“Noche de Blues” :
Marbella, Spain : 29/7/05
As the long, hot Spanish evening
drew to a close, and the skies darkened, Steve Payne
took to the stage. From
the planning stages of the concert concerns had been expressed
as to how well Steve´s particular brand of blues/roots
music would go down with a Spanish audience. These doubts
proved totally unfounded….from the opening bars of “Cocaine ´Lil” to
the closing notes of “Little Red Rooster” Steve
had them in the palm of his hand. Spanish audiences are
notoriously difficult – talking and walking and generally
doing anything but concentrate on the music…but when
Steve played they really listened – the lack of background
noise was almost audible. Steve was accompanied by the
skilled and sympathetic harp playing of John Fenlon.
Having created a mood, and nicely
warmed the audience up, they handed the spotlight to
the Vargas Blues Band. Vargas and his new band, driven
by the rhythm section of Esteban “Spiro” Cabezos
and Gustavo Segura, augmented by the keyboards of Lucia
del Campo, with the
vocals of Jorge Fontecha ably replacing the much loved
Chicago blues voice of Bobby Alexander, played with a high
level of energy from start to finish. Towards the end of
his set Vargas asked Steve Payne to join him on stage.
This was an unexpected bonus, with Vargas
holding back on the power chords to let the artistry and
finesse of the Payne slide work shine through. It was a
real joy to listen tom two such talented guitarists playing
together unselfishly and with such obvious mutual respect.
If the Vargas Blues Band finally
get their UK tour off the ground don´t miss them,.
And if Steve Payne or John Fenlon are ever in your area
make sure you go and
see them !
Blues In Britain
September 2005
Steve Payne @ the Brit
Hunched over an acoustic guitar bringing his own
blend of gritty blues / roots to the Brittania, the first
half of the evening sees Steve play original material alongside
some old school blues classics such as Little Red Rooster.
Throughout there is a contained authenticity that surrounds
Steve’s performance, he has a sort of effortless venom
in his vocal style and his percussive slide playing makes
him a firm favourite with the ‘Brit audience.
After the interval Steve took to his electric guitar and
welcomed fellow musician Lee Mcrory to the stage. Mcrory’s
addictively scruffy voice served as a perfect accompaniment
to Steve’s exquisite slide guitar playing. With measured
maturity Steve created a sound that I can only describe
as like’ an excitable coyote howling through a bath
full of honey’. This was a great gig with a great
atmosphere that made me resent my bladder for taking me
out of the room.
Elliots Ear
August 2004
STEVE PAYNE
Outlines (Digitdoc Records)
British guitarist and songwriter Payne, who has been working the
Ontario market every summer for the past few years and finishes
this year’s round of dates at The Rivoli Tuesday night accompanied
by local bluesman Michael Pickett, is a veteran of the folk and
rock business in his homeland, having performed and recorded in
a variety of settings—blues, punk, folk-rock and pop—since
the mid-1970s.
This solo recording of blues-tinged country
folk pieces, some original, some traditional, showcases a remarkable
acoustic guitarist, capable of considerable rhythmic power and
sweet slide work on the blues side and understated elegance in
the finger-picking that distinguishes the folk and country elements
of his repertoire. Payne’s easy low-timbre mumble, not unlike
Gerry Rafferty’s or Mark Knopfler’s, sits well in
this gentle mix, and while the original songs follow very basic
progressions, they exhibit a lyrical wit and cunning sense of
humour.
Greg Quill
Toronto Star
Thursday, September 9, 2004
Steve Payne is a curious fellow who visits our
shores on a regular basis - a true journeyman - and despite being
label-free, issues some delightful records on his own label. Neither
folkie nor blues man, Payne is a gifted guitarist, singer-songwriter
who falls somewhere between Roy Harper and Nick Drake. More British
folk-rock than straight blues, although his guitar stylings lean
towards the Delta on occasion.
This 29-minute disc is short but definitely
sweet, providing a wonderful taste of what he does best. His approach
to the guitar is almost classical at times while he carefully
mines each groove, blessing it with a blues presence. A bit of
a painter and a bit of a poet, Payne colours his work with the
rudiments of acoustic guitar, harmonica, banjo. Yet he
manages to create timeless songs that get under your skin and
stay there.
Northern Town paints a haunting, Drake-like
picture, albeit a less desolate one; Everybody's Talking About
It focuses on his adeptness at fingerstyle guitar playing coupled
with somewhat sombre vocals; Rita Hayworth's Smile is a love song
that slides along like butter. Calm yet impassioned vocals marry
to distinctive melodies and exemplary guitar-playing across a
variety of themes.
He wins his fans one
at a time but, at this rate, he'll certainly never lose them.
Eric
Thom
October 2004
