Venue: Bluesiana Rock Cafe / Velden am Woerthersee / Austria
Concert date: 14.12.2007
Attendance: 50
Ticket price: 27,00€ / 30,00€
December 2007 keeps going wild when it comes to top-notch acts passing through near Slovenia. Where else to head but back to Velden in Carinthia and the Bluesiana club there? That’s where the legendary bassist Thomas Michael Stevens, T.M. Stevens for short, dropped by. He’s one of the best bass players on the planet. His notorious reputation and renown are crowned by collaborations with a whole galaxy of top-tier players and big earners of the music biz, starting with the two late greats Miles Davis and James Brown, moving on to (still living) Joe Cocker, Cindy Lauper, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, then Pat Travers and Carmine Appice, The Pretenders, Stevie Salas, Richie Kotzen and, of course, Zappa’s schoolboy Steve Vai. T.M. is a colossus of a bassist. When he pulls on his traditional, brightly colored Zulu getup and slaps on his shades, the raging canary is finally let out of the cage to fly off in his famous funk metal tradition, wherever his precious decibels can carry the racket!
The lucky landing at Bluesiana, thanks to the weather barely holding back the snowstorms in late December 2007, paid off big time. T.M. Stevens and his band Shocka Zooloo are a hard-hitting trio: besides T.M. Stevens (vocals, bass guitar) there’s guitarist Micahel “Master Blaster” Barnes and drummer Gary “Gman” Sullivan. Naturally, all three have their faces nicely painted up. As has been an ugly habit of the Austrian folks for quite a while now, ignoring these excellent shows put on by Bluesiana’s first lady Gudrun, the turnout this time was below any criticism again. Barely 50 people gathered in the club. The band stalled at the start, hoping the place would fill up at least a little more. So the group finally took up battle positions on stage well past ten in the evening. As befits the presentation of the freshly released album “Africans In The Snow” (2007) – RockLine review HERE, the trio kicked off with the album’s opening track, What. After an innocent, improvised intro led by a traditional African ethno motif, the guys let rip on their instruments like it was Judgment Day. T.M. Stevens literally shook a few times, as if in a trance, that’s how deep in it he was during the show. With his raspy, voluminous, low-pitched, ferociously explosive, I’d even say almost gruff James Brown-style vocals, he tore through the verses like it was a joke and came across as the incarnation of a true biblical beast.
T.M. Stevens is known for throwing a proper party! He tore down the barriers that usually stand between the crowd and the band right away. The moment he stepped on stage he stressed in his opening speech that, as far as the band was concerned, tonight’s get-together was a private house party. For a club like Bluesiana and its big-hearted boss Gudrun, there couldn’t be a bigger compliment. T.M. was playing Bluesiana for the fourth time already, and tonight’s show was the second-to-last on the whole current tour, which was mostly limited to Germany and Italy.
He used every single moment to thank Gudrun. He called her up on stage and taught her to play the bass guitar. That’s his old trick, which he pulls out at gigs on tour. Not long after, he invited all the other Bluesiana “tigresses”, who never miss a single concert at this club, and urged each of them to show off her butt. Of course that didn’t really catch on, but on the boss’s orders drummer Gary shimmied up front and, after some suspiciously provocative belly moves, floored the crowd at the end by pulling his pants down and flashing his tanned backside wide open for all to see. Boss T.M. soon chased him back to his drums so he wouldn’t steal his top-dog status. It wasn’t many minutes before there was a whole crowd of fans up on stage, writhing to the funk rhythms generated by the feverish trio.
Each of the three also got a solo. First up was T.M., of course, then Gary, and last to take his solo spot was Michael Barnes aka “Master Blaster”. After a long bout of beating the strings he memorized a motif and sent it through the “delay”. He set two chairs on stage, brought both barmaids over from behind the counter, sat them down, took a seat beside them and started soloing over the repeating motif. So T.M. and his two partners in crime really came to entertain the crowd, and logically they gave the most fervent attention to the ladies in the house. One of them, a lady of decidedly mature appearance, visibly weighed down by boozy concoctions, went a bit too far and took the whole thing dead seriously, even Stevens’ tall tale that he’d booked a hotel room in Velden just for the two of them after the show and that he’d be waiting for her there, hot and ready. The woman soon showed up with a little glass of Jägermeister and offered it to T.M., who certainly didn’t say no to the noble “medicine”
So by now you can tell this was one of the most spontaneous shows you can imagine. That the set list is always imaginary and gets made up on the fly on stage hardly needs mentioning. It’s easy to read that spontaneity in how the players play. So many impromptu gags during the show, so much endless joy in playing, such superior awareness of each other, all of which resulted in top-notch tightness. These three guys simply sense each other like nobody else.
