Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Location: Velden am Wörthersee / Bluesiana Rock Cafe / Austria
Concert date: December 28, 2015
Attendance: 170
Ticket price: €19.00 (advance) / €23.00 (day of show)
Ian Siegal is a representative of the new blues wave, which counts quite a few exceptional guitarists around the world, led by the commercially most famous of them by far, Joe Bonamassa, of course. Ian Siegal, too, has won numerous prestigious awards for his musical achievements and for the unsuspected talent he has in abundance as a one-of-a-kind interpreter.
Like a dozen other outstanding musicians who represent nothing but the cream of the world’s best and most distinctive guitarists/vocalists – led by Eric Sardinas, Philip Sayce, Richie Kotzen, Ryan McGarvey and a few others – Ian Siegal counts as part of the furniture at the famous Austrian club Bluesiana Rock Cafe in Velden, Carinthia. Ian visits the club at least once a year with a new show. Sometimes with his band, sometimes separately. Totally on his own. Armed with an acoustic guitar and, of course, his voice.
That’s how it went at the last official concert of 2015 organized at Bluesiana. With his shows at this club, Ian has won over a whole bunch of loyal fans, and it so happened that this final gig drew, no joke, close to 200 people. And that’s exactly when the club’s boss, the one and only Gudrun Kofler, was left completely on her own, with no staff (mainly the folks who serve the drinks), who had taken time off over the holidays. But with routine and experience she handled every single task of all those roles entirely by herself. Fascinating, no two ways about it.
Even before the show, Ian Siegal was strolling around the club in a relaxed way, dressed to the nines from head to toe. He even remembered the patent leather shoes. On stage, two acoustic guitars, a chair and a glass of ruby-red wine were waiting for him. The crowd had pulled their chairs up almost to the edge of the stage, which, given their usual reserve, is not exactly the norm. It promised to be a gorgeous concert evening to cap off the pre-New Year festivities at Bluesiana. As expected, Siegal split his show into two sets. The material he played was a mix of his own songs, songs he said were written by friends and fellow musicians, and of course covers of a few classics. The man, known for his own take on blending the blues genre with country folk and even ragtime and Tex-Mex elements, kicked off his first set a little after nine in the evening. He thrilled with his chameleon-like ability to shift his vocal colors, and at the same time stunned with his soulfulness and the way he lived every note. Ian is a vocalist first and a guitarist second. Still, the guitar has clearly grown onto him. Often with a slide on his ring finger, which now and then even coaxed out the sounds of the old delta blues school. The realization that Ian hits even deeper and gets even more under your skin in a solo performance, with nothing but an acoustic guitar behind him, is nothing unusual. The man was bursting with feeling and authenticity in the material he delivered throughout his set.
What gives Ian’s shows their special charm is the dose of the blackest humor you could possibly imagine. British-style, naturally. His shows, like this pre-New Year one at Bluesiana, actually border on stand-up comedy. Especially in the breaks between songs, he doesn’t hold back on poking fun, most of all at his own expense. Among other things, he thanked the airline Easy Jet, which broke his acoustic guitar during the flight. That’s why Ian played Bluesiana on two borrowed acoustic guitars.
His own lyrics are full of cynicism and self-parody, too. In the closing stretch he pulled the audience in once more, who wouldn’t let him leave the stage anyway, with a song whose chorus runs: »Because I can’t get no pussy«. In the first verse that was aimed at Michelangelo, who made art instead, and in the second at Shakespeare, who wrote books instead. And at the end Ian added: “Maybe the funniest thing about that is, that Michelangelo was a gay, and Shakespeare probably, too.” So the man’s head is firing on all cylinders at all times. Accompanied, naturally, by several emptied glasses of ruby-red wine.
Ian was triumphant with his return gig at Bluesiana. He proved once again that he’s one of the strongest interpreters of the new blues wave. At the end he said he’s coming back to Bluesiana in April with his band, and reportedly he has also confirmed a show for April 22, 2016 at the Grand Union hotel in Ljubljana. So treat yourselves to an evening of unforgettable fun in the company of the exceptional Ian Siegal. Your chance is right here.
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