Review: Wilko Johnson, Birmingham Town Hall

Built on tight, loud, precise drumming, taken to the next level by fast, hard bass playing and finished off with the unmistakable guitar style of Wilko, they are a force to be reckoned with on the live music scene.

Of course, the order of the day is retro rock, 12 bar blues played with a fizz and a shuffle, but that's not to say this is a one trick pony show.

Across 90 minutes at Birmingham Town Hall, Wilko touched on more styles than I expected, throwing a light sprinkle of reggae or Latin music into the mix for good measure, each played authentically but with the clear stamp of the man himself.

Wilko made his name as the guitar-wielding heart of Dr Feelgood, where his stage presence combined with his rhythmic playing style marked him out from the crowd and made the band's gigs a must see.

Today, he is known by a lot of people for his victorious battle with cancer, which prompted an emotional 'farewell' tour a couple of years ago.

Now, free from the shackles of illness, he seems a man possessed by the need to create and play live.

The moves are still there, the thousand yard stare and the sly shuffle across the stage, which is more precise, if a little less ferocious.

Talking was kept to a minimum, save for a tribute to Bob Dylan's recent Nobel prize win, followed by a cover of the American's song 'Would You Please Crawl Out Your Window'.

It must be said that Wilko's voice isn't the strongest and during the Dr Feelgood classics Roxette and She Does It Right, you do long for the raw power of Lee Brilleaux's voice.

What Wilko's voice lacks in star quality it makes up for in character, something the man has in spades and something which makes him forever a hero to many.

By Jordan Harris