It could have been disastrous: the name on the ticket was Thorbjorn Risager & The Black Tornado; the face on the album covers and the voice on the albums belongs to Thorbjorn Risager. However, the sign on the door that greeted concert goers, at the end of their journey to the venue on a wet Sunday night, announced that Thorbjorn Risager, due to illness, was not going to be present. The sign also announced that, in true theatrical tradition, the show would go on. Whilst not quite being the same as, say, finding out on the night that the Miracles were going on without Smokey Robinson etc, it could have been a tricky move. It was either a testament to the reputation of the Danish band as a live outfit or a commercial necessity that prompted the decision to go ahead. In the event, although a few people were seen turning away there was a pretty sizeable crowd that saw Risager’s band rise to the occasion and deliver a superb performance.

The job of stepping into the front man’s shoes fell to lead guitarist Joachim Svensmark, a slim figure wearing brown leather trousers and sporting a hairstyle reminiscent of Paul Weller’s around the time The Jam came to an end. He didn’t struggle at all with handling vocal duties and it was interesting to hear the band’s songs sung melodically in a higher register, compared to Risager’s more gritty style of delivery. In fact, because of this and because necessity meant that the band played a large number of covers, the circumstances resulted in a unique performance, definitely something different for long-time fans to enjoy. The set list for the first half of the evening included songs from the latest album 'House Of Sticks', opening with the tub thumping Blues groove of ‘Already Gone’ from that album, and following with ‘Long Time Ago' and the work gang rhythm of the title track. It helped that Svensmark had written a couple of the songs, so was already familiar with the lyrics. A couple of songs from the 'Come On In' album, ‘Sin City’ and ‘Never Giving In’ closed the first set, by which time any doubts about the band’s ability to deliver without their leader had been dispelled. The earlier inclusion of a hot version of Howling Wolf’s ‘Killing Floor’ was a foretaste of what was to come in the second set.

Thorbjorn Risager & The Black Tornado are a sizeable outfit, with bass, drums, two guitars, keys and, normally, a three piece horn section, which was down to two on the night, Peter Kehl on trumpet and Kasper Wagner on sax. They play a more sophisticated, swinging version of the Blues than many bands you see in the UK. Joachim Svensmark is an exceptional lead guitarist and this was an evening when he was given free reign to let rip across a number of crowd pleasing cover versions, not in a wildly indulgent way but with a pleasingly light touch and the ability to search for the right note rather than widdle towards it. Emil Balsgaard on keyboards helped fill out the sound. The keyboard arrangements on several songs created some interesting textures that elevated them away from straightforward Blues numbers. I don’t know whether Søren Bøjgaard on bass adapted his style to make up for the missing rhythm guitar of Risager but he played in a very effective, punchy style, hammering the root notes and often playing partial chords on his bass. Martin Seidelin, sporting a natty hat, completed the sextet on drums.

The second set included some very tasty versions of standards ‘Crosscut Saw’, ‘Mary Had A Little Lamb’ and ‘All Along The Watchtower’ as well as the band’s own older songs like ‘That’s Allright’, from the unusually titled album 'When They Ring Them Golden Bells', and the rollicking ‘All I Want’. The second encore was an equally scorching version of ‘Hey Joe’. It’s unlikely that fans of the band would have got to hear them expand their repertoire on the night with so many classic numbers had the front man not been taken ill, so it was a case of every cloud having a silver lining. A very enjoyable evening that saw the band rise splendidly to the occasion in difficult circumstances.

Review, Photos & Video: Simon Green