Oh Sonny 17/4/18

"How are you folks doing?" Sonny politely enquired as his three-piece band were warmly welcomed on to the 229 stage by a packed and expectant crowd. Indeed, anyone expecting Slydeco unplugged were totally blown away with the hard rockin' riff of opening instrumental 'Z Rider' - Landreth immediately caressing his guitar in a way which proceeded to mesmerise us all for the rest of his set. "Well that was fun" added Landreth, before they tore into the classic 'Walking The Blues', not only an opportunity for Robert Johnson to meet ZZ Top, but also for a cool Blues vocal by Sonny plus some great stick work from his flat capped drummer. Landreth's amazing guitar solo on the slow Blues of another classic - Elmore James' 'It Hurts Me Too' - had everyone scratching their heads on how on earth did bass guitarist Dave Ramsden manage to keep up with that, before, in contrast, Sonny then promised to "Whip us up into a frenzy" with 'Milky Way Home' - another rockin' instrumental that smacked of Satriani."

With AJ's complete Sonny Landreth/Soul Immigrants gig review from Sunday night at London's 229 The Venue to come, check out our Photo Gallery here (picture courtesy of Tim Russell).