Queen Jewell told us how excited she was to finally play a date in Dublin, something she had wanted to do, it was she enthused "a magical event". Her previous visits were only to Dublin Airport on the way to other venues. The audience in the Sugar Club were equally delighted to have her and her superb band there. The rhythm section of Jason Beek on drums and backing vocals and Johnny Sciascia on upright bass were solid and sympathetic to the songs throughout, laying down a solid musical bedrock. Because of his role in the music guitarist Jerry Miller gets a lot of attention, and deservedly so, he is an dexterous and dynamic player. This is a band as Jewell says that are "capable of playing anything" and that is proved as the music then touches on classic country, rockabilly, blues and honky-tonk. This tightly focused outfit played songs from all of their albums including a couple of songs from the gospel side project the Sacred Shakers. The 22 song set included two songs from her Loretta Lynn tribute album- Fist City and Deep As Your Pocket - the latter song described as a public service warning. Her relaxed introductions including telling us that cupid wasn't all he was cracked up to be with his scattered aim as outlined in her song Bang Bang Bang, that Jameson is their favourite whiskey before playing High Shelf Booze. That the first song she learned was a blues song that they had adapted their take from previous versions as Nobody's Business. Other covers outside of Miss Lynn's still relevant songs included Arthur Alexander's The Girl That Radiates That Charm, Bob Dylan's Trouble In Mind and the Miller showcase, the Johnny Kidd and the Pirates classic, Shakin' All Over which saw Miller include a slew of riffs from 60's songs like Paint It Black into the mix and the audience singing the chorus. Her own songs are every bit as good and included Sea Of Tears, Boundary County, Santa Fe, Warning Signs and Heartache Boulevard. Eilen Jewell is far more than just a queen of the minor key, the music played before an audience by this tight and thoroughly engaged and engaging quartet is an ideal live experience. They breathe new life into these songs in this setting. Both sides of the stage had fun, which is exactly how it should be.
Review by Stephen Rapid, Photograph by Mark Averill