Review: Kent Duchaine at Lewes
Kent Duchaine, The Lansdown, Lewes – January 17.
LIKE so much of life, our age has little meaning until we contrast it with someone else's reality.
Explaining, for example, to a jet-lagged Martian that I am "approaching middle age" would not assist out little green friend in understanding what "a good innings" for an Earthling is considered to be (and the fact that Martians are unlikely to have more than a passing grasp of cricket-based clichs would only further hinder the conversation).
Time has treated The Lansdown Arms a little better since its transition from The White Star some time ago. This compact little boozer has attracted an increasingly youthful crowd, and the regular reggae and live DJ-themed nights seem to suit the annoyingly fresh-faced crowd.
Kent Duchaine's billing therefore would seem an odd variation to this successful pattern. This likable, rugged Minnesota-born singer / guitarist sits comfortably on the "experienced" side of middle-age, looking like a tanned Iggy Pop but thankfully wearing more clothes. His nostalgic anecdotes of his colourful exploits across the pond reflect a man who has clearly lived the life of the archetypal bluesman.
However, Kent appeared positively sprightly in relation to his guitar which is apparently called Leadbessie. This fascinating metal contraption looked like a stringed bedpan and sounded like a sitar / ukulele cross.
He hammered away on poor Bessie with enthusiasm and churned out some Muddy Waters, T-Bone Walker-type favourites that eventually got the trainered feet tapping and even generated a few wolf whistles (although equally this could have simply been a means of communicating drinks orders between friends on opposite sides of the bar).
Had our perturbed Martian sought out this planet of contradictions in search of more than a pint or two of Kronenborg then he / she would certainly have returned home with more questions than answers. We can only hope that, while they may come in peace, they left with renewed insight into the multi-faceted uses of a bedpan, and their planet can only be the better for it.
Richard Cuming
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Weather for Lewes
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -2 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: -1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
