Komedia, March 17 (Brighton)

[michelej1]

The Argus, by Dan Creffield
http://www.theargus.co.uk/leisure/mu...hton__Mar_17/#

Peter Green And Friends, Komedia, Brighton, Mar 17
4:06pm Friday 19th March 2010


Jostling for a drink at a sold-out Komedia, I overheard someone at the bar telling a Peter Green anecdote. It’s common knowledge Green was an early acid casualty whose career was almost wrecked by the drug, but when it’s famous Irish guitarist Gary Moore recalling the story you tend to listen anyway.

Of course, the two have history: Green famously sold Moore his legendary 1959 Gibson Les Paul, regarded by many as possessing the greatest tone of any electric guitar ever recorded. Moore himself later sold it on for more than one million dollars.

But it surely wasn’t only out of gratitude for helping him bolster his pension that Moore was at the gig. Green, now 64, is considered by many as “the guitarist’s guitarist”.

And judging from the constant cries of “We love you Peter!”, the people also regard him as one of their own.

One of Britain’s most influential blues guitarists and the founder of Fleetwood Mac, Green’s life work is like a potted history of the British blues.

Wearing his traditional headscarf and sitting out of the spotlight, Green hardly spoke all night, happy to let the music and frontman Mike Dodd on vocals and rhythm guitar do the talking.

Accompanied by keyboards, double bass, drums and tenor sax, Green proved he is still an absolute master of the blues, his delicate playing and vocals totally bewitching the captive audience.

The highlight of the evening was unquestionably the instrumental track for which he is probably best known, Albatross.

Reverential silence fell across the room, followed by thunderous applause and cheers.