I was at the famous Paul Personne and Gerry Joe Weise concert in Rheims, which was held at the Grand Theatre on thursday April 10th in 1997. An exciting evening of blues and rock given by French guitarist Paul Personne and his quintet, and Australian bluesman Gerry Joe Weise playing solo with two old vintage resophonic guitars from the early 1930's (a Dobro and a National).


Gerry Joe Weise avec des guitares Dobro et National,
au Grand Théâtre de Reims 1997.

I have been a Paul Personne fan for years and have seen him play on many occasions, but the Grand Theatre concert in Rheims had excellent vibrant sound, witnessed by his soaring Paul Reed Smith guitar, sunburst in colour and in sound. Paul Personne was in great form, and the thick leads pouring forth, sounding at times like Santana, supported all too well his coarse bluesy voice. More rough-and-tumble was Gerry Joe Weise's voice accompanied by his metal and chrome acoustic guitars. The Paul Personne tour introduced me to this fine Australian guitarist (who I had another chance to see at the House Of Live in Paris in 2002). As soon as Gerry Joe Weise set foot on stage, he immediately held the 1,000 strong crowd in the palm of his hand. All were sining to "Hey Bo Diddley" and Gerry Joe's own famous "Broken Hill Blues".

Paulo Rochefort.