old newsSeptember and October On Thursday 3rd the Mutter Slater Band played at the Rydal Arms, New Milton, Hampshire. It’s a great gig, with a separate room with stage, in-house PA etc, and we were very well looked after by the gig organisers. As is often the case when we play away from home, there was a contingent of Stackridge fans keen to see what Mutter is up to with his own band. Despite the fundamental difference between Stackridge’s and MSB’s music, ours was universally well received, and some good online reviews were generated. We’ll be returning to this excellent venue. On Friday 4th September MSB played at the Royal Portland Arms, once again gaining and holding the attention of a pub audience with a set of all-original material (apart from Handbags and Gladrags, an encore request from our faithful follower Jimmer), always a difficult task. Tim Broad, Nick Gomer and myself got together on Sunday 13th September to provide music for a day celebrating the Chapelhay Community Project’s new tenure of the 17th Century Old Town Hall in Weymouth. As well as our contribution, there was a recreation of the Civil War battle in which Weymouth and Melcome Regis were made safe from Royalist attacks. An ad hoc Brahms & Liszt (Tim Broad, Grant and me) stepped into the breech left by a last-minute cancellation at the Royal Portland Arms on Friday 18th September, and we had a great night. Lots of fun, as these short-notice ‘phone around and see who’s available’ gigs often are. A gig of some moment for C Sharp Blues on the 26th, as we played at the inauguration of The Roadhouse, the new blues and comedy bar at the Queen’s Hotel in Weymouth. It’s a great little venue with a cosmopolitan vibe, and we were chuffed to be asked to open proceedings. Custer’s Last Blues Band returned to the Hope & Anchor in Bridport on Sunday 27th September, and this one was a bit special, as we had Robbie McIntosh guesting on guitar. The Robbie effect is astonishing – apart from being an amazing guitarist, his immaculate sense of time has the effect of pulling the whole band together into a tighter funkier unit. October October commenced with another hastily-arranged gig with C Sharp Blues on Friday1st, this time at the Green Shutters on Portland, and the following night a fully-fledged Brahms & Liszt line-up had a ball at the Excise House in Weymouth. The 3rd annual Swanage Blues festival took place the following weekend, and C Sharp Blues topped the bill on Saturday night (5th October) with a storming performance at the Anchor, the festival’s main venue. Sunday 6th, and a very special gig at No.6 in Weymouth, one I’ve been looking forward to for months. 13 years after the release of the Polygenes album Nine Stones, Chas Dickie (‘cello), Chris Page (drums) Robbie McIntosh and I played material from the album, supplemented by numbers written since that time, and a couple of Robbie’s instrumental numbers. An afternoon of Indian, Arabic, British folk, jazz and classically-influenced ‘cello fronted progressive rock. Pure joy. C Sharp Blues retuned to the Excise House in Weymouth on Friday 9th, followed on Sunday 11th by an afternoon at The Boat That Rocks, where the Mutter Slater Band became the first band to perform at this brand-new venue in Portland Marina. Great gig, great views! More C Sharpery took place at the Royal Portland Arms on Friday 16th October, where I was joined in the rhythm section by my old mucker Chris Page. On Saturday 17th the Mutter Slater Band played at the Roadhouse. I thought this would be an ideal venue for MSB when I played here with C Sharp on the opening night. It was, but it was sadly poorly attended. Those that were there really enjoyed it, and I think we’ve got four new fans! This brings me to some very sad news. Custer’s Last Blues Band founder member Dave Miles, as lovely a guy as you could wish to meet, died in the early hours of the morning of Saturday 24th October after a short illness. As fate would have it, Custer’s were booked into the Hope & Anchor in Bridport for the following day, and the gig naturally turned into a tribute to one of life’s true gentlemen. We’re talking about organising a memorial/life celebration gig soon. C Sharp Blues are playing at the Green Shutters, Castletown, Portland on Friday 30th October for one of Guv’nor Spud’s ‘when the boat comes in’ gigs, while at the same time my boy Jack is playing with his band Ezekiel at Finns in Weymouth. Lonergan & Son, Bass Players To The Parish. November The Mutter Slater Band play at the Sailor’s Return, St Nicholas Street, Weymouth on Saturday 14th November, on Sunday 15th at The Red Lion, High Street, Stevenage and on Friday 27th at the Royal Exchange, Weston, Portland. Custer’s return to the Hope & Anchor, Bridport on Sunday 29th, starting at 2.30pm. Chris Lonergan |
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