'Jace Everett/Rachael Warwick & New Jack Union Ent Shed, Bedford September 14 2007

When I first heard that Jace Everett was appearing at the Ent Shed I knew it was going to be a show well worth seeing, then I found out that Rachael Warwick and her exciting new band were to be the support act, and the gig now became even more of a must see concert.

Mike Plummer (East West Promotions) who organised the show at the Ent Shed, greeted my wife and myself at the door, and it was pleasing to see a good turn-out for the nights entertainment. Mike never seems to stand still for long, as he ushers people to the ticket desk, organises more chairs, collects glasses and makes sure that the acts are looked after. Hats off to Mike and his team for organising everything so well.

The setting was very relaxed, with tables and chairs laid out nicely. First up on stage was New Jack Union as they started the first few chords of Lovin’ from the album ANGLO-AMERICANA, at which point Rachael Warwick joined them, and her strong vocals with just a hint of a quiver filled the room. Rachael has always sung with such tremendous confidence, but her voice on the night just seemed quite majestic.

The second song was instantly recognisable after just a few chords, and Rachael’s slightly deeper vocal range was perfect for the Joni Mitchell standard Big Yellow Taxi. The raunchy Cowboy came next, and this great tune penned by Rachael and her manager Christian Yuill from her debut album really raised the temperature in the club.

Apart from Rachael’s new DVD (see review in Sept issue), this was my first real chance to see her new band in action, and to say that I was impressed is an understatement! Liam ‘Billy-Bob’ Bennet did a great job on drums throughout the whole set, and kept a perfect beat going on every song. Shiny Clay played guitar, but excelled when playing some sweet and quite intricate licks on the mandolin. As with Billy-Bob, Paul Keyes was reliable throughout on bass, and the two of them together formed the perfect nucleus for this great band. Sly Jones played some electrifying lead guitar as well as some outstanding work on the Dobro. Last but not least, Chris Startup played some mighty fine acoustic guitar plus some tremendous pickin’ on the banjo. Rachael treated the crowd to a few new songs added to her repertoire, she excelled on a couple of very good Keith Urban tunes, plus did a very good version of the brooding country/blues number Concrete Ribbon which I heard not too long ago on the latest Annie Sims album. The rest of the songs performed on the night can all be found on the DVD mentioned, and Rachael pulled out all the emotional stops on a great version of Dolly’s Jolene, and the whole band did a superb job on the 4-Non Blondes song What’s Up. The sweetest song of the set had to be the splendid Mother penned by Kasey Chambers, and the band then let rip on the classic Knocking On Heaven’s Door with Rachael reaching new peaks vocally, supported very well with harmonies from Sly and Chris. The last song was the classic Lean On Me, on which Rachael swapped vocals with Sly and Jace Everett who had accepted her offer to join them on stage.

If it had not been for the fact that Jace Everett was on the bill, a great set like that would have been good enough as a headliner on its own. But I remember seeing Jace when he supported Dierks Bentley in Camden, and in my mind stole the show completely. Sadly, not long after that show Jace was unceremoniously dropped by Sony/BMG, but instead of getting despondent he has carried on visiting our shores, and has just released an excellent acoustic album called OLD NEW BORROWED BLUES on a small independent label.

Because of the new album which Jace was selling on this tour, most of the songs in the show came from the album, starting with the rocking A Little Less Lonely, with Jace’s vocals a lot more earthy than I remembered.

Then came my favourite Jace song, the excellent Bad Things with Jace’s deep, and at times growling vocals accompanied superbly by the awesome guitar playing of Chris Raspante. Other tunes performed from the new album included two about his son Jack, the emotionally charged Between A Father & A Son and the very beautiful Not So Far Away.

Jace and Chris seemed to compliment each other well on stage, with Jace’s guitar playing supporting the louder and more extravagant playing of Chris, who in turn added backing vocals to Jace’s powerful and at times brash lead. Although Everett is a top songwriter in his own right, as proved when he sang Your Man (which was a No.1 hit for Josh Turner, earning Jace enough money to travel over for this tour), he also played a few covers on the night. First one was the great cowboy ballad Ride Me Down Easy which has been sung by the likes of Bobby Bare, he also did a good rendition of Steve Earle’s I Feel Alright. But it was the versions of the Fred Rose penned Blues Eyes Crying In The Rain (Willie Nelson/Elvis Presley), and an absolutely fabulous version of Waylon’s Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way that really stood out for me.

Back to his new album, and along with Chris’ quick-fingered playing on acoustic guitar, they rocked the joint on the enjoyable Angel Loves The Devil Outta Me. It was then on the sad Greatest Story Never Told that Jace proved once and for all his pure quality vocally, which makes it even harder to understand how the big labels can let great artists like him go?

His love of rockabilly and blues were very evident on the night, as first he livened up proceedings with the cracking Turn It On, then it was the turn of the blues with the barnstorming I Gotta Have It, which gave Jace the opportunity to show off on the harmonica.

The evening was finally brought to a close with both Jace and Chris stepping away from their chairs to rock out with the Buddy Holly classic Not Fade Away.

This was a tremendous nights entertainment at the Ent Shed, with two top acts from either side of the water. Rachael Warwick & New Jack Union flying the flag for Britain, and American Jace Everett who will hopefully become a regular visitor to our shores.

One little whinge that I have to make though is that I get annoyed at the people who have to have their mobile phones switched on. I counted at least four times that I heard them ring (three times from the same person). Jace nailed it when he quipped ‘This happens all the time in the States, except over there they don’t just answer the phone but order pizza as well… which they then throw at me. It’s like school on a Saturday…NO CLASS!!’

David Knowles