MICHAEL KATON, THE FAMOUS MONDAY BLUES, OXFORD 11.06.13 Seasoned roadhound Michael Katon surveys his enthusiastic Monday night audience and exclaims “Last time I was here was 15 years ago… you guys have got even uglier!”. Katon is in particularly good form tonight - joking with the band and the audience, he’s clearly relaxed and happy to be back at the Famous Monday Blues, now relocated to the very cool Jericho Tavern in very cool Jericho. For those who haven’t been acquainted with his brand of amped-up firebrand boogie, Katon is a virtuoso guitarist whose playing is equal parts Freddie King, Jimi Hendrix and Rory Gallagher backed by a powerhouse ZZ Top-esque rhythm section. Hailing from Hell in Michigan (yes, really!), Katon has cut his teeth in countless roadhouses across the States, as well as laying waste to stages across Europe over the past few decades. His toe tapping blend of powerful blues and boogie from a time when men were men and sheep were nervous has the ability to appeal to blues fans as well as bikers and rockers – although the Marshall’s on 11, the spirit of Freddie King and John Lee Hooker is never far away. A word about Katon’s band – they’re young, very young (or am I very old?), and one of them’s a girl (playing badass macho boogie, surely shome mishtake?), but, as the sainted Mr Diddley once sang, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. I’m not sure if they’re Katon’s regular US band, but they ably back Katon’s heavily syncopated boogie without missing a beat. Tonight we’re treated to a smorgasbord (I can’t believe I’ve justused that word, but we are in upmarket Jericho!) of songs from his impressive back catalogue. Highlights include ‘Rip it Hard!’,‘No More Whiskey’ and ‘Fried Jalapenos’ from the ‘Rip it Hard!’ album, ‘Boogie Man’ and ‘Tight White Pants’ from the ‘Proud to be Loud’ album and ‘Red Moon Rising’ from the ‘Bad Machine’album, the latter of which Katon readily admits to stealing from Freddie King’s ‘Going Down’. Tonight Katon is in the mood for the blues. His version of ‘Lucky Lucky Lucky’ from ‘Rip it Hard!’ is very representative of his humorous tongue-in-cheek slow blues lyrics, although alas he didn’t play my personal favourite, which has the opening line “If I have a heart attack baby, it’ll be on account of you” (!).However, the standout slow blues, and indeed highlight of the show for many, is his version of Muddy Waters’ ‘Catfish Blues’.Singing unamplified and with the volume turned uncharacteristically down, Katon is consumed by the song – background chatter stops and the room is completely transfixed while Katon conjures up Muddy’s spirit with his eerie slide playing. Spellbinding. This is blues and boogie at its very best, please don’t make us wait another 15 years for another appearance, Mr Katon! Paul Morris
Posted on: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 00:11:54 +0000
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