This was the third appearance of
the John O’Leary Band at Liverpool Marina, which speaks volumes for
their popularity at the city’s premier blues venue. There were a
couple of changes to the previous line-up of the band: Wayne Proctor
replaced Joachim Greve on drums and singer/guitarist Dave Day was
added to the core membership. However, the basic elements were still
in place: John O’Leary on vocals and harp, Jules Fothergill on
guitar, Jools Grudgings on keyboard and Roger Inniss on bass guitar.
The band opened with “Born In
Chicago”, which afforded an immediate opportunity for Day, O’Leary,
Grudgings and Fothergill to set down their markers as highly skilled
soloists, while a splendid rendition of Junior Wells’s “Snatch It
Back And Hold It” featured a cameo solo from Roger Inniss on bass
guitar. O’Leary conjured up some mean harp on “Early In The
Morning”, which was also blessed with a fabulous solo from
Fothergill, before newcomer, Dave Day, delivered excellent lead
vocals and tasty guitar on “Need Your Love So Bad” and Steely
Dan’s ”Do It Again”.