Gig review: Seasick Steve - Academy, Glasgow

AFTER his exceptionally belated breakthrough back in 2006, 70-year-old hobo-turned-acclaimed bluesman “Seasick” Steve Wold is making up for lost time – he’s already reached the bit in his career when rock royalty casually sit in on his sets.

Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones moonlighted on bass and mandolin throughout this show, reprising his role on Wold’s latest album You Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks. A ticket price that would have been money well spent by any measure suddenly looked like the bargain of the year.

For all Jones’s pedigree and skilful playing, the roost was ruled by Wold – a gracious fellow who thanked the crowd for giving him “the greatest job in the world”. Sitting in a creaky chair beneath a canopy of spotlights, Wold managed to make a sold-out music hall feel as intimate as dive bar USA.

The gruff blues-rock of Back in the Doghouse, powered by Dan Magnusson’s steamrolling drumming, was Wold at his let-it-all-hang-out loudest, while the delicate Walking Man – sung while he gazed into the eyes of a girl from the audience – highlighted a tenderness in his voice and repertoire.

Proud as he was to share the stage with a rock legend, Wold looked prouder still to introduce his three sons – all among his road crew – before a singalong to It’s a Long Long Way, during which Magnusson made charming percussion by scraping a broom on the stage floor, though it might as well have been the back porch.

Rating: ****