Delaney Davidson embodies the ghost spirit of a Johnson and howls, growls, snarls and generally rips up a storm on his Anniversary Tour.

William Burroughs. The concept of the Johnson family extends beyond the literal underworld or the hobo community, encompassing a broader sense of ethical conduct in any social context. Johnsons operate with a sense of what is sensible and respectful, while rejecting what is senseless and disrespectful. 

The Blues Johnsons. Robert, Blind Wille and Tommy. The Devil meeting at the crossroads.

Muddy and the Wolf (a Sun alumnus). A mojo hand. Black cat bones and a little John the Conqueroo.

Davidson played a memorable set in July 2000, at the old Wine Cellar. In this Double Whammy, that venue existed on the opposite wall to the current main stage. A solo show with Davidson in full beast mode.

Allow the darkness in, the wolf at the door. I welcome the dead into my soul. You have dragged me to hell.

To give its full context, this was Lockdown Year Zero and was a prescient rabbit hole dive for the howling abyss that followed

He has the Anniversaries band tonight, and they are his perfect co-conspirators in grime and crime

Heather Webb guitar, Alex Freer (Phoebe Rings) drums, Mark Hughes bass.

The celebration is around three key albums in his oeuvre, Self Decapitation (2010), Bad Luck Man (2011) and Lucky Guy (2015).

All recorded in studios outside New Zealand. Bad Luck Man came together in Italy and was described by Davidson as a perfect storm of his visionary musical approach.

Back In Hell, off the Decapitation albums kicks off the evening and the guitar storms are quick to appear. He does have an uncanny resemblance to Buster Keaton, with his deadpan stare and just a little manic edge to his aura.

Two dozen songs trawl his extensive back catalogue, and we will touch on a few highlights. The band workshopped thirty for this tour.

Best you catch one of the many dates.

Show Me How and the sound is booming a little, but the passion rises as tremolo guitars emanate. Edgy and ominous.

He really unleashes with Bad Luck Man. Drums batter away and the singer snarls and roars the more he sounds driven.

Black Bo, off the same album, and the first appearance of the Diddley beat for the night. The rhythm of the Cadillac assembly line and the guitars channel some early Cramps dissonance. The Alex Chilton-produced grime when Brian Gregory was around.

Davidson is prolific in his songwriting collaboration with others. This includes a memorable show at an Auckland Folk Festival where he co-wrote and produced Troy Kingi’s Folkie album, Black Sea Golden Ladder.

He cowrote the wonderful Beyond the Stars with Tami Neilsen. The band do a stunning and emotional take tonight. Guitars bending notes in ecstatic tones. Nice harmony vocals from Webb.

Relates the tale of meeting one of his idols Willie Nelson along with Tami and being stuck for words.

Movin’ On. Full of theatrics and sound effects. Vocalising train rhythms and leading into twanging guitars. Sounds like Johnny Cash at Sun trying on some psychobilly. Appropriately dirty.

 Deathwish 25 is a strange song even in this context. A superlative bass riff plays it brutal. The vocal phrasing reminds me of The Stooges and their 1969. The ghost of Charlie Manson arises with some manic preaching. 1969 linking to 2025.

In many ways America 1968 has resurfaced in full, with the assassination attempts on Trump echoing the assassinations that ignited the country following Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy murders. A Kennedy son is back in the White House.

Epstein was just the inheritor of J. Edgar Hoover’s legacy of blackmail.

Chris climbs aboard on a few songs to play percussion and a musical saw. One is the demented Rockabilly of Magpie.

Wreck on the Highway takes us back to the Thirties when Country music in America was evolving at breakneck speed into the wider Americana. Written by Dorsey Dixon and first recorded by Roy Acuff and his Smokey Mountain Boys.

Davidson’s phrasing rises over the heavy bass tones and mournful guitar to capture the refrain. I heard the crash on the highway/ But I didn’t hear nobody pray.

The Bo beat is all over Devil’s Right Hand and Windy City begins with the rhythms of Bo Diddley’s Hush Your Mouth.

Delaney Davidson and band gather more steam and momentum, and over the last half dozen songs their Detroit Blues sound becomes what Iggy Pop always envisioned for the Stooges. Urban Blues par excellence.

Rev. Orange Peel

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