Chicago via Melbourne bluesman Michael Charles had a great crowd of approximately 40 people for his return to the Slice on Thursday, Oct. 6. He looked like he was all set to play all night and into the morning and the crowd was ready to stay with him and band mates drummer Ryder Ollie and bassist Luke Gill.
I arrived in the middle of a beautiful version of “ The Thrill is Gone.”
After a brief drum solo from Olle, Charles switched guitars to a PRS and picked up the tempo for “Nobody’s Fool.”
Like last time, his set was a mix of originals and Charles’ take on popular blues standards like “Cocaine” and everybody got to solo.
He switched guitars and played sweet wah wah soaked solos. One of the highlights, “ Tunes My Daddy Taught Me” was reminiscent of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game.”
He exchanged that for a brown Stratocaster.
His wah wah pedal got a workout on some Jimi Hendrix. Bassist Luke Gill got to solo before the trio tore into “Big Boss Man.”
The band took a brief break as Charles took centre stage to caress his acoustic guitar for a couple of songs before welcoming the band back to the stage.
— by Richard Amery, L.A Beat Editor
