Preview

Mae'r canwr/cyfansoddwr/gitarydd hynod dalentog hwn o Texas, â'i lais gwych llawn enaid taleithiau'r de/blws, yn teithio'r byd o'r UDA i Awstralia - heno mae'n ymddangos am y tro cyntaf yn y Talbot.

Born in 1963, the son of the blues guitarist 'Hideaway' Slim, Eugene is the fourth child of five. His mother was from the Bullock family (the same as Anna Mae Bullock better known as Tina Turner) and Eugene claims he got his guitar skills from the Bridges side and his voice from the Bullocks. At five, he was already playing with his father around Louisiana. With his brothers as The Bridges Brothers he sang gospel, was the musician of his church touring with the Pastor, Elder A.A. Edwards, and at the age of thirteen had already formed his first R&B band, The Five Stars. Since those early days, he has gone on to play with The Mighty Clouds of Joy and Big Joe Turner's Memphis Blues Caravan before forming his own band.

Eugene's live performances have received rave reviews and he was awarded vocalist of the year by the UK's Blueprint magazine, and won the Trophees France Blues '99 - Chanteur De L'Annee. He has appeared, often headlining, at major festivals in the USA, Europe, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia, whipping up a storm wherever he goes with his distinctive southern sound. 2005 sees Eugene on another major tour taking in Australia, Europe and America to promote new CD, 'Coming Home'.

'Eugenius' - Mojo

'Man, can Bridges sing…. Blues soul fans take note: This hugely talented singer/songwriter/guitarist deserves to be a star' - Blues Revue

Review

We weren't entirely ashen-faced, but come 9.00 p.m. the customary rosy pallor was understandably beginning to drain from the visages of the Cambria Arts honchos ... keyboard wizard Dale Storr had pitched up at a civilized 5.00 in the afternoon, soundchecked and consumed a leisurely beer and a juicy steak, but of Eugene and his compadres there was no sign ... a combination of traffic and tyre blow-outs conspired to delay them, it transpired, so it was with huge relief - for us and the patient audience - that they eventually rolled in and, after the most perfunctory of soundchecks and nothing to eat, embarked at 9.40 on a marathon value-for-money show that more than made up for their tardiness.

Bridges is very much the real blues deal: with a guitar style that has plenty of B.B. King (and more) about it, and a stunning voice that owes as much to the soul greats - Sam Cooke in particular - as his blues peers, he's a true showman, with one number often tastefully segueing into the next; in Storr he has a piano/organ player of real substance, while Silvio Galasso on bass (who previously graced the Talbot stage with the inimitable Todd Sharpville) and Nicolai Marangoni on drums constitute a take-no-prisoners rhythm section. Kicking off in soul vein with 'Tears of a Fool', Eugene and the boys tackled classic shuffle and four-four blues styles ('Woke Up This Morning', 'I'm A Bluesman', 'Train with a Lonely Whistle', the loping 'I've Got The Blues' - with fine Hammond solo from Storr - and many more), brooding slow workouts (the excellent 'Real Hero', 'I Wish Someone Had Told Me', which Eugene audaciously started singing off-mike), and authentic Southern soul ('The Only Place I Want to Be', 'You Send Me' - this one included in a showcase of songs that his father used to perform). Eugene commenced the second set a la Eric Bibb, solo on stage with his gleaming resonator guitar for 'This Old Life' from his forthcoming solo CD, 'Let Me Know', and joined by Marangoni for 'You've Got Me Holding'. It was well gone midnight and the dancefloor was still packed when things reached a storming conclusion with 'If You Don't Want to Love Me' (shades of the late lamented Eddie Hinton) and a climactic 'Something About You Baby', that left us all thoroughly satisfied. This was as fine and rousing a blues night as we've ever had at the Talbot, so next time Hideaway graces our stage, just be sure you're all there.