“This is my show so I’m going to play what I want” Canadian blues maestro Matt Andersen quipped during the last leg of his UK tour as he played an intimate solo gig at the Hope and Ruin in Brighton. 

This was a  3-2-1 gig. Three acts on the bill. Andersen’s Canadian compatriot Charlotte Cornfield opened, with bass and drums accompanying. Then Welsh blues/country singer Laura Evans with her guitarist Will Edmunds. Then the solo Andersen.

The power of Andersen is incredible. When he needs vocal power he throws his head back and goes for it big time. It’s a good job he moves back from the mic otherwise he’d probably break it. Andersen is no blues shouter, he’s an extraordinary blues singer who perfectly employs light and shade.

Andersen succeeds magnificently. Playing solo gives him the space for inspired improvisation. WIth incredible guitar playing, whether finger-picking, strumming or controlled, frenetic thrashing, Andersen gets more from an acoustic guitar than seems possible.

Touring Europe to coincide with his new album House To House, Andersen held his audience in the palm of his hand, thrilled and enthralled in equal measure, with gasps and whoops galore. Andersen’s repartee between songs is relaxed, witty and funny. His personality shines brightly.

Whether uptempo blues or gentler numbers, Andersen is a true master of his craft, with emotion to burn, and white hot guitar playing. Standout tracks were the scintillating Other Side Of Goodbye and a dramatic, impromptu version of Bill Withers’ Ain’t No Sunshine.

A standout lyric came from his track Devil’s Bride :‘Your love is like a freight train and I’m tied to the tracks.’ 

Matt Andersen is a blues freight train, with his audience willingly tied to the tracks.