It's been one week since you looked at me, Cocked your head to the side and said I'm angry

Friday 14 October – We haven’t been out to watch bands recently, just a bit busy with other stuff at the moment, but there’s a lot of good music about this month and we are determined to catch as much as we can.

Four of us turned out tonight at Fibbers to watch Chantel McGregor. My party arrived at about eight o’clock just in time to catch the final three songs from Patrick McCallion. OK, he was one man and his guitar, but he sounded fresh and enthusiastic. I think one of the songs was called Neon Lights, one I am reliably informed was One Week (by The Barenaked Ladies’) and his final offering was a medley of covers woven into each other. This left Chantel with a good two hour set to fill and I have to admit that I was really looking forward to this, and we moved right up close to the barrier for an optimal viewing position.

We last saw Chantel back in December 2010 when she played a good deal of her own material that would make up her debut album, Like No Other. It seems as if I’ve had this album for ever but I seem recall that it was only released in April. In fact, this has been a great year for Chantel so far; she won Best Young Artist at the British Blues Awards. Chantel’s band, as last time we saw her, consisted of Martin Rushworth on drums and Richard Ritchie playing a gorgeous looking 5-string bass.

The set kicked off with Bridge To Better Days (Joe Bonamassa) which segued into New Day Yesterday (Jethro Tull). After that I was a bit mesmerised by her superb guitar playing. Among the covers I recognised Up In The Sky (Joe Satriani), Sloe Gin (Joe Bonamassa), Daydream (Robin Trower), High (Richie Kotzen), Red House (Jimi Hendrix), Rhiannon and  Landslide (Fleetwood Mac),  and Had To Cry Today (Blind Faith). From her own material we also heard; Like No Other, Fabulous, Caught Out, Screams Everlasting, I’m No Good For You, and for the encore, Freefalling.

Chantel and the band are so comfortable with their material that on a couple of occasions they asked the audience what they wanted to hear. I’m sure that all the songs were on the set list, but it made everyone feel involved in the performance. Between songs Chantel regaled us with quirky glimpses into her life, all of which endeared her even more to an audience that loved every second of her playing. 

I did manage to fumble my mobile ‘phone out a couple of times to capture some video footage, but only succeeded in videoing my foot twice and her once with no sound. Duh! Oh well, you’ll just have to trust me when I say that you really, really must see this girl live before she transcends to stadium gigs and you’ll have missed your chance to say “I remember when she first started and I saw her…”