Until I was assigned to review her, I must confess that I had never heard of Ana Popovic. Well, that was my loss, because as I hope this review will convey, she is one hell of a talent. However, before Ana takes the stage we are entertained by Toby Lee and his band.
Toby Lee is very much like a young Stevie Ray Vaughan, in the same way that his band are very much in the mould of Double Trouble. They are a classic three piece where there is lots of room for the musicians to do interesting stuff. All three of them have the chops to adequately fill that space too.
The set is a mix of original material and covers. ‘Time Ain’t What It Used To Be’ is a new song which features a dazzling guitar solo. In fact, pretty much every song provides a home for a dazzling guitar solo! Toby describes ‘Kansas City’ as “an old blues classic”. This description is probably debatable. It was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1952, although they were heavily influenced by an earlier song by Big Joe Turner. Fats Domino recorded it, as did Little Richard and The Beatles. Toby’s version is slow and bluesy and is probably close to the original, although whether that was Lieber & Stoller’s version or Big Joe Turner’s version is probably moot.
Toby’s playing more than warrants the Stevie Ray Vaughan comparison. He and his band (Sam Collins on bass and Max Williams on drums) are on fire. The three of them together have a fantastic sense of dynamics too. One moment it’s quiet enough to hear a pin drop, the next moment it’s like thunder. A case in point is ‘Paper Aeroplanes’. The song starts off very delicately but soon gets heavier. Max Williams on drums has more than a hint of John Bonham about him, though he does play more quietly for the delicate stuff, which ‘Bonzo’ didn’t always do!
The set continues with ‘The Search For Happiness’, which is from their debut album. Max produces some nice rimshots, and clearly enjoys Toby’s soloing. The set concludes with a Jeff Healey cover: ‘Can You See The Light’, which starts with some very nice wah-wah. This has been a superb set by someone who I believe will be recognised as a major new talent, if there’s any justice in this world. ‘Scuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor.
Previously in a band called Hush, Ana Popovic became a solo artist in 1999, and released her debut album ‘Hush!‘ in 2001. She has a new album entitled ‘Power’ coming out on 5th May.
Unfortunately the Islington Academy tonight is only around half to two-thirds full, so I guess there are a lot of other people who haven’t heard of Ana apart from myself. Ana’s band, consisting of Buthel Burns on bass and backing vocals, Jerry Kelley drums and backing vocals, Michele Papadia on keyboards, Claudio Giovagnoli on saxophone, and Davide Ghidoni on trumpet, take the stage and commence an instrumental which was both funky and jazzy. Ana joins them and starts singing and playing. This is all disturbingly ‘showbiz’ until she plays her first solo; then, oh me oh my…… Ana is certainly not a shredder, but to say that she rips it up goes nowhere near describing the ferocity and inventiveness of her playing. I definitely wasn’t expecting this!!!
It isn’t just Ana who’s in virtuoso territory, the rest of the band are very much the same. Buthel Burns plays a five string bass which is always a sign of a serious musician. Buthel solos, followed by Jerry Kelley on drums, and then the solos are interspersed with each other. This is jazz rock right? I would say so, with a huge dollop of blues, plus a not insignificant amount of funk. This band swings man!
All of the musicians get their share of the spotlight. There are certainly no rampant egos on display, just great musicianship. This is reflected in their fabulous fusion of genres, including reggae. Ana plays a guitar solo that actually manages to sound like a slap bass solo. Her 1964 sunburst Fender Stratocaster has almost as worn a finish as Rory Gallagher’s famous 1963 model.
As regards the set, it begins with two songs from ‘Can You Stand The Heat‘ (2013), there are two songs from ‘Trilogy’ (2016), and three from ‘Like It On Top‘ (2018). ‘New Coat Of Paint‘ is a Tom Waits cover, and there are five songs from the yet to be released album ‘Power’, including ‘Rise Up!’, one of the encores. It’s interesting that the bulk of the new songs are played towards the end of the set, whereas most artists play newer material earlier, and save their old favourites for the end. Choosing to structure the set in this way exhibits a great deal of confidence in the new material.
Tonight’s show has been a tour de force throughout. Basically, this is a demonstration of ‘how it should be done’. Ana is probably one of the top ten best guitarists that I’ve ever seen. Her playing really is astonishingly good. During the set I suddenly thought that Jeff Beck would have loved Ana’s playing. When I meet her after the show I ask her whether she ever met him. Yes, comes the reply, he had invited her on tour. Peer recognition doesn’t get much better than that.
Ana Popovic setlist:
‘Can You Stand The Heat’ (from 2013 ‘Can You Stand The Heat’ album)
‘Object Of Obsession’ (from 2013 ‘Can You Stand The Heat’ album)
‘Love You Tonight’ (from 2016 ‘Trilogy’ album)
‘New Coat Of Paint’ (Tom Waits cover from 2016 ‘Trilogy’ album)
‘Power Over Me’ (from 2023 ‘Power’ album)
‘Johnnie Ray’ (from 2016 ‘Trilogy’ album)
‘Brand New Man’ (from 2018 ‘Like It On Top’ album)
‘Like It On Top’ (from 2018 ‘Like It On Top’ album)
‘Lasting Kind Of Love’ (from 2018 ‘Like It On Top’ album)
‘Queen Of The Pack’ (from 2023 ‘Power’ album)
‘Doin’ This’ (from 2023 ‘Power’ album)
‘Ride It’ (from 2023 ‘Power’ album)
(encore)
‘Rise Up!’ (from 2023 ‘Power’ album)
‘We Can Change The World’
Rory’s strat was a ’61 not ’63. He bought it used in ’63 so that might be the reason for the mix up in dates.
Thanks Milo.