Bournemouth Folk Club

BOB BROZMAN
The Centre Stage, Bournemouth
October 7, 2010

Eccentric, animated, zany; there are insufficient or appropriate adjectives to describe the amazing Bob Brozman. Ostensibly he is a great blues guitarist who has redefined musical diversity worldwide. A master of the slide, finger style and percussive guitar techniques, Bob dazzled the Bournemouth Folk Club devotees with a powerful and exhilarating show which spanned the global musical spectrum. His wit and infectious energy had to be seen to be believed. With five guitars and a ukulele to call on and using his feet, hands and elbows for additional percussive effect, he switched effortlessly through blues, calypso, Creole, cowboy, Indian and Hawaiian music with a bit of swing thrown in for good measure at the end.
Opening the first set with Down the Road, a calypso of sorts, he followed up with Rattlesnake Blues before switching to Hawaiian and then Creole before returning to the blues with the excellent Death Comes Creeping. Then it was the ukulele for the aptly named Ukulele Spaghetti before he displayed wonderful virtuosity on his twenty two stringed Indian guitar and then closed with the poignant Look at New Orleans. This terrific opening set had simply flown by.

As expected, business at the merchandise counter was pretty brisk during the break as the regulars snapped up copies from his varied and extensive catalogue. Soon though, it was back to business with the beautiful love ballad La Vie en Rose which Bob sang in both French and English before he decided he was ‘gonna buy myself a bennie rooster’; more great blues. Other highlights from this guitar maestro were Old Mans Blues, played on the twenty two string and a new blues number, as yet untitled. By this time he had the audience singing and clapping to order. What a showman. A great encore One Steady Roll on which he again had the audience clapping to time, before he mingled with the audience to finish with the classic I’ll See You in My Dreams. The curfew bell had long tolled but there was still time for one more; a blues number for Dad. The opening line ‘my father told me when I was quite young, do your work before you have some fun’, advice which clearly had been listened to.

Bob Brozman ought to be a household name and feature in everyone’s CD collection. He is a prolific recording artist, also producing a string of instructional and live DVDs. He has toured in the UK for the last twenty one years and every year embarks on a punishing tour schedule embracing many countries around the world. He is definitely one not to miss.

John Roffey