Jan Akkerman – My Focus

The Fire Station, Sunderland
Saturday, 8th February 2025

Just because Jan Akkerman might not leap to the mind when thinking about the best guitarists on the planet, that doesn’t mean that his skill and pure talent is any less spectacular. It might have been a while since the Melody Maker voted him the world’s best guitarist, but he still garners praise from such luminaries as Messrs Santana, Clapton, May and Hackett, and I am sure that it takes a lot to impress those giants of the guitar.

With those credentials as his calling card, when I found out that Jan was playing locally I didn’t hesitate to buy a ticket, so that I could finally see him play and discover for myself what all the fuss was about. After, having his studio albums might provide a lot of listening pleasure but I have seen far too many who sound good on record but are terrible live.

Some bands need big screens, walls of speakers that could deafen someone in the next county, and dancers (yes, I know, this is prog so that sort of thing was just me being silly) to make their set memorable; not so with Jan Akkerman. If you had seen him on the street you’d probably not given him a second glance, but on stage, with his guitar, it was a totally different story as he seared into my memory.

With a set heavily peppered with tunes from his old band, Focus, along with his own releases, there was plenty to keep the audience happy, and when I briefly looked at their faces I saw that mesmerized was the best way to describe their rapt expressions. Just like me they had fallen under his hypnotic spell.

Sometimes, when trying to describe something that is unique, it is hard, and Jan is no exception, but with a style that combines jazz, prog, funk and rock he certainly entertained. At times he made me think of Dave Gilmour and others John McLaughlin but they were mere echoes as he had his own style that challenges anyone to truly compartmentalize him.

There were too many sublime moments to do them all justice however, for me, the memorable ones was his own reinterpretation of Focus’ House of the King, where he changed to whole feel of the tune so that it was still recognisable but the different approach made it sound fresher and more up-to-date than the original.

Big Sur was a good old head down aural assault and Sylvia was, as always a crowd pleaser.

I think the biggest surprise of the night was his encore cover of Paul Weller’s You Do Something to Me. I must confess that I am not a big fan of Mr Weller’s solo output and that song always left me underwhelmed, but Jan’s instrumental interpretation took it out of the humdrum room in the basement and lifted it up to the penthouse so that it could be enjoyed by all.

But, like all great musicians, he didn’t shine all by himself. He was more than ably accompanied by Coen Molenaar on keyboards who, at times seemed to be a perfect match for Jan’s digital dexterity. The thumping bass was provided by David de Marez Oyens and the deft drumming was delivered by Marijn van der Berg. However, I should point out that they came across as more than just a band who were just there to do a job. Despite his Dutch accent that was, at times, thicker than a ball of Edam, Jan managed to create an entertaining and jocund rapport with the audience and, when playing each band member had moments where their smiles showed that they were more like friends, who happened to be playing together for fun, rather than a band there for playing sake.

A great evening and I will definitely be waiting, impatiently for him to tour again.

SETLIST
Spiritual Privacy
Answers? Questions! Questions? Answers!
Focus 2
Focus 1
House Of The King
Anonymous
Big Sur
– Interval –
Tommy’s Anniversary
Streetwalker
Piétons
Sylvia
Hocus Pocus
~ Encore:
You Do Something To Me (Paul Weller cover)