A bit of gravel in the voice, a soft touch on the strings with a strong thump and a driving stomp, Lloyd Spiegel is billed as a driving force in Australian blues and one of the most respected guitarists in the country.

I had expected a serious, intense artist. Spiegel has designed and built his own signature instrument in conjunction with Cole Clark Guitars in Australia so he must take it very seriously, right? Instead there is playful banter and passionate pickin’. The whole performance is about telling a story, taking the audience on a journey, anecdotes that might be real but it doesn’t matter if they’re not because Spiegel is just so joyful while telling them.

He tells us about seeing Vanilla Ice at the Ringwood Hotel in Victoria and being one of only 25 audience members, which dwindled to just six after he played Ice Ice Baby as the fourth song of the set… It seems a little odd to have such a young man discussing how to recognise when your time is done, but his 20 years in the music industry have clearly shown him how false fame can be.

Spiegel’s blues material is really special. His version of Blind Willie McTell’s Statesboro Blues shows off his skill and starting his show with it sets the tone. Spiegel’s own songwriting moves through blues to country, which is a natural fit for a lone guitarist playing these emotive songs, but he can rock it nicely when he chooses. King With No Crown is touchingly sweet and If I Killed Ya When I Met Ya had the whole crowd stomping along, a nod to the legacy of Prince in the guitar sound here.  The song Blues, Leave Me Alone is a contemporary blues standout.

The Double Live Set album gives you a real taste of his performance, but as with all music nothing beats the real thing. Spiegel has a few more weeks touring in Australia before heading to Canada in August and New Zealand in October/November.

www.lloydspiegel.com