Blue Heat

Now the heat's off...

Warrnambool Standard Nov. 19 , 2009 - ©Copyright Warrnambool Standard  2009.  All rights reserved  2009

THE irregular reunion of Blue Heat continues this weekend when the rhythm and blues juggernaut rolls into The Loft in Warrnambool tomorrow night. The band broke up at the peak of its powers in 1997 but reformed in 2005 for a charity gig at Lake Pertobe. Since then they've popped up for a handful of gigs each year and even released a live recording of a performance from 1997 at The Continental. The seven-piece also has spots at the upcoming Queenscliff Music Festival and have applied for some 2010 festivals, but working out what the future holds for Blue Heat is difficult. Keyboardist Richard Tankard said the members had never sat down and had a “state of the union” meeting since reforming. “If you look at it from when we got back together, we've only gigged between three and 10 times a year and I don't know that there will be too many more than that yearly,” Tankard said. “(Saxophonist) Brad Harrison is based in Western Australia, and there are other tricky things — people have got lives and families and work.” But the band's popularity hasn't waned. They attracted big crowds to their five gigs at the Port Fairy Folk Festival in March, as well as their recent closing slot in the Wangaratta Jazz Festival's blues tent. “It's a lot more relaxed now,” Tankard said of the revived line-up. “We have a lot more fun when we play. Back in the day, we toured relentlessly — we'd go away for months — but we wouldn't do that now.” While a lengthy road trip around the country is out of the question, Blue Heat have been slipping new material into their sets, giving fans hope for a new album. Tankard said the new songs were in fact old songs the band had rediscovered on old rehearsal tapes. “If we got hold of all the old material there'd be enough for a new album... there are songs everywhere. “I'd like to record a new Blue Heat studio album but it's not on the agenda.” Maybe when the band finally gets time to sit down and work out it's agenda, it might point them towards the studio. In the meantime, the sporadic live shows will have to suffice. Blue Heat will be at The Loft tomorrow night supported by Ben Cue from 9 pm.