Australian born Gerry Weise is a man that breaths blues.  Gerry started on the guitar when he was 14 years old and within four years he was already supporting bands like AC/DC, Rose Tattoo or Midnight oil.  His collaboration with blues gods goes as far as B.B.King, John Lee Hooker, Albert Collins, Noel Redding or Eric Clapton but listening to what I hear and watching some pictures it’s undeniable that Stevie Ray Vaughan played a very influential role is his live.

And despite that, you can find also tunes that are different. Take for instance the sixties inspired song “Ya Na Ho” or the more alternative “Blackdown Baby”.  These are not the 100% pure blues tunes that you link to a man who played with B.B.King orJohn Lee Hooker!  But don’t fear, “Bondi Boogie” is one for the purist of electric blues as is his “Long Train Blues”.  The latter was awarded Song Of The Month December 2007 at Songweavers NYC and is a self-penned ode to Jimi Hendrix’ Voodoo Chile. Gerry Joe Weise isn’t covering his influence at all cause halfway through the song he picks up the classic lines “I’m standing next to a mountain,…” As it is this tune comes from a live session in La Chapelle, Belgium and is clocking in a couple of seconds under the 7 minutes. 

The man is a huge fan of Jimi Hendrix and thus a real cover of Voodoo Chile can’t be missing on this live album.  It is here that he shows yet another side of the blues and his craftsmanship. This acoustic version of  “Voodoo chile” is in huge contradiction to the electric versions we all know but it is also very refreshing that this tune is still alive years after it was composed. No 6 or 7 minutes long version this time but a gentle 2.35 minutes!  “Slide water Cajun” takes up where he left us with “Long Train Blues” .  Torturing his guitar while backed up by a basic rhythm section Gerry Joe is getting every possible note out of his guitar.  However it is a tune like “Ned Kelly Outlaw” that does the trick for me.  Gentle and easy only backed up with a bass guitar, “Ned Kelly outlaw” takes us back to the origins of the field blues: Story telling music.  Next to blues and alt.blues you can also find some jazzy riffs on this Live album as well. “Bb Jazzy” explains it all I guess.

“Gerry Joe Weise Live” is not exactly what it says cause there is only like four real live recordings on the album.  The rest of the tunes are indeed coming from live sessions but they are undoable re-mastered afterwards erasing the public and the breaks in between.  Still this album is a little masterpiece and one that has been on my player more then once.  For a more complete overview of his work, go visit his website.

Mr. Blue Boogie