Matt Andersen

Last night my Dad said he had a spare ticket for a blues gig at teh Victoria Hotel in Menai Bridge.

He told me the guy was a "Great big Canadian feller". Sounds good, I thought. I was expecting some dishevelled, sixty-something guy with a glass of whiskey in one hand and a trilby perched on him.

But no. He's awesome! Matt Andersen isn't a small guy, in fact his song I'm a big man" is pretty self explanatory. He throws his head back, long curly hair whirling about his face, and plays the whole gig with his eyes closed.

Unrestrained wailing of the finest kind, accompanied by some of the meanest slide guitar you'll hear this side of doomsday, make no mistake, this guy can play.

Some of his self-written songs get a bit maudlin, but that's the more modern tonality rather than a miserable man, as his audience participation, and his beautifully ridiculous "Cookie Monster Blues" kept a cynical Welsh audience roaring for near enough three hours.

I'd see this guy again, and if you haven't seen him at all, well, now's the time!

Here is his website, I recommend his collaboration with Mike Stevens on "Fired Up".