Sleepy’s marchin’ on…Stateside!
So it’s not too often you hear of a Scottish artist embarking on a US tour these days. There are exceptions, like yer SXSW when (mainly) shite indie bands get a grant to be chased by Vic Galloway who gets some licence fee money to be a cock on a different continent than usual
However the good ole boys in the southern US are in for a treat, as the King of the Clyde Delta Blues has gambled like rain man and been the wheels merchant for an out of town heist crew on enough occasions to score a ticket for his spiritual home. Aided and abetted by Slate Dump (a fine fellow if ever there was one) Sleepy Eyes Nelson is embarking on his week long tri state tour ‘Covered in Blues’ this coming Saturday. If you’re in Mississippi, Tennessee or West Virginia, check out the dates on the poster below.
Y’all know us at Hooverville are confirmed fans of our man, but isn’t it great to see him head to the states and realise an ambition? Hopefully he’ll not only enjoy himself but pick up a few fans and contacts to further his popularity. It seems to have been a good year for Sleepy, with plenty of cool gig bookings, and I don’t think it’ll jinx the situation to say he’s getting up a head of steam. I was thinking ‘maybe he’ll even get some arts funding for SXSW’ but that’s probably a non starter. He doesn’t have that carefully scruffy mid length wankers hair cut you seem to need and would probably give a good right hook to the fat jester when he asks ‘So why you called Sleepy Eyes? Actually….that interview could be a youtube sensation. Let’s start a campaign!
The day Sleepy Eyes Nelson and James Apollo made me leave the house twice in one day.
Firstly at Stereo to see Sleepy Eyes Nelson. If you’ve been to Hooverville before you know I’m a fan of Nelson’s simple, straight talking Clyde Delta Blues. Among Glasgow’s heavily oversubscribed and under qualified music scene Sleepy Eyes is a beacon for all rational, dignified and cool as fuck music fans like what I am. It was certainly going to be a test for him as he had to follow a very fresh faced band who among many, many other things were VERY LOUD. A lesser bluesman may have balked at this, but our hero took it all in his stride after sinking his 8th, or maybe 14th, beer. The few times I’ve been in stereo the sound has been terrific and Sleepy Eyes benefited from it tonight as his solitary guitar really filled the room. I won’t bullshit you, the crowd wasn’t huge. But they all enjoyed his set especially You Don’t Steal From Me and Dying Rodent Blues, and he sold quite a few Cd’s which I take to be a sign of his increasing popularity. Sleepy’s marchin’ on, baby.
So from Stereo to The Bay to see James Apollo. It’s nigh on five years since i first ran into James and I always make sure to catch him when he’s in town (‘cept that one time i was on holiday) He’s got a certain je ne sais quoi about him, has James. A rakish and likable young fella, he has been slowly gathering pace over the last few years with ace reviews in the press and invites to radio stations galore. What has James got that the others don’t? Style, baby. And vision. Anyone can do songs about heartbreak and loneliness but James Apollo wraps them in a dramatic, cinematic fur coat. His live show has always been entertaining and tonight was no exception. The sound was a little muddy but he held strong for the likes of Happiness and Call Off The Violins, and the closer of Bad Old Buzzard was excellent.
So two gigs in one night, and two different crowds. When I got home my wife asked if i enjoyed myself. I said Yes. Yes I did. Thanks Sleepy, James.
Sleepy Eyes Nelson – A Bottle of wine at the Bellgrove Hotel
The production retains a scratchy retro feel, but is more punchy this time round. He has an eye for detail and on a few tracks, notably ‘I’m gonna get my Knife’ it really adds to the brooding atmosphere. His playing is top notch too, the aforementioned track giving a nice example of picking a heavy bass and filling in the detail at the same time. I love it when one guy sounds like two! ‘Cheap Wine Blues’ plays this out to great effect, with Sleepy pining ‘I gave the devil all my money, devil all my blues, and my good girl she took my heart’ over the strutting bass notes. It really is quite something to hear this quality of picking and sliding from a hometown boy. There ain’t many guys doing authentic acoustic blues about these parts and it may seem a strange choice but i read an interview in which he commented ‘… most of my numbers are about gambling, death and drinking so i reckon Scotland is the perfect country for the blues. There’s so much sadness here….how many happy people do you see walking round? Scotland knows all about it…’ And to that end he’s right, I suppose what is surprising is the amount of mousy, lightweight twee garbage Scotland has shat out over the years. Certainly, Sleepy’s credo is evident on the final closing tracks, Pinebox Blues and Bellgrove Hotel. The latter in particular is an excellent tune, and does the job of hammering the blues firmly to Glasgow’s creaking door.