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Newton Faulkner Aah, sticky and sultry Louisiana. Swampy wasteland, unhurried river cruisers and bourbon. Weary women wear gingham handkerchiefs in their hair and wield dusty brooms. Crusty hicks in rocking chairs craft moody tunes on their sunset verandas. Laid-back Louisiana has always been a hotbed for the development of musical talent, from the early days of jazz and R&B to the nurturing of rock and roll and funk. I talk, of course, about the spit n' sawdust Louisiana pub near to Bristol 's floating harbour. The latest next big thing to grace the Louisiana was Newton Faulkner, a happy, humble man radiating warmth and creating smiles. He gave us a complex and innovative, yet unpretentious, guitar adventure, drawn mainly from his UFO EP and punctuated by manic bursts of ‘acoustic jungle', leaping from the stage like a jack-in-a-box. Denying any interest in playing ‘camp fire music', he teased us with the first few bars of some 2 Unlimited before a compelling cover of Massive Attack's Teardrop. Faulkner's connection with the crowd felt like a cosy cuddle between long-lost friends as the guys provided bass lines and the girls cooed at his sweetness. The Louisiana tingled, having surely just supported another rising star heading for the big time. Words: Charlie Jones / Pix: Newton Faulkner @ MySpace |
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