schofield
Tuesday 3rd March 2015
Jazz Cafe, London, United Kingdom
The guitar/drums/organ set up isn’t my favourite but Schofield makes it work pretty well. This evening Schofield has the mighty Evan Jenkins on the drums and I can vouch for being on stage with him as exhilarating, nimble footwork that you can feel behind you and much in evidence tonight.
The Hammond sound is rich and full and Matt’s Stratocaster played in a full-blooded manner, ringing out squealing notes and deeper groovy phrases. Sam Hare jumps up to play additional guitar, on ‘All You Really Need’ (I think, Schofield is poor at clearly announcing the numbers) being a B.B. King style shuffle. Everything rocks out. The high point is some fluid wah wah work on ‘Found the Connection’ (I think) and also the choppy funk on The Meters opus ‘People Say’. ‘The Day You Left’ was an anguished crowd-pleaser, with doomy changes and an omnious tempo and vibe.
More accomplished than exciting for me, but a rock-solid and well-received show.
Pete Sargeant
