One Man Band which fascinates and moves

"My Family", Luka Bloom calls the three acoustic guitars that accompany him on his tour. The white one is called Judy, the black one Rudy, and the Spanish guitar is suitably called Carmen. With his Irish roots and gnarly countryside romanticism Bloom fits the classical image of a folksinger. On the other hand he is a one man band who takes full advantage of electric amplification, and who knew how to win a rock audience at Pinkpop for a repertoire which is not as traditional as it may seem. One of his finds is the way in which he turned L.L. Cool J's rap hit "I Need Love" into a kind of talking blues which even the biggest folk purist could not object to.

Luka Bloom is an excellent songwriter, who, on his recent album Keeper Of The Flame only performs other peoples' songs. "I got sick listening to my own moaning about broken hearts", he last night explained his setlist, which consisted of other peoples' songs for about 50 percent. Some were closely associated with his own tough man romanticism, like Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love" and Tim Hardin's "If I Were A Carpenter". Others were less obvious, like the daring "Natural Mystic" by Bob Marley. In a wispy and subtly sung "No Surprises" (Radiohead) Bloom as a one man cover band equalled the emotion of the original.

The two most noticeable tracks included on the CD, U2's "Bad" and Abba's "Dancing Queen" were not performed in Leiden. Instead he sang the comforting "Don't Be So Hard on Yourself" and the courtly ballad "Black is the Colour", a century old traditional, which makes for a great contrast with his rhythmic L.L. Cool J. rap. "It is ridiculous to get paid all this money for having this much fun", Bloom put his performance into perspective, a performance which did not need theatrical light effects in order to keep the audience's attention for an hour and a half.

Live Review by Jan Vollaard
Translated by Jolande Hibels

Big Al's room, Kink FM Studio, Amsterdam
Songs: If I Were A Carpenter, No Surprises, In Between Days

*Regarding this LIVE cd, I need to clarify the situation. Over the past years I've recorded a good few shows, and will continue to do so. When we booked the Kleine Komedie for the coming Dutch tour, I remarked to the Manager (of the theatre) that it would be a nice room to record in. I NEVER intended them to advertise a Live recording for the shows. I would never do that; as this would affect the atmosphere. The whole charm of the live show show is the spontaneous, the unexpected. I probably will record the Kleine Komedie; but I never intended it to be perceived as THE definitive show for a cd. I sincerely apologise to all of you who are practising your whistles, cheers, singalongs, heckles, in the hope that you will recognise yourself on my live cd! There will be many shows, and I have no idea which ones will give me the songs for a future live cd. I'm reluctant to do a live cd because the show is a bit sacred to me; it's an in-the-moment experience. But I'm always asked for one; and my resolve is weakening. Any way, I apologise for any misunderstanding; I'm sure it's all my fault...

27-12-2000 Luka Bloom's New Year message to the LukaList

>> De Kleine Komedie &
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