I always get super proud when I see musicians from my hometown become well-known. More so when they’re passionate about repping the flag of the town. Local blues guitar hero Laurence Jones has been one of those shining stars in the music world for the last 10 years. Racking up critical acclaim and audience approval. His stylistic guitar skills and affable attitude have won him the hearts of many blues fans. 2023 saw Laurence drop a new record Bad Luck and The Blues. A record that I feel put him out there. It was a much more rough and raw record that sounds simply amazing. As Jones takes more of a jam-band feel to the album. Big meaty solos and catchy hooks that keep you invested in the record. This tour in support of that record has taken the young blues man far and wide, but on this night, he comes home to a stage that he’s graced in his younger days. The Citadel Theatre has been in the heart of the St Helens town centre longer than I’ve been alive. It’s a venue that I’ve always known and a place where I’ve seen some big names in here; from Joanne Shaw Taylor to Funeral For A Friend, this stage has seen its fair share of fantastic shows, and this night would be added to the list.
Opening up the night was the acoustic blues style of guitarist Jim Kirkpatrick. This was a brilliant opening set as Jim made the complex guitar riffs and solos seem like nothing. The acoustics of the room carried his voice all the way to the back of the hall. I was just standing there in awe of his fingers gliding effortlessly up and down the frets on the guitar. Songs like “Ballad of a Prodigal Son” and “No Such Thing as a Sure Thing” were fun songs as Jim howled out the words and noodled the strings of the guitar. I liked his percussive style of guitar as he patted and beat a rhythm out of the already pretty beat-up Takamine. I really enjoyed the navigation of blues lick to riff to solo as Jim coursed his way through the setlist. All while regaling the audience with stories from his travels in his career. This led to the story of a tour that Jim was on with rock legend Bernie Marsden, which in turn preceded the song “Always on the Road”.
Honestly, I think this set was a great warm-up for what was to come. I’ve always admired Kirkpatrick for his commitment, skill and talent. Also, his charming nature and down-to-earth personality are more than enough to win fans over. This set was fantastic for its complex simplicity. For a one-man show, he sure brought the weight of a full band in one performance. It was impressive and set the stage nicely for what was to come. Though I've seen him as a guitarist for other singers, and obviously with the rock band FM, it was cool to watch him play his songs and show off his personality. If you didn't know who he was when entering the venue you had a good sense of who he was when the set was over. The crowd seemed impressed by this set and so was I. This was absolutely above and beyond the call of duty and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up on many people's Spotify playlists later.
The lights dimmed as the band made their way to the stage. Bassist, Jack Alexander Timmis and drummer, Alan Taylor took their positions before the man himself Mr. Laurence Jones made his presence known to a rapturous applause before bursting into a calamitous racket of noise. Jones wasted no time in getting in his guitar noise made of distortion and reverb. The band led straight into the opening songs “What’s It Gonna Be” and massive single “Bad Luck and The Blues”. This was a fun energetic way to open the set and also allows Laurence to run wild with guitar solos but also creates a reliable structure to return to. The night would get wilder but this opening section was so key. It informs a lot about the band. The way they structure their sound, the way you can hear the complexity of the guitar bouncing off of the smooth gliding of the bass lines. All of this is framed by the drum work. Which does a lot to draw you in and keep your attention locked into the precise execution of the riffs and solos. I think with all of the gain and distortion Laurence’s vocals felt a little lost in the overall mix of the sound, however not enough for this to be distracting or even a negative. This often happens at gigs and it did get better throughout the performance. However, here and there I did feel like the vocals did suffer.
As the set marched on, song after song echoed into the evening. Jones’s skill and talent for the guitar was very apparent. The majority of the setlist is taken from the latest record with a smattering of older tunes peppered throughout. I think a lot of these songs sound absolutely fantastic. I really appreciated “Lost & Broken” and “Don’t You Leave Me This Way”. These songs feel new yet familiar. They feel like songs that have always existed and the band plays them with vigour. You just have to marvel at the power and passion on display. Jones would harken back to his early years with the song “Thunder in the Sky”. A solemn and powerful blues number with a slow build to a huge solo. It feels like a classic blue-trio tune and I can really hear it becoming a staple of late-night lounge bars.
I think Jones comes across as incredibly charming and affable. He’s just a blues music nerd who just happens to be living the dream of every young boy who grew up listening to their parent's classic rock collection and had the inclination to pick up a guitar. I think anyone who has spent any amount of time listening to music and picking up an instrument has imagined themselves on a stage playing their favourite songs. Well, Laurence gets to live that as he bursted into a cover of “Voodoo Child” by Jimi Hendrix, complete with playing a part of the solo with his teeth (as one does). You can just see him beaming with every chord and every note.
The ending of the main set wrapped up with “Woman” and “Stuck In The Night”. Quicker than the night started it had ended. The audience was left more than happy. So much cheering and applause, that it’s easy to get lost in the crowd, quite literally. You can tell it meant the world to Laurence. A stage that he had graced before but this time a packed crowd all engrossed and enjoying his music. He did the typical thing of leaving the stage for a few moments before returning to play one more song. In this case, that song was “Whisper In The Wind”. A brilliant song to send the crowd home happy. This was an absolutely amazing night. Superb musicianship, fantastic sound, and a set list that capitalised on the new album while still remembering the origins. I don’t think you could ask for more. As I walked away from the venue I felt like this was a night more than worth coming out for. We in St Helens don’t get to claim many massive stars in the music world, however, of all the blues musicians in the world today, I’m glad that we get to claim Laurence Jones as one of our own!
I think Jones comes across as incredibly charming and affable. He’s just a blues music nerd who just happens to be living the dream of every young boy who grew up listening to their parent's classic rock collection and had the inclination to pick up a guitar. I think anyone who has spent any amount of time listening to music and picking up an instrument has imagined themselves on a stage playing their favourite songs. Well, Laurence gets to live that as he bursted into a cover of “Voodoo Child” by Jimi Hendrix, complete with playing a part of the solo with his teeth (as one does). You can just see him beaming with every chord and every note.
The ending of the main set wrapped up with “Woman” and “Stuck In The Night”. Quicker than the night started it had ended. The audience was left more than happy. So much cheering and applause, that it’s easy to get lost in the crowd, quite literally. You can tell it meant the world to Laurence. A stage that he had graced before but this time a packed crowd all engrossed and enjoying his music. He did the typical thing of leaving the stage for a few moments before returning to play one more song. In this case, that song was “Whisper In The Wind”. A brilliant song to send the crowd home happy. This was an absolutely amazing night. Superb musicianship, fantastic sound, and a set list that capitalised on the new album while still remembering the origins. I don’t think you could ask for more. As I walked away from the venue I felt like this was a night more than worth coming out for. We in St Helens don’t get to claim many massive stars in the music world, however, of all the blues musicians in the world today, I’m glad that we get to claim Laurence Jones as one of our own!
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