# Live review – EU: A top evening on all fronts, beautiful openers, the wonderful slow blues: Josh Smith Band at Music Cafe De Cactus, Hengelo, Netherlands: Video, Photos

- Link: https://jazzblues.eu/2025/06/15/live-review-eu-a-top-evening-on-all-fronts-beautiful-openers-the-wonderful-slow-blues-josh-smith-band-at-music-cafe-de-cactus-hengelo-netherlands-video-photos/
- Published: 2025-06-15T20:46:42+01:00
- Author: https://JazzBlues.EU

**This concert by Josh Smith in Muziekcafé De Cactus is quite special. Erwin Kwakman
said that the first concert that was canceled five years ago due to corona was the
concert by Josh Smith and now the band is finally there.**

And people want to know that too because the very cozy hall is completely sold out.

![Ruud Weber & Lars Muller](https://i0.wp.com/live.staticflickr.com/65535/54562558072_665170719a_b.
jpg?resize=640%2C360&ssl=1 "Concertverslag: Josh Smith Band - Muziekcafé De Cactus,
Hengelo 30 Mei 2025 2")

The supporting act starts precisely and is provided acoustically by the duo Ruud
Weber and Lars Müller, in which Lars does the solos and Ruud accompanies him rhythmically
and takes care of the lead vocals.

They have a lot of fun and that radiates to the audience. It becomes a great performance
of 45 minutes and they play seven songs. Lars stands out with his often brilliant
playing and Ruud with his excellent singing, but we already know that from his band
King Of The World, in which he plays bass.

The songs played are the well-known Jessica, How About You, Bluesified, Hard to 
Love, Walking in Memphis, Why Me and they close with Jetairliner by Steve Miller
to the great enthusiasm of the audience. I did not know Lars Müller but he is so
good!! This duo is the perfect opener for Josh Smith!

![Josh Smith Band - De Cactus, Hengelo May 30,2025](https://i0.wp.com/live.staticflickr.
com/65535/54560604841_1397bce49a_b.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)

It’s Josh Smith’s turn, who plays the guitar with his completely recognizable sound
and does the lead vocals. Josh has a distinctive gritty voice that has a completely
unique sound.

He is accompanied by the truly fantastic bassist Travis Carlton (son of Larry Carlton)
and the equally good drummer Gene Lake (played with Marcus Miller, David Sanborn,
among others).

What a class act we have on this cozy, intimate stage! When asked about the setlist,
Josh’s answer is: “We don’t have it, it’s in our heads!”

![Josh Smith Band - De Cactus, Hengelo May 30,2025](https://i0.wp.com/live.staticflickr.
com/65535/54559726382_5d67f2fa36_b.jpg?resize=640%2C427&ssl=1 "Concertverslag: Josh
Smith Band - Muziekcafé De Cactus, Hengelo 30 Mei 2025 5")

The band starts the performance at half past nine, in which Josh says that it will
be loud & sweaty tonight. And that is true, not only because of the warm hall but
also because of the music.

The band starts with two instrumental numbers without a title, just like the third
song. It immediately becomes clear how good sound engineer Gerard Jansen is. The
lazy, deep bass, the jazz drums and the guitar come through beautifully.

The song is jazzy and ends with solid rocky guitar playing and continues directly
into the second song with a lot of dynamics; from hard to soft. Beautiful openers.
Then follows the wonderful slow blues with a goosebump solo by Josh.

![Josh Smith Band - De Cactus, Hengelo May 30,2025](https://i0.wp.com/live.staticflickr.
com/65535/54560788979_4afec2c736_b.jpg?resize=640%2C427&ssl=1 "Concertverslag: Josh
Smith Band - Muziekcafé De Cactus, Hengelo 30 Mei 2025 6")

The title of all the other songs is known because Josh mentions them. It gets funky
in Pusher: a wonderfully short drum intro, the bass joins in and then there is fantastic
guitar playing again. A bass solo with supported soft drums and pointed guitar jabs
make it super rhythmic.

The song has a long version with a jam character and contains another masterful 
drum solo with bass accompaniment. Top song! It gets quieter in What We Need in 
which the guitar has a Stevie Ray Vaughan-like sound and has a soft, very intimate
interlude with a rocking climax at the end.

Very funky with wonderful swing is Letting You Go with funky driving bass, powerful
drums and an unparalleled guitar solo.

![Josh Smith Band - De Cactus, Hengelo May 30,2025](https://i0.wp.com/live.staticflickr.
com/65535/54559727692_7e2dd8449b_b.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)

Penance is an instrumental written for his wife with wonderfully atmospheric sounds
and a lot of variation in the playing, played very softly in the middle in which
the deep, full bass and softly ticking drums are the basis with top sound from Gerard
Jansen. You hear again how important a good sound is. After an hour of playing, 
the break follows.

Set two starts strongly with the rocky When I Get Mine with nice tearing guitar 
work. The second song is a cover of B.B. King Paying The Cost To Be The Boss, of
course a slow blues with wonderful bass/drums drive.

Josh tells us that an album will be released in September, a special project in 
honor of B.B. King’s 100th birthday. He would have turned 100 this year. An absolute
highlight is Triple J Hoedown. It starts in country style, then funky, then rocky
with many tempo changes.

Then hard, then soft, then fast, then slow played with very innovative guitar playing.
An insane and indescribably well-constructed song. A musical technical masterpiece!

![Josh Smith Band - De Cactus, Hengelo May 30,2025](https://i0.wp.com/live.staticflickr.
com/65535/54560934900_077b489de2_b.jpg?resize=640%2C436&ssl=1 "Concertverslag: Josh
Smith Band - Muziekcafé De Cactus, Hengelo 30 Mei 2025 9")

Then comes the ballad with a nice slow groove; The Middle. The set ends with the
pounding slow blues Where’s My Baby in which a piece of Mister Sandman is woven.
The audience is asked to clap and sing along and the entire hall joins in.

The mood has been great all evening. Of course, despite the heat in the hall, they
have to come back for an encore and that is Angel by Jimi Hendrix, Josh’s favorite
Hendrix song as he says in the announcement.

They make a very own version of it with heavy sound effects and rock and jazz combined
influences. At the end, the sound slowly dies away and a grand concert comes to 
an end for a wildly enthusiastic audience.

Conclusion: A top evening on all fronts. Great musicians, the absolute top. Excellent
sound, so important, great atmosphere and that in such a small but very cozy hall!
Blues Magazine thanks Erwin Kwakman of Muziekcafé De Cactus for the great reception.

**Line-up:**

**Josh Smith: guitar, vocals**
 **Travis Carlton: bass** **Gene Lake: drums**

![Ruud Weber & Lars Muller](https://i0.wp.com/live.staticflickr.com/65535/54563615209_c2d64c6f7e_b.
jpg?resize=640%2C960&ssl=1)

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