Dave Hole’s Australian Tour, to launch the release of his new album “Goin Back Down”, came to a close at Perth’s Charles Hotel on Saturday 26th May. To a packed house, (no mean feat as Jason Bonham was also in town on the same night) Dave showcased 5 tracks from the album, and with 10 albums to pick from since his 1992 debut Short Fuse Blues, we got a good helping of songs from his back catalogue & a few classic covers thrown in for good measure.
The show kicked off with JENNY LEE from 2001’s Outside Looking in, followed by STOMPIN’ GROUND, the first of the new tracks to be played this evening. TAKE ME TO CHICAGO & EVERY GIRL I SEE saw the audience take to the dance floor, before slowing things down with the Elmore James classic THE SKY IS CRYIN’. Keyboard player Bob Patient was introduced before another of the new tracks BOBBY’S ROCK was punched out to the adoring crowd. 1999’S Under the Spell was visited next with DEMOLITION MAN sending out a rhythmic tone, with Dave’s slide solos still mesmerizing to watch. Back to the new album and SHAKE YOUR MONEY MAKER has an almost a Bill Haley rock n’ roll feel to it and this was evident with the packed dance floor in full swing. Supported on stage by drummer blues regulars Ace Follington & Roy Daniel on the bass, Dave launched into THE BOTTLE, followed by Robert Johnson’s CROSSROAD, before leaving the stage for a well-earned break.
Dave showed he had no intention of letting the crowd sit down and take a rest for too long with GOING DOWN kicking off the second half of the set (we were treated to 6 songs from 1995 release Steel on Steel). Junior Well’s MESSIN WITH THE KID and SHORT FUSE BLUES from Dave’s debut album soon followed, before my favourite of the night, THESE BLUES ARE HERE TO STAY – the chorus is so catchy that it didn’t take long before everyone was singing along. BERWICK ROAD and KEEP YOUR MOTOR RUNNING kept the energy levels pumped, before Jimmy Hendrix’s legendary PURPLE HAZE was given the Hole traetment. And after a couple more covers in the form of Eric Clapton’s MOTHERLESS CHILD & K.C Douglas’s MERCURY BLUES, Dave left the stage with the crowd wanting more….
And more we got, showing even though Dave has gathered a few more grey hairs over the years he certainly hasn’t lost any of that youthful energy. In fact Dave was dragged back twice for encores tonight (not that he needed much dragging) – the first visit was for the fast paced BULLFROG BLUES, before leaving the stage and returning with DARK WAS THE NIGHT and finishing the evening with KEY TO THE HIGHWAY.
And after the gig, plenty of fans stayed behind to purchase the new album, which Dave kindly came out to sign for whoever asked him too – judging by the 100-strong queue waiting for him, that meant everyone who brought it tonight. Slide blues is certainly not going away anytime soon judging by the support Dave hole received tonight and I for one just hope he gets back up on the stage again soon. The word legend can be used all too frequently in this modern age but in Dave, Perth have their very own.
By Sean Bennett
