The final concert of the 2009 edition of Harmonica sur Cher was legendary British blues-rock band Nine Below Zero with Mark Feltham on harmonica. I hold Mark Feltham in very high regard, but much as I tried I simply did not enjoy this concert. The first reason, I think, is that I didn't for one minute think that these guys enjoyed playing that evening. It felt to me like the absolue bare minimum that a band can do.
Throughout the concert I felt that the musicians were on automatic, there was no palpable feeling. The reason I like blues is for the thrill that starts in your guts when you feel that the guy is not just playing the music, he's living it. The flip side of that coin is that there is no music I find more boring that Blues without a Feeling.
Let's be clear, this isn't a dig on them as musicians, and I have no idea what the reason of their lack of involvement that night is or even if it's a recurring thing with them. But they certainly weren't there for me that night. Having said that, there were people dancing and clearly enjoying themselves, so maybe it's just me. Go figure.
Anyway, I still shot the obligatory video just so you could hear for yourselves. The strange thing is that I still thought that Mark's harp playing was interesting and distinctive, he played very differently from other blues-rock harp player's I've heard. But irrespective of that, the thrill was definitely gone.
You can see for yourselves, the (few) photos are here and the video of Stormy Monday is here:
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