Table Mountain Blues Summit 2008
Review by Aidan Harper

I don't think anything prepared me for a line-up as potent as this... I cannot begin to explain the sheer mesmerising power of great blues. I really don't think that the choice of acts and the flow of the seven time slots could have been better. This is a monumental task for any festival organiser at best so hats off to The Boulevard Blues band for putting on the whole shindig!

Black Cat Bone (Pretoria) was phenomenal. The antics of Kobus, the frontman, brought the whole stage to life. Genre... blues, of course, but with a little ZZ Top flavour.

No Quarter (Wimpy and Kobus from Black Cat Bone assisted with backing) was perfect for the pre-sunset session and wound up the stage for Dave Ferguson and the Loan Sharks. Dave used to play for the Mavericks and The Groove Kings and I have to rate him as one of the best harmonica players that I have seen to date. He did his trademark walk into the growing crowd and building the tension for the onslaught of Southern Gypsy Queen. WOW! - I've seen these guys before, but never a gig of this calibre. These guys delivered the pure power of Blues Rock akin to AC/DC (Love their cover of 'Whole Lotta Rosie'!). Now if you haven't seen this band before, you might be amazed that Tammy, the bassist, is a petite blonde with the vocals and musicianship that will scare her male bass playing counterparts. I also love the fact that halfway through the set the drummer got down from his riser and took over lead vocals with a stunning rock ballad.

Boulevard Blues Band. Well what can I say except that they totally rock! If you are not and undercover blues agent by now (It's a T-Shirt thang!) then you have to see these guys live. BBB have played everything from corporates, pubs, biker rallies and festivals all over South Africa and as their biog reads... they have over 100 years of experience between them!

Dan Patlansky stole the show. No arguments there. This guy just gets better and better. You ca see by the way he plays and his facial expressions that he is totally passionate about what he is doing. He can really make that guitar talk. What struck me is that his backing bassist (Smelly Fellows) and drummer played so as to be unobtrusive. The rhythm section was just at the right level to be there but if only they stopped playing you'd notice. The interplay between the performers was phenomenal to a point where you feel your brain unconsciously following the patterns of the music as it builds up and breaks down... Emotional is the closest I can describe this! You could have heard a pin drop during his rendition of Stevie Ray Vaughn. If you haven't seen Dan Patlansky play, you haven't experienced blues SA style.

Those who braved the temperature drop and hung around after Dan's performance were treated to a 45 minute impromptu jam session with representative musicians from all 7 bands.

Chatting to the various band members throughout the day was a humbling experience for me as these guys are genuine, down to earth and above all passionate about the blues.

My favourite acts of the day... errrr... ALL of them!

This festival is now in its third year and this is the first time that it has been hosted at the Bloemendal Wynhuis in Durbanville. All I can say here is that it was the perfect setting. Open area in front of the stage, freeform tent chill area with ample seating. I just think that a greater variety of food would have put the cherry on the top.