The Stumble, The Guidhall, Lichfield

The six piece blues ensemble The Stumble played a lively set of original material and covers of blues,soul and jazz songs to a large and appreciative audience when they appeared at Lichfield Guildhall on February 1^st.

With a lively blues based sound, that took in influences from the likes of BB King and Booker T and the MGS, playing songs from their three acclaimed albums, and new material from their pending fourth.

Vocalist Paul Melville, and co played a lively set, that ranged from epic six minute slow blues numbers to swinging jazz grooves that got the audience on their feet. 'Lie To Me', the title track from their most recent release started the evening in good order, the song’s insistent groove and unified guitar and sax lines melding seamlessly with each other, whilst 'Just Stop', a new song, was a funky bluesy number, but it was the slow blues song, 'Freedom' that allowed the musicians to show off their pedigree. Fluent saxophone and guitar solos were underpinned by some fine drum and bass parts, and the duet for saxophone and hand drums that finished were the song had to be seen to be believed.

'Small World' was a livelier proposition, as was 'The Hougan', a tough, jazz song, full of spiky interjections and a characterful vocal performance from Paul Melville, who also shone during the set closer 'Evening', one of those haunting blues ballads that featured superb saxophone solos from Simon Anthony Dixon.

The second set featured some well chosen covers, and was started by 'The World is Tough', the title track from their first album, whilst the jump jive stylings of '360 Degree Blues' was appreciated by the audience. BB King’s 'You Upset Me Baby' received an excellent rendition, with its fast beat being in direct contrast to the slow blues of 'All Over Again' featuring long, technically accomplished guitar and saxophone solos that received rapturous applause from the many blues fans in attendance.

Sam Cooke’s 'Bring It On Home To Me' bought up the tempo, and featured audience participation before set closer 'My Life' started out deceptively as a slow blues song, before a lively encore bought up the pace.

An encore was inevitable, and was delivered with Hound Dog Taylor’s 'Give Me Back My Wig', a good time upbeat song. The Stumble are rightly seen as one of the country’s leading blues bands, featuring a talented singer/frontman, a tight rhythm section, and three fine soloists, and are well worth the entry price.