Last week Australian blues-rock veteran Diesel aka Mark Lizotte played a sold-out show as part of the Rock The Bay: Pop Up Series at 2022 Wynnum Fringe.
Performing a unique, one-night-only solo concert in the cosy intimacy of the Spiegeltent (24 November), Diesel quickly set the scene for the night, telling concertgoers the first half of his show would be a collection of blues songs, followed by a selection of his own songs "that have kept me employed for the last three decades".With a selection of six guitars to his right and a standing bass guitar to his left, Diesel showcased his legendary musicianship throughout the show, with his chord dexterity and soulful vocals exquisitely magnified by the unique sonic quality of the travelling music salon.
Opening the show with 'Lost And Lookin' from his 2021 album 'Alone With Blues' (a collection of blues covers), the American-born singer-songwriter quickly delved into the American blues and jazz royalty catalogue, masterfully covering songs including Lenny Welch's 'Since I Feel For You', Howlin' Wolf's 'Spoonful' and Nina Simone's 'Work Song'.
With more than 100 million streams across 43 singles and 16 albums, plus 6 ARIA Awards, record sales edging 1 million and in 4,000 live shows under his belt, Diesel has a loyal fan base, evidenced by the looks of awe and rapture on the faces of the crowd (and the fact that I still possess my CD single of 1992 hit 'Man Alive').
Launching into his own material with 'One More Time' – from his first solo album 'Hepfidelity' that's celebrating its 30th anniversary this year – Diesel ploughed flawlessly through a medley of hits including 'Masterplan', 'Tip Of My Tongue' and 'Soul Revival', with enthusiastic whoops, wolf whistles and hearty clapping from the crowd punctuating the air.
At other times, however, you could almost hear a pin drop, with faces in the crowd left in enthralled silence during ballads such as '15 Feet Of Snow' (my all-time personal favourite).
The 1989 Top 10 single 'Cry In Shame' closed the set, and the irony of the song title was not lost on this punter, with Diesel reluctantly cutting the song short to comply with Council's 10pm noise curfew. A great misfortune indeed.
