Arthur James solo acoustic show rocked the Trestle

Arthur James rolled into the Village Trestle in Goffstown, New Hampshire last night. He forgot to bring his band Northbound with him, but he handled things well enough in the solo acoustic format. James plays real down and dirty blues and some real smooth, greasy slide guitar.

James made his mark in his local Manchester area blues scene last year when he won the band competition portion in the blues challenge hosted by Granite State Blues Society. James recently competed in the International Blues Competition in Memphis, Tennesssee where he made numerous contacts. He had a table set up last night to sell his five Cds, which is a lot of material considering he is still relatively very young.

Right off the bat you could tell that playing authentic blues notes is James’s specialty. His acoustic strumming and picking is easy going, setting a pace to tell a story. It is also a treat to hear James sing. He really caresses a vocal note while he holds it long.

James jumped into a Mose Allison tune that he belted out with soulful gravitas and a very full guitar sound. Vintage blues like “Motherless Child” rang out well under his command, his vocal gravitas making it come alive. James also has an uncanny persistence in his strumming, never letting those chords slip below a level of excellence and authenticity.

James breathed some new life into John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery” and that song really needs it as it’s become a bar band cliché over the years. James’s treatment of the rhythm parts gave the songs a deeper honky tonk feel. On the two John Prine songs last night James sounded something like Gordon Lightfoot. He had a deep low tenor to sing atop songs with a big, wide feeling.

James pulled the rarity “Johnny’s Garden” by Stephen Stills out of his hat and captured the essence of its purpose and story. James can really unfold a melody on acoustic, each brittle note ringing out with true meaning. James own version of “Kumbaya” pulled out the spiritual oomph and brought it to the forefront .

But James is a dye in the wool blues man. His rendition of B.B. King songs like “Everyday I Have The Blues” and “Rock Me Baby” find him singing with more gravel and soul in his vocal chords. A true artist, James can play it bare bones and still make it loom large in the imagination, putting his own personal stamp on the sound.

James is also a showman, injecting his sense of humor into his act. He announced that he has an offensive album titled Bigger Than Jesus. He added that if anybody is offended they should call CNN and arrange a CD burning. He said he can order plenty of Cds if any group of offended people want to burn his stuff at a religious rally.

James’s voice got more serious in tone on some of his original material featuring songs with lyrics like, “Waiter, There’s a bomb in my soup.”

The singer-songwriter-guitarist-comedian jumped right into “Crossroads” to start his second set. His mellow picking style underneath his strong vocal belt was quite effective. He played “Ice Cream Man” almost funky with a thick doubling of notes on the chorus, and, Stevie Ray Vaughn’s “Change It” carried well through an odd chord progression.

James eventually switched guitars for another acoustic that he plugged directly into an amp for his exciting slide work. He played his greasiest, shiniest blues of the night after that. If you can believe he actually got better than he was already. His slide allowed for bright, shimmering notes played in cool intervals over his chords to make a fulsome effect.

It is amazing how vintage blues sounds can take one back in time. James, like the pioneers, makes you feel you’re sitting on a front porch of a southern home on a hot summer day drinking lemonade and commiserating about the troubles of the time. The older songs have become part of our collective unconscious as they’ve been around so long and have been used for years in soundtracks in movie and television scenes. James, like those who have come before him, is adept at painting these pictures with colors and tones. His technique also allows him to support himself with low end notes while he plays that thick mesh of slide notes above, sweet notes that move with ease.

James sang and played Willie Dixon’s “Spoonful” with so much gravitas you almost forget he didn’t have a band with him. His voice low, smooth, emotive, soulful. His guitar offered high notes and lower pitched rhythms, making the song rock. James also performed Dixon’s classic “Back Door Man.” Here, you could tell from his first note that James has been listening to and performing it for a long time. The rhythm came across really smooth and he made you feel the soul in the song.

Heading into his finale, James get a lot of headway out of songs by Charles Brown, Jimi Hendrix, and The Rolling Stones, following a thread that showed how all these tunes come from the same roots. His special treat for his audience was “Clear Night For Love” by Roky Erickson which he was kind enough to dedicate to an obvious couple sitting off to the side.

James is most definitely a force to be reckoned with whether he plays with a full band or solo acoustic.

http://arthurjames.webs.com

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