By Erik De’Viking, Rock At Night London
Venue: Oslo in Hackney, London-November 23, 2019-Laurence Jones Band and Matt Pearce
It’s late autumn, and the spectre of winter can be felt at every turn. In a quiet little corner of London, the Laurence Jones Band is set to give every blues lover in attendance a bit of a winter warmer. Playing at the Oslo in Hackney, LJ and his stellar band are set to light up the night with a blistering evening of contemporary blues-rock.
Opening the night was Matt Pearce who put on a classic set of blues-rock from their latest album, which really got the crowd fired up for the main event. Matt gave us a bit of sweet slide action on third song, ‘Gotta Go Home’, and ‘Set Me Free’ was one of the standout songs of their set. Both songs have had airplay on radio, and it’s clear to understand why when you hear them.
LJ put on a scintillating performance of new songs from current eponymous album (released this September), and a number of fan favourites throughout his career. One of the standout moments of the set was the acoustic performance of ‘Long Long Lonely Ride’, which took us into the midpoint of this Incredibly tight set.
Not content with leaving it there, LJ treated us to a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s ‘All Along the Watchtower’, he broke into ‘Miss You by the Stones’ on the solo, before bringing it back around to bring the song to an electrifying close. Bringing things down a notch, he played a gospel infused rendition of his classic ‘Thunder I’m the Sky’.
Rounding the night off with a cover of his hero Eric Clapton, LJ performed a killer cover of ‘Before You Accuse Me’, before finishing on ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Alright’, and the encore of ‘Live It Up’. Basking in the glow of the rapturous crowd, the ever-humble LJ seemed positively moved by the reaction from the crowd. What a superb end to a fantastic night of blues music.
Read Rock At Night’s review of Laurence Jones Band’s self-titled album.
See Rock At Night’s interview with Laurence Jones.
Setlist
I’m Waiting
Stay
Wipe Those Tears Dry
Beautiful Place
Quite Like You
Heart Is On Fire
Mistreated
Long Long Lonely Ride (Acoustic)
Take Me
What Would You Do
All Along The Watchtower
Thunder In The Sky
Before You Accuse Me
Everything’s Gonna Be Alright
Live It Up
For more info on upcoming shows, check out the Laurence Jones Band website and get your tickets while you still can! https://www.laurencejonesmusic.com/shows
PHOTO GALLERY
- The Laurence Jones Band Turns Up The Heat In Hackney! - November 24, 2019
- Album Review: Joe Bonamassa’s ‘Live at the Sydney Opera House’ - October 28, 2019
- Chatting with UK blues artist Laurence Jones - October 21, 2019
