Tucked away amid the consumerist sprawl of Tottenham Court Road, the 100 Club is a literal oasis. While not as down-and-dirty as its American dive bar counterparts, it has hosted legends of blues and rock’n’roll since the 1940s, as the many posters on the wall attest to. It’s clear, as you descend into the London underbelly, that you’re stepping away from the everyday noise into an ever-evolving story of music and musicians stopping by to play you something special.
Dirty Weather Blues Revue
A vibe captured instantly by the Bristol quartet Dirty Weather Blues Revue. From the very first notes, the use of a harmonica, the steady 12-bar blues progression, they were pulling from a century of musical history to get us up and dancing like it’s the 60s again. So cool-looking with their sunglasses on (reminiscent of a fuzzy image of Arctic Monkeys my brain has), the band threw their energy at us like a fishing net, with guitarist Marek Domanowski casting with rockstar ease. Closing the set was an elaborate spoken word improvisation from multi-instrumentalist John Vistic, sticking to the beat and beautiful to behold, that’s a Les Paul, but does it play itself? No, it needs hands! when introducing Domanowski and the rest of the band. Super fun and again an age-old rock’n’roll tradition of keeping things light between musician and audience.
Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
A tradition also honoured by the day’s headliner, the mighty Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band. You didn’t need a second to be charmed by Reverend himself, with his smiling demeanour and blue overalls. A sparse trio of “just” guitar, drums and washboard, the sonic effect of the Big Damn Band cannot be underestimated. I don’t know where they pulled so much sound from: was it the perfectly timed pairing of Washboard Breezy and Jacob Powell on the percussive side? Was it Reverend Peyton’s fingerstyle technique, with its ability to maintain both a steady bassline and a riveting slide smoothness? Was it his voice and the lyricism, bigger than the room, yet so intimate to all our hearts, this collection of songs about hard work and loss despite our best efforts? Was it the crowd’s eagerness to sing along and clap their hands as the song commanded? “We came a long way to be here. You know what to do. Don’t let us down”.
How could we, when they showed up with everything they had, as fresh as anything, despite being on tour for weeks already and with many more weeks to go. Famous for their relentless touring schedule, the band’s impeccable live show is living proof of their long years on the road, in both musical ability and in their songwriting. From high-energy dance tunes like My Old Man and Freeborn Man, featuring fiddler Michael Cleveland on the recording (not in London sadly, Reverend Peyton joked “He’s got like 10 Grammys. I can only afford to bring myself on tour”), we eased into a short solo interlude for Honeysuckle, the title track off their latest album, which Rev played on his 100-year-old guitar. I brought it specifically to play this song. It was as heartfelt a ballad as you can imagine, made incredibly raw and deep-reaching through Rev’s voice.
He’s a born showman. He took a moment to tell us about Billy F Gibbons complimenting his songs, with a characteristic flick of the hand (that’s the one, as Rev demonstrated), before bringing up an axe guitar (like a legit woodchopping axe with strings attached, it was badass). Jacob plays the bucket with Breezy on the full drums in a fun switcheroo, and here I need to take a moment to talk about the washboard.
For those of you unfamiliar with the washboard as a percussion instrument, the texture it adds to a song is quite unlike anything I’ve ever heard before (and boy I heard a few at GOAT and Bab L’Bluz alone). The raspy not-quite-wooden not-quite-metallic quality of it brings to mind a quickly-closing window shutter or the wings of a toy bird, all of that to say it tickles the brain at just the right moment. Washboard Breezy is in a league of her own, much admired by connoisseurs for her perfect feel for the beat, and magnetic to watch.
Champions of the Patreon model as a way to survive through Covid, but especially to stay close to their supporters, the Rev reminded us all that, if we want to keep on hearing new music from the artists that we love, we need to show up for them and support them, both with love and good vibes, and financially. “We are at the mercy of the algorithm“, the emotionless streaming algorithm that only knows play numbers and nothing of what humans need to listen to, where they need to be challenged, when their ears need to be stretched or soothed. That’s where word-of-mouth and taking a chance on a Friday night on a gig in central London can be essential.
To end the night, the band took us from We Deserve a Happy Ending, a song to hug your loved ones to, to the washboard getting set on fire, the big drum drummed so loud I could hear it with no need for amps, and feet stomping and voices cheering for encores. Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band comes into your life banging pots and pans to wake you up and get you to the street party. All we gotta do is show up.
Check out our interview with Reverend Peyton here. Catch the band on tour in the US by following their website and sign up to their Patreon.