Barrelhouse Band feat. Jessie Gordon, Bill Lawrie and Jon Knox-Matthews
Barrelhouse weaves together the separate threads of Lucky Oceans’s western swing, Bill Lawrie’s folk and country blues and Jessie Gordon’s swing and gospel stylings, and from it all they create a tapestry that ranges from old-world blues to new-world folk, swinging gently through bluegrass and soul along the way. The exciting news is that Lucky has been nominated for yet another Grammy award and will be flying to attend the ceremony, so while he is flying to the States, Jessie and Bill will be joined by an all star band comprising Jon Knox-Matthews on guitar, Shane Pooley on double bass and Pete Evans on drums. The repertoire will include some of Lucky’s wonderful original songs, including the heartbreaker ‘The Bell’, as well as Bill’s original impressionistic folk gems and some of Jessie’s brand new original gospel and blues songs to feature Jon’s virtuosic guitar playing. Come down to the Duke and join the party! ★★★★½ - The West Australian, 2019
As Linus (and the world) knows, happiness is a warm blanket, which describes not another sultry Freo evening, but the feeling you get from this fabulous band performing a list bluesy, folksy and country lilting tunes. The easygoing repartee between Jessie and Bill extends to the audience, making you feel as if you're in their backyard, jamming for fun. I can only imagine how it must be when Lucky Oceans is on stage with them, but going to the US to potentially receive a Grammy is a forgivable reason for his absence.
As Jessie said, to replace the larger than life presence of Lucky, they needed three other instrumentalists, being Jon Knox-Matthews on guitar, who has a complete command of his instrument over country, blues, jazz and even swing. That he took the mike to sing Hank Williams' 'Long Gone Lonesome Blues' was a treat. As Kris Kristofferson wrote: 'if you don't like Hank Williams, honey you can kiss my ass'. With Shane Dooley on double bass and Pete Evans on drums, the rhythm section kept a fine, pulsing beat.
Jessie is a larger than life performer who simply loves music and has a repertoire across jazz, swing, soul, which I knew her for. But here, she shows her love for country and western, bluegrass, folk and gospel, and boy, did she punch it across. Sharing the stage with her in magnitude but of a different (gravelly) tenor, was Bill Lawrie, whose guitar, harp and songs made a considerable portion of the set list, and so it should. Anyone who can write a song inspired within a warehouse in Welshpool deserves a grammy for audacity let along quality. And it was a love song at that.
So, do yourself a favour and hit 'buy tickets' now. And while you're at it, also for the show following: Jessie Gordon's 'Dirty Jazz,' perfect for late evening and when you're slightly sozzled.