It hasn’t been an easy journey for maverick blues-man Steve Wold, much like many of his Bluesmen predecessors .
After years, decades in fact, in the musical wilderness, a brief slot on Jools Holland’s 2006 Hootenanny changed his fortunes for ever.
Now the intrepid ol’ timer is nominated as International Male Solo Artist in this year’s Brits, much to his surprise.
An abusive stepfather sent young Steve to the tipping point where he became a hobo, trawling the American railways and hitch-hiking for years. Since then he’s spent years toing and frowing between America and Norway, with the later eventually providing him with a monetary living playing in bars, where he met is Norwegian wife Elizabeth.
Wold was often down in the dumps, but his beloved Elizabeth, wife of 28 years, never gave up on him, finally encouraging him to do some demos in their kitchen. He briefly got involved with his band The Level Devils which gave him a platform for his earthy style.
He has also endured a heart-attack which put things in perspective. So, in a nutshell, he has a wealth of experience, and had he hit the big-time younger, he’d have had nothing to say. Now at the ripe old age of 68 (so we’re led to believe) he’s become a cult icon and holder of a major record deal with Warner Brothers after a sizzling outing at Glastonbury 2008.
2006’s Dog House Music was a fairly low-key affair, but enough to prick-up millions of ears (including mine) on Jools’ show. His image, check shirts, worn baseball caps, denim dungarees fitted the bill, with that silver goatee being the icing on the cake.
This night was the first gig of his 2009 tour, and there was high expectation in the air, certainly from my point of view.
The set, as minimal as you can get (remember, he started out with nothing and he’s still got most of it left…not any more) : rope-lights, spots, lamps, clothes line with several shirts looked like someone’s abandoned attic. Very fitting during this credit crunch.
Predictably he came on to a rapturous welcome (whistles and scream) and he was clearly delighted by his new found fame. For the next 1 hr 45, he unleashed his gritty repertoire with both style and conviction. It was as if all those years of pent- up frustrations were finally out. Kicking off with the title track from his latest album he set a blistering tone for the night. ”Manchester - alright” he growled to more screams.
Before digging into rusting belter Hobo Blues from debut album Cheap, his Budweiser sign lit up to howls of laughter. ”Ma boy” he said, as his son sat on a nearby stood to play washboard. St.Louis continued his musical whirlwind, with drummer Dan Magnusson showing fine stick-work, while Steve’s silver goatee swung from side-to-side. Venturing stage front he removed his shirt, he howled, “It’s unbelievable. Girls screaming at me!”
Brilliant bottle neck lashings were the main feature of Prospect Lane.
From Cheap came a deeply soulful Sorry Mr Jesus, fuelled with passion, his left foot pounded the platform. “Is you all having fun?” was greeted with yells of “Yes Steve!” Humble 68 year old Steve even showboated front stage doing some fine boogie moves as he wailed his red axe. A young lass who sang his praises following Jools’ show was invited onstage. Clearly embarrassed, she sat next to him as he tenderly played Walkin’ Man. The mood quietened for the start of Hobo Low, and then he rambled on about trying to find Thunderbird wine in Edinburgh. Thunderbird cleverly sounded as rough as the nasty alcohol it is, ending in a massive cacophonous crescendo.
Showing his tender side, he dedicated My Donny, a slow delta-styled gem, to his beloved dead dog, saying “He was my one true friend.” Leaving his guitar feeding-back against the amp he wandered off to a standing ovation, returning for three more : Salem, My Youth and Doghouse Boogie. He got the hysterical crowd worked-up to sing,” Sing the dog house song” as he waved goodbye and wandered into the night.
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
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Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.