Imelda May

Posted by healy on August 21, 2011 in Family, Music | ∞

I love Rockabilly, it’s always had a place near and dear to me. My first exposure was actually through the Stray Cats in the 1980′s. After that I dug into the past to discover the roots and originators of the style. There is something about that bold guitar riff with a thundering bass and drum beat backing it up that I just love. Rockabilly has always had a very large place in my music collection.

From the classics like: Carl Perkins, Link Wray, Ritchie Valens, Roy Orbison, Elvis, Eddie Cochran, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, Gene VIncent, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Vince Taylor and Wanda Jackson.

To the more modern players: Stray Cats, Brian Setzer, Billy Rancher And The Unreal Gods, The Reverend Horton Heat, Mike Ness, Social Distortion, Southern Culture On The Skids, Legendary Shack Shakers, Dollarstore Cowboys, Hank III and the Supersuckers.

A couple of years back Robin went to see Jamie Cullum with her Mom. If you have not heard of him, you should check him out – He’s the what I imagine the love child of Jerry Lee Lewis and Frank Sinatra would be like. I was unable to go to the show and I missed out on what was apparently an amazing experience. When they came home they talked only briefly about Jamie (who was perfectly good apparently). The bulk of the conversation was all about the opening act Imelda May. Robin said she was just a little thing in a bright red dress with a big booming rockabilly band and a stage presence that was just captivating.

Shortly after that, I picked up their first two albums and loved them which made it even more of a letdown that I didn’t get to see her live. Their stuff is a mix of Rockabilly, Blues, Slow Jazz and some killer Rock and Roll tossed in. Their big single off the second album, Johnny Got A Boom Boom has a killer riff and is a great example of their style:

I finally got a chance to see her on August 10th. Robin, her Mom and myself all went to the Oregon Zoo where they were playing in support of their latest album Mayhem and I was amazed at the show. I witnessed a blues / rockabilly set that blew me away. They played stuff off all their albums but the special treat for me was hearing her belt out the Howlin Wolf classic Poor Boy and it gave me chills:

She paused the show early on to point out a little girl in the audience who was as she called it “An absolutely brilliant dancer”. She called her and her dad on stage to dance during with her. They played “Go Tell The Devil” and little Nora danced her legs off in front of a pretty large audience:

It was a great little moment and you could tell they were having a good time. I’m really glad I got to see them live and I will go again the next chance I have. The only bummer about the whole evening was these six people behind us that thought it was appropriate to talk really loud through the show. I lasted about four songs before I politely bit their heads off. I’ll never understand people who go to see live music and then talk all through the show.

Some tracks off their latest album:

Psycho: