For true blue authentic delta blues fans, a packed Slice took in Big Dave McLean and Doc MacLean, Oct. 24. 
Doc MacLean’s drawling baritone voice had a bit of warble which was simply mesmerizing and put the listeners into a deep southern cotton field listening to pre-revolution field hollers. He added washboard and battered National Steel guitar to Winnipeg blues god Big Dave McLean’s songs. McLean, who won a Western Canadian Music Award for his latest CD “Got Em From the Bottom” was only too happy to return the favour, adding some mournful harp to heartfelt and almost menacing MacLean originals like “Angola Prison Rodeo” and “Bone Train” as well as some new songs.
Doc MacLean shared numerous stories in his slow southern drawl which put you in the middle of the delta, 70-odd years ago. They grabbed hold of the crowd from the outset, leaving no doubt as to who the main attraction was, even going so far as to take a couple joking shots at people talking during their performances.
There were a lot of highlights including Doc MaCLean’s extended intros to songs like “Johnson Terraplane” and “Angola Prison Rodeo.”
Big Dave McLean also played a couple tracks from his new CD, “Got Em’ From the Bottom.” The second set was a little more uptempo which was a break from a much lower key first set. But it was an excellent show which took the listeners back to the roots.
—by Richard Amery, L.A. Beat editor
