Saluting Lester Butler and The Red Devils, DVL are comprised of Texan vocalist and harmonica master Guy Forsyth, Dave Doherty on bass and members of influential British blues band The Hoax; Jon Amor, Robin Davey and Mark Barrett.
In 2013, after a brief dressing room discussion at the Bluesrock festival in the Netherlands, Guy Forsyth joined The Hoax on stage for a riotous version of Going To The Church by The Red Devils. “We should do this again” was the inevitable discussion post show. Fast forward a couple of years and after a few emails back and forth DVL have toured across Northern Europe and the UK, dirtying up the British blues scene with a firestorm of electric noise.
Devizes Sports Club played host to the last night of the tour, and even though the band were contemplative in their discussion with The Ocelot before taking the stage, they couldn’t be more enthused over what they had achieved.
Guy Forsyth said: “It’s dirty, voodoo sex rock and our community service! Ultimately it’s some Lester Butler fans enjoying themselves on stage, but both myself and the guys from The Hoax have always had that 1950s smokey Chicago blues vibe to our playing.”
Jon Amor added: “There are very few bands playing this kind of music in the UK especially at the moment, so it’s great to be playing some very ‘in the moment’ music where spontanaity is the key.”
The tour itself has wound its way through northern Europe, principally the Netherlands where this whole adventure started. King of shuffle Mark Barrett (not Market as reiterated by Mr Forsyth on stage - sorry Mark!) said: “The tour has been above and beyond what we could have hoped for. I’ve really enjoyed it this time around.”
But the group haven’t lost perspective on what performing these songs means to them. Guy said: “We were all fans of Lester’s music, and I personally got to share the stage with him a couple of times before he passed away from a heroin overdose 18 years ago.”
This is a point Guy makes poignantly on stage, describing his friend’s final moments in thoughtfully worded detail and reiterating the core message from the band which is to enjoy every moment with people you can truly count as friends.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4Zpcti-9TA&feature=youtu.be
The show itself was utterly stunning. Doors opened at 8pm with a flood of people trying to get the best seats, but quickly it became standing room only, even though the band didn’t take the stage until 9.15pm.
To me, this was never a sit down show. The music was just so infectious and driving you to dance.
But blues attracts the discerning music fan in Wiltshire it seems, as smiles and nods of appreciation accompanied the ovations DVL received after every song.
Don’t get me wrong, there were pockets of dancing all over the room, and many seats shuffling, but a clear dance floor would have been a great asset to a truly energetic band.
Musically, DVL provided a lesson in virtuoso playing of the highest order, with incredible stage presence and a musical unity that bands in today’s charts could and should learn from.
Disorderly Sounds and Devizes Sports Club are making a habit of these shows, with blues star Jo Harman next on December 3. Do NOT miss it!
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PS: Apologies for the delay with this review, we had a magazine to print…