A few weeks ago I was at the Vic in Dalston, checking out a vocalist you guys may have heard of that’s making “the blues cool again”. When you’re gigging a lot yourself it’s hard to find the time to check out other artists live so I was really looking forward to it! The place with packed to hear Willis Earl Beal who’s been getting a lot of buzz with a debut album consisting of lo-fi demos recorded while Beal was homeless - quite a back story for any down and out blues musician!

I was a bit sceptical at first, especially as it was just Beal and a backing track. But to be fair the guy had a great range; his voice going from rasping Howlin Wolf style Chicago Blues to soft as a whisper almost Indie-esque in a moment, whilst always sounding like none other than Beal. He also had a great command for the stage and the venue suited his intimate delivery- yeah, you can say I was impressed!

So, I was excited to hear that his soon to be released album was being streamed on the Guardian website this week. The Tom Waits style percussion used is certainly interesting and Beals voice is (to my ears at least) a cut above the “alternative lo-fi” artists I’ve heard of late. The sounds used also make sure none of the tracks ever stray into the typical “12 bar blues” territory - clearly the blues can still be fresh and stray from that formula with interesting results- this can only be a great thing! The problem for me is that without Beals engaging stage presence the whole thing does become a little repetitive and lacks the energy that his live performance bring to the tracks.

I guess that’s the struggle that blues artists have long since faced- how do you get that primal energy that makes the blues so special to translate onto disc? The Allman Brothers only managed to gain wide spread recognition with the release of their classic live album ‘Live at Fillmore East’.  The great Muddy Waters ‘Live at Newport East’ is, to most fans, his seminal disc. It’s great that the blogs have picked up on Beals talent and that his recordings are receiving attention. However, for my money, the real place to catch Willis Earl Beal is live.

If you’re interested, you can check out the stream of the album here- http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/apr/04/willis-earl-beal-acousmatic-sorcery-album-stream

Everyone, The Condors were planning on taking it easy during this festive time of year and work on getting some Bing Crosby covers in the set…

But we’ve scrapped all that as we’ve got a succession of ridiculously amazing gigs in the calendar!

What better way to enjoy the festivities with some Garage-Rock ‘n’ Roll to get your bones shaking and the drinks flowing? There aren’t any, we’ve tried! So get yourselves down to ALL of these beauties!

Wednesday 15th December - Deviation Street at the Alley Cat - Denmark Street, London 

Saturday 17th December - Brick Lane Cafe 1001 (filmed and streamed on the interweb) - Dray Walk (just off Brick Lane), London

Sunday 18th December - Bombs Away Sunday at the Zepplin Shelter, Shoreditch, London

Tuesday 20th December - Blues at the Windmill, Brixton, London

Friday 23rd December - Tiger Feet at Dusk Till Dawn, Archway Road, Highgate, London

New Years Eve - NYE at 12 Bar Party, 12 Bar, Denmark Street, London 

See you all on the dancefloor…!