After What, the guys also hit us with Up, Fight, Fight, Fight, Spank, Gotta Get My Move On, Mama Said, Thumb, The River Flow and No Good w/Out The Bad. They wrapped up the show with a dedication to Bob Marley and the song Maximum Respect, played as an encore.
The concert ran well over two hours, two hours and 20 minutes to be exact. And it flew by in the blink of an eye. The guys came with the aim of throwing a huge party. And they pulled it off with ease. Too bad the club was short on people. The band cranked the volume way past what the club could handle. It was seriously way too loud. And the guys kept turning the knobs up during the show. At first the sound was perfectly pleasant. But once the volume went up, it was T.M.’s vocals that took the biggest hit, with the guitar riffing literally running them over a few times.
T.M. is definitely the craziest, but also the coolest bassist around. You’ll hardly find a more approachable, friendlier guy. The fact that the whole thing zipped by so fast was down to T.M.’s own approach: he kept the crowd on its toes the whole time, throwing juicy jokes at his own expense, playfully mocking individuals in the audience a few times, and urging the ladies in particular to do “silly things”. A show seasoned with the huge energy of a wrecking-ball funk metal eruption, the kind that gives you goosebumps! Credit for that goes to Shocka Zooloo’s outstanding performance. A mix of maxed-out groove, conjured up by the one-of-a-kind bass master T.M., made every single hair on your body stand on end. Barnes’ metal approach of straight-ahead riffing slotted in perfectly, and all of it would have been for nothing without Gary Sullivan’s razor-precise rhythmic dictation of tempo. T.M., of course, collected the lion’s share of the ovations. Great singing interacting with unmatched bass playing makes him incredibly unique and recognizable. In Bluesiana he threw an unforgettable funk mecca that shook the club’s foundations good and proper, got the cogs of the small crowd turning, and had especially the women in the audience openly showing their all-round rapture, at times even delirium. Unforgettable!
text: Aleš Podbrežnik
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
December remains crazy as far as the gigs of top musicians near Slovenia are concerned. Where else but again to Velden am Woertersee in Kaernten, Austria and their Bluesiana Rock Cafe? The club witnessed a famous bass guitarist Thomas Michael Stevens, T.M. Stevens in short, who is one of the best bass guitarists in the world. His reputation and renown are crowned by his cooperation with numerous top performers and big earners in the music business, starting with the deceased Miles Davis and James Brown, continuing with (still living) Joe Cocker, Cindy Lauper, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Pat Travers, Carmine Appice, The Pretenders, Stevie Salas, Richie Kotzen and of course Zappa’s schoolboy Steve Vai. T.M. is a gigantic base guitarist. When he puts on his colourful traditional Zulu outfit and sunglasses this mad canary is finally let out of his cage to whiz in his well-known funk metal tradition all the way his precious decibels can carry his noise.
The lucky landing at Bluesiana, thanks to the weather which can hardly hold back snowdrifts in late December 2007, paid off immensely. T.M. Stevens and his band Shocka Zooloo form a striking trio, with two other members. Besides Stevens (vocal, bass guitar) there is also Michael “Master Blaster” Barnes on the guitar and drummer Gary “G-man” Sullivan. All three of them, naturally, have colourfully painted faces. For some time now it has been a bad habit of the Austrian people to ignore these outstanding performances, organised by the first lady of Bluesiana Gudrun, and this time the number of visitors was beneath criticism again. Hardly 50 people gathered in the club. The band were delaying with the beginning, hoping that it would fill up a bit more. Thus “the Zooloos” finally took their military positions on the stage far after 10 p.m. As it befits the presentation of the newly released album “Africans In The Snow” (2007) the trio started with the first song called What. After the innocently played introduction in the traditional African ethnic motif the men thrashed their instruments as if it were Judgement Day. T.M. Stevens was so into music that he was literally shaking a few times as if in trans. With his hoarse voluminous voice of lower intonation, powerfully explosive, not to say almost a rough vocal a la James Brown he handled the verses with great ease and during the performance acted like an incarnation of a real biblical beast.
