REVIEW: MAMA TOKUS, VINCE LEE & BECCA LANGSFORD AT PLYMOUTH B BAR
Plymouth’s top blues guitarist, Vince Lee recently produced On the Ragtime, the long awaited debut album by Mama Tokus, Plymouth’s own saucy blues songstress. Lee has also produced an album by Becca Langsford, and tonight we saw them doing their blues thang to a packed crowd at Barbican Theatre’s B Bar. Later this year, with the aid of a drummer, they will be taking their blues all-stars show on tour, under the banner of Rhythm’n’Roots Review. The format tonight: first there was a set by Becca on lead vocals, Vince Lee on guitar plus bassist. After a short break, the band came back on, joined by Mama Tokus, who then took over the lead vocal duties, backed up by Becca. They revisited songs from Mama Tokus and the Sons of Bitches’ album, “On The Ragtime”. The recordings feature an extended band, with horns, keyboards and drums aplenty, but the stripped-down versions of the songs worked just as well tonight. Superb musicianship, gutsy singing and cheeky lyrics: that’s the Mama formula.
Words: Arash Torabi
Photo: Angie Knight
