A splendid autumnal evening here in Brecon helped us to provide a warm welcome to some much-loved returning friends.
Peter Hollingworth is a familiar face to many on the Brecon music scene, but this was his first opportunity to perform a full solo set for the MWR&BC at the Muse, and he immediately impressed us all with the incredible breadth of his musical influences and excellent guitar skills.
His delicate fingerstyle folk-blues guitar work on his first number, ‘Basil’s Blues’, was a little reminiscent of John Fahey – and this was then followed by an excellent evocation of Jimmy Page in the lovely ‘Bron-Yr-Aur‘.
Perhaps most at home in the mellow folk-acoustic genre of John Martyn and Richard Thompson, Peter delivered some lovely renditions of ‘Over the Hill‘, ‘Beeswing‘, and of course Thompson’s epic ‘1952 Vincent Black Lightning‘. However, he didn’t shy away from more traditional blues, treating us to a raunchy version of Reverend Gary Davis’ ‘Death Don’t Have No Mercy‘, and also some fine slide guitar playing.
Peter also shared his amusingly confessional tales of a misspent youth, fuelled by psychedelics and hippy literature, at the top of a Brecon street lamp. We’re glad he made it down again safely… and now that those days are (we assume) behind him, we certainly hope to be hearing more from him in future.
Then – after a short break – it was time for the eagerly awaited fourth visit to the Club by The Achievers.
The best things in life are always worth waiting for – but in this case we really had waited: almost three full years since The Achievers’ last visit in 2023. They haven’t been able to play together as a full band as much as they would have liked, in recent years. But as they launched into their opening numbers ‘Just Keep Going On‘ and ‘Run On‘, we were reminded of what we had been missing, what a truly superb band they are, and why we love having them here so much.
It felt as though they had missed playing together just as much as we had missed hearing them… their playing was formidably tight, brimming with power and energy from the outset.
All the familiar elements were there – the wonderful gospel-tinged harmony singing, the witty lyrics infused with self-deprecating humour, the blistering but never overpowering bluesy guitar work of Robert Holmes, the way that Rufus Fry‘s splendidly melodic harmonica playing lifts the sound, the rock-solid rhythmic underpinning of Jack Thomas and Aron Attwood – and then the whole performance held together by the disarmingly mischievous banter of Steve Ferbrache, the consummate front-man.
The overall effect is not only irresistible to dance to, but also somehow uplifting. There’s a joyous positivity to The Achievers’ music and their engagement with the audience that brings real warmth to the experience, lifts everyone’s spirits and puts a smile on their faces.
Highlights were too many to list, but suffice to say that all the Achievers favourites were there. The charmingly cheeky humour of their songwriting in ‘Sabrina‘ and ‘See Me Back Jesus‘, the wistful nostalgia of ‘No One Remembers‘, the charm of ‘Cuckoo‘… and special mention must be made of the transcendent harmony singing on their version of Levon Helm’s ‘When I Go Away‘.
As the evening drew to a close it was impossible not to become a little contemplative. Although these gigs take a huge amount of work, and sometimes stress, to organise… it’s bands like The Achievers and nights like this one that make it all worthwhile. It’s safe to say that all of these excellent musicians will find a warm welcome in Brecon anytime, and we really do hope they ‘Just Keep Going On’.
As ever, grateful thanks to everybody who helped to make this gig possible, to all at The Muse for all their support and hospitality, and to everyone who turned out and bought tickets to support these wonderful artists.
https://theachieversuk.bandcamp.com
Photos by Barry Hill
Review by Jim Kerslake
