news

May and June 2010

On Sunday 25th April Custer’s Last Blues Band returned to the Hope & Anchor in Bridport, and the band’s recent renaissance was clearly in evidence during a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon of rousing blues, boogie and jump jive swing.

The following week we had the first rehearsal of a new project featuring the music of Van Morrison. Erstwhile Sidekicks Sean Geraghty and Dan Aderson plus Tom Hughes, Ady Milward and I gathered in a replica of the Dad’s Army set at the White Horse in Litton Cheyne to run a few songs, and it sounded great. We’ve had huge fun trying to find a name. The working title, influenced by the Man’s notorious grumpiness, is Feck Off. This may not end up as the band’s name.

On subsequent rehearsals we were joined by sax ace Charlotte Storey, whose singularly impressive CV includes a stint in Morrison’s touring band. Her contributions have brought the sound of the line-up to another level.

I played with Stompin’ Dave’s Electric Band on Sunday 2nd May at the Royal Portland Arms, where the Stomping one was on fine form. Afterwards I headed for the Sailor’s Return in Weymouth where bluesman Sam, Si Jubb and I filled the role of house band in Vending Machine’s absence. It was a great session, and I was particularly impressed with Amy (missed her surname), an impassioned singer/pianist who sang one of her own compositions and some covers. We joined her on a rousing version of the Ray Charles classic Hit The Road Jack.

The full band incarnation of the Skint Imperials, i.e. Barbie, Nick, Rob, Paul Fancy and I, played at the Royal Exchange on Portland on Friday 7th May. I met a woman with an orphaned Portland sheep in her arms before the gig, and a guy proposed to his girlfriend onstage during the break (she said yes). Only on Portland.

On Saturday 8th I played with the AC/Beebies at the Wyke Smugglers, and on Sunday afternoon we had a jazz session at No.6 in Weymouth, featuring the wonderful chanteuse Sue Hawker, Rob Koral on guitar and Malcolm Lee on drums. It was a thoroughly enjoyable session but poorly attended, unfortunately.

C Sharp Blues gathered at the Royal Exchange, Portland on Friday 14th May, and on Saturday 15th I joined AC/Beebies for an evening of classic rock at the Excise House in Weymouth. On Sunday afternoon we had a cracking gig with the Mutter Slater Band at the Royal Portland Arms, where the whole audience was right on our side. Mutter’s newest ditty We’re All Gonna Die went down particularly well.

UK 2010 My Les Paul Meet was the less-than-elegant title of a gathering of  enthusiasts of Gibson’s most famous product from the USA and the UK at the Crown in Bridport on Friday 21st May. The event was organised by guitar ace Phil Rosenberg (who played a Strat all night) and Phil, Dan Wheeler and myself formed the ‘house band’ as axe-wielders of varying abilities took to the stage to show off their beloved instruments. It was a strange collection of trainspotty types and would-be rock stars, with one guy travelling 5,000-odd miles to play rhythm guitar on Sympathy For The Devil on his newly-acquired Gibson for five minutes or so. I think the buzz for him was playing a Stones number in the UK with British musicians.

Things were less surreal as Broadband gathered at the Green Shutters on Portland the next night. Tim Broad was in blistering form, right at the top of his game, with Grant Day, Paul Fancy and me in support.

I had six gigs in four days the following Bank Holiday weekend, beginning with a dep job for Motel 6 on Friday 28th May at the George in Coombe St Nicholas, near Chard in Somerset. The band features Dan Anderson on guitar, Tom Hughes on keys and Chris Page on drums, and their mix of New Orleans funk, blues and original material went down a storm in a great venue with knowledgeable and appreciative punters.

On Saturday 29th I played with AC/Beebies at a beer festival at the Clifton Hotel on Portland in the afternoon, followed by an evening gig with C Sharp Blues at the Wyke Smugglers in Weymouth in the evening, with Tom Hughes guesting. On Sunday 30th I had another double-header, playing with Custer’s Last Blues Band at the Hope & Anchor in Bridport in the afternoon and AC/Beebies at the Old Ship in Dorchester in the evening.

The weekend was completed with a Mutter Slater Band gig at Lulworth Castle on Monday 31st. The decision to make it an open-air gig proved a little ambitious, as it got decidedly nippy as the sun went down. A small and well-insulated audience witnessed sax ace Clive Ashley’s début performance with the band, and it’s clear that his recruitment into our ranks is going to give the band’s sound another dimension.

Custer’s recent resurgence is due in no small part to our weekly practices at the Old Ship, Upwey, Weymouth, and on Friday 4th June the band moved from the skittle alley into the bar for its début appearance there, and it went down a storm.

On Saturday 5th it was time for Mutter Slater’s 60th birthday celebrations, which took place at the Ropemaker’s in Bridport. I must say that Mr Slater paced the celebrations very well, and was in fine form as the evening started with a recreation of his first band, after which Mike Biggs, Danny Wheeler, Clive Ashley and myself gave Mutter a break before he returned to the fray. Mutter’s son Aaron then joined us for a cameo performance, demonstrating that the Slater vocal talents and appetite for Stella are good for another generation.

Chris Lonergan

 

Valid CSS! Valid HTML 4.01!