T.M. Stevens is known for giving a good party. He immediately overcame the barrier which usually builds up between the public and the band. As soon as he stepped onto the stage he pointed out in his speech that as far as the band were concerned that was a private house party. It could not have been a bigger compliment for a club like Bluesiana and its hearty boss Gudrun. T.M.’s concert in this club was the fourth and at the same time the one before last on the whole current tour, which was basically limited to Germany and Italy.
He used every single moment to thank Gudrun. He invited her on the stage and taught her how to play the bass guitar. That is an old trick of his which he uses at the gigs. Shortly after that he invited the rest of the “tigeresses” of Bluesiana, who never miss any of the club’s performances, and tried to persuade them to show their bottoms. Naturally it did not work out, but Garry the drummer swayed to the front of the stage to the boss’s order, made some provocative belly moves and in the end astonished the audience by pulling down his pants and proudly showing his bronzed backside. The boss T.M. quickly made Garry return back to his drums so that he would not take his primacy. It did not take long when there was a crowd of visitors on the stage, twisting to the rhythms of funk music generated by the feverish trio.
Each of the three also offered his solo, the first of course being T.M., then Gary and as the last one Michael Barnes aka “Master Blaster”. After an extensive hitting of the strings he memorised the motif and let it through the “delay”. He put two chairs on the stage, brought both waitresses from the bar, seated them on the chairs, sat next to them and started his solo over the repeating motif. So T.M. and his two companions really came to cheer up the audience, logically they devoted most of their attention to the female members of the public. One of the women, of a considerable appearance, apparently suffering from an overdose of alcohol potions, took the whole thing very seriously when T.M. said he had booked a room just for them two in Velden after the gig that night and that he would be waiting passionately for her. The woman soon turned up with a glass of Jaegermeister and offered it to T.M., who did not refuse the precious “medicine”.
After all this you can conclude that this was one of the most spontaneous gigs you can imagine. The fact that the set list is always imaginary and comes into existence simultaneously on the stage need not be mentioned. It is not hard to notice this spontaneity and so much fun during the gig, the musicians showing immense pleasure in playing, superior sensing each other, which all resulted in a topmost accordance. These three simply sense each other uniquely.
After What the men among others hit with Up, Fight, Fight, Fight, Spank, Gotta Get My Move On, Mama Said, Thumb, The River Flow, No Good w/Out The Bad. They concluded the gig with a dedication to Bob Marley and the song Maximum Respect, which was played in encore.
The concert was far beyond two hours long, two hours and 20 minutes to be precise. But it seemed it was over in a blink of an eye. The men came with the purpose of throwing a big party, which they succeeded with great ease. Pity though there was a shortage of people. The band turned up the volume to the extent that exceeded the capacities of the club a great deal. It was all just way too loud. The sound was very agreeable at first, but the men turned the buttons during the gig up. T.M.’s vocal suffered the most damage after the increase of the sound, since it was literally run over by the guitar riffs a few times.
T.M. is definitely the craziest, but at the same time the coolest bassist. One can hardly find a more affable and friendly person. The fact that everything was going on so quickly was due to T.M.’s approach. He was constantly keeping the public on the alert with juicy jokes on his own behalf, roguishly making fun of some individuals in the public and trying to persuade women to act foolishly. An outstanding performance of Shocka Zooloo, filled with immense energy of funk metal eruption, causing tingles and goose bumps! A mixture of groove developed to maximum by the unique bass master T.M. raised every single hair of the body. Barns’s metal approach of direct riffs suited it excellently. But everything would be in vain without immaculate Gary Sullivan’s tempo. T.M. received the biggest part of ovations, of course. His superb singing in combination with unsurpassable bass makes him extremely unique and recognisable. He performed an unforgettable funk mecca in Bluesiana, which thoroughly shook the foundations of the club and set in motion the small number of visitors, of which especially the female members openly showed their rapturousness and at times even delirium. Unforgettable!
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