The lights go down, and we’re ready for some hardcore Holdsworth action. And then Jeff Aug steps out, with an acoustic six-string, and hammers seven shades of shale out of it. Support acts usually have only one purpose, and that is to suck. They’re the ugly friend you go to the bar with when you’re out to score. They’re the bad stats you give the boss before you present him with the report on how you are going to save the company. They have a place in life, a rung on the ladder, and they’d better not blow the main act out of the water.

 

It is a brave lead guitarist who has Jeff Aug open for him. Playing what can only be described as high-speed country funk, he shreds his way up and down the strings with breathtaking speed. He also provides his own percussion, striking the body of the instrument hard enough to sound like a bass drum. This is extreme acoustic guitar and extremely good, rendering the audience unusually silent.

Tony Emmerson

Prague Jazz Online

(April 2008)