Ted Crook & The Blues Highway
The Plough Inn, Hereford
Saturday, 19th April 2008

This was the bands second gig at The Plough, the first, I arrived late after a visit to the Ballet -  Swan Lake actually!, and only saw the last number and the encores but it was more than enough to impress. Most of the crowd had first seen Ted and the boys last year at The Tenby Blues Festival, rating them as good if not better than some of the main stage acts, and recommended them on to the landlord. This same crowd had also seen Ted on his first visit to The Plough and tonight were right behind the band all the way through, the rapport was excellent.

For a band who have only been together for eighteen months they show a lot of maturity. Ted  showed the way with his sweet harp in the style of Little Walter and “Tiny”, complete with his Epiphone Zephyr Blues De-Luxe, the tone of which was absolutely outstanding, and also a copy of T Bone Walkers Gibson was a revelation. The set listings show the Harp led style of this band and some of the material; covers of the great Big Joe Turner, Tampa Red, Big Bill Broonzy and Little Walter were authentic enough but the starring roll for me were the covers of the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Ted’s version of Tough Enough could have been Kim Wilson! Worthy of note was their own number “Southside Boogie” and Walkin’ Blues Featuring “Stiff” on vocals covering this Robert Johnson classic.

The good news is they are back at The Plough on Saturday 28/06/08 and also Saturday 8/11/08.

Steve Wosket

Set Lists:

Here are Steve's photos....