Here's another of Pete Feenstra's excellent true-life reviews from the Southern Climes of the UK!

Walter Trout & The Radicals + Roadhouse

Live at BoomBoom Club , Sutton, Thursday 8th July 2004

It takes more than just consummate skill on your chosen instrument to become the one of the leading figures in your chosen musical genre. And so it is with Walter Trout whose magnificent appearance at a bursting Boom Boom Club, comprised a mix of superb playing, biographical songs and plenty of good humour, born of 25 years on the road;

Trout, the former John Mayall/Canned Heat and John Lee Hooker guitarist, must now be considered a heavyweight in his own right. Aside from his dexterity, speed, tone and spontaneity on the guitar, Walter provided enough highlights from the current "Relentless" album to suggest he has channelled his life experience into some heart felt material; Thus "Cry If You Want To", an ode to his young son, was full of close harmonies and is a moving message from father to son, while "Helping Hand", similarly rejoiced in a strong harmony filled hook. On the deep blues of "Leave This Town", he employed a trade mark, heavy duty guitar tone that shook the room, while the instrumental "Marie's Mood" brought delicate light and shade to the proceedings.

But Walter is nothing if not the leader of a superb band, and The Radicals dutifully slipped in behind Walter's spontaneous prompts, such as calling out for a slow blues in A.
Drummer Joey Parfumi was simply extraordinary - a power house behind the kit - while the implacable bass man Jimmy Trapp acted as the perfect foil and anchor for a band that never came anywhere near following any kind of set list.

And in line with the jovial nature of a truly wonderful night, the ensemble finished with keyboard player Sammy Avila climaxing the night with an impromptu "La Bamba".

Earlier on, the 6 piece Roadhouse impressed all and sundry with a fine set full of guitarist Gary Boner's road anthems such as "Slip Away", and the darker imagery of the very funky "Voodoo Queen", a song that owes much to Trout's "On The Rise", but is no worse for that.

Pete Feenstra