Thanks for the support from all our amazing friends<\/span><\/p>\n
Gary The Skegness Blues Rock Weekend Festival ‘\u201c 28-30\/1\/11 Vicky Martin and Diana, performing as the Delta Ladies (rather than in their Buffalo Bill Smith, the promoter and great harp player, joined the Band A good performance from our perspective and probably the best time we have Onto the giant Skegness festival and we will be back at Merton Abbey Mills Gary<\/td>\n With 2 out of the last four shows cancelled due to snow and ice we were Mandie was superb this night and Kelly was on top form. in the first set Overall, Danny was on fire, Bill and Roger were tight, the whole thing rocked’\u00a6..more Gary<\/td>\n First up were some of our special guests. For a start we re-wrote North Next up was a real and historic treat. The amazing Rietta Austin (of INXS We then took the stage as a full Band. With Sammy.C joining Mandie and Kelly A memorable night was concluded by Pete Sargeant and Jthe legenndary John A massive thank you to all that came and the amazing support we received A Happy Xmas to all<\/p>\n Gary & The Band<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n Still on this cold night, even though this was our North West London CD Still, we had a decent enough crowd, thanks to the efforts of some of the With Kelly on sick absence, the vocals were well handled by Sam and Mandie Once more we played the first 4 tracks off of Dark Angel in sequence. I’m Sam solo’d on the ‘\u02dcLying Game’ and Mandie did both ‘\u02dcHouse of the Rising and a strong version of ‘\u02dcPlay With Fire’ from the new CD.<\/p>\n Two encores and then CD sales were once more very strong..<\/p>\n A good night<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n However, the Roadhouse die hard supporters were out in force. The crowd We played the first 4 tracks from Dark Angel in sequence, ‘\u02dcToo Tired To Old faves, ‘\u02dcTellin Lies’ (reincarnated on the new CD), ‘\u02dcVoodoo Queen’ and Support was from the loud but excellent Stone Electric. Thanks to Chris If only more of our friends had been there’\u00a6 Thanks to all who came out Gary<\/td>\n The reaction was so warm, we even had people driving from over 80 miles On the drive back to London, we were reflecting on thanks to Suzie, Kelly We’ll be back in the area next year<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n As we started the set the audence re-action was muted. This was due to the Still, it was business as usual, with our 3 girl attack we came, we saw The other great aspect was we got to meet Richard, the boss. A great guy, Keep on rocking..<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n A massive thanks to our very own Brum lady Suzie.D who worked so hard to The Roadhous is an awesome big stage venue and you really need over 100 Thanks to Suzi’s tireless promotion and the two groups of Roadhouse supporters To celebrate playing Suzie’s hometown we had our much heralded 3 girl line It was a great show and the crowd were 100% behind us.<\/p>\n This was the best we’d ever played ‘\u02dcRainmaker”\u00a6. other fave moments included ‘\u02dcVoodoo Queen’, ‘\u02dcTellin Lies’ and the encore of ‘\u02dcPreacher Man’, really did Suzie herself sang two lead vocals culminating in a smokey ‘\u02dcStormy Monday’, Well done Suzie, thanks for a great night<\/p>\n Gary<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n All there loved the show’\u00a6..Our first two gigs here were packed’\u00a6.. Is Gary<\/td>\n We are used to pulling between 80-120 people here, so the recession driven Support was from the excellent, Paul’s own, The Heaters, who oiled the wheels With Kelly joining Mandie on the vocals, we started with a strong version A double encore and excllent CD sales later another good night was over I hope Paul does not wait another 3.5 years to have us back again’\u00a6<\/p>\n Nice people, nice gig<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n The Red Lion is famous for the audience being right in your face and for The night gave Sam a chance to experience being part of the full on Roadhouse The Band played stunning versions of , ‘\u02dcToo Tired To Pray’, ‘\u02dcRainmaker’ Long live Trevor..<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n Most of the journey up in Roger’s people carrier was spent with her in deep Then fate once more struck a cruel blow. We received a phone call from Bill We were with Bill within 10 minutes and despite all efforts and a good range When we arrived at East Harding the people there were very understanding. God it was hard work but it went really well. Sam on her first night was Some of the songs that worked best in the format included, ‘\u02dcRainmaker’, We even got an encore..<\/p>\n Thanks to Roger for doing the sound.<\/p>\n We’ll all be back next year.<\/p>\n Thanks Sandie<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n Still, with both Kelly and Mandie on Vocals, we managed to connect with The crowd thinned for the second set as it often does at late night venues Gay<\/td>\n We were the first gig of the new season, so there was uncertainty with regard The weird thing was that all numbers were only greeted by polite applause. We did not want to leave things there, so in the second set we upped our ‘\u02dcVoodoo Dance’, ‘\u02dcRoadhouse Blues’, ‘\u02dcTellin Lies’ and ‘\u02dcPreacher Man’. Second It was a sad goodbye (possibly temporarily) for the the lovely and talented We’ll hopefully be back next year and so may she.<\/p>\n Thanks to Willy and Liesbeth, the fabulous Hester and the legendary Arnold..<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n We were basically on a loss making trip, as the main gig in Belgium had 12 people who saw us at this venue 2 years ago came back and gave us massive With Mandie.G and Rachel in great voice and rocking out big style, this Gary<\/td>\n With Suzie.D and Mandie.G on vocals, we rocked out in our usual full on The versions of ‘\u02dcRainmaker’ and ‘\u02dcToo Tired To Pray’ were the pick of the Thanks to all<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n With our full trinity of female vocalists (Mandie, Kelly and Suzie.D) strutting ‘\u02dcBlues Highway’ brought out a great initial reaction from the crowd and By the time that we trotted out crowd fave, Voodoo Dance, Roadhouse Blues A vintage Abbey fest night’\u00a6.. Long live Blues rock at Merton Abbey Mills<\/p>\n We’ll be back next year, headlining on the Saturday night of the August Thanks for all the great support<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n Our dreams ended as Bills vans engine blew, in spectacular fashion en route All that hurt was our pride and the fact that we had failed to appear in Jim was brilliant about it and we have been offered a slot at the festival My heart goes out to Bill and his van and a near 2k repair bill. This is Gary<\/td>\n A really friendly but intimate venue, with the crowd virtually standing With 3 girls on duty (Kelly Marie Hobbs, Mandie.G and Rachel Clark) the It was a great gig. Tom had not seen the Band in two years and was amazed Thanks to Tom and the great people of Saltash.<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n The week before the gig Chris had a visit from the Council ‘\u02dcNoise Police’, As this gig stood in some ways as being contrary to our agreements with As a consequence of problems with the Council, the Band played at a record Still the low music levels allowed the vocals to soar and Kelly and Rachel The first set was played to a relatively small crowd. The biggest reaction It was great to see Chris who is getting good Bands in twice a week and Gary<\/td>\n And what a great crowd, to have over 80 people turning up on a Thursday A big thanks to regular supporters, including Pete Laplanche and our jam Also present was the lovely Carol from our label Blues Matters who made Another massive thanks for Steve who filmed the gig.<\/p>\n Catch the following on Youtube:<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=xmHE9htOhKE&feature=email = Too Tired To http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qB0zfFwhRWM&feature=channel = Blues Highway<\/p>\n Rachel and Mandie were on vocal duties and performed admirably. ‘\u02dcBlues Highway’ The second set really rocked and the ‘\u02dcstomp along’ at the beggining of ‘\u02dcTellin A great place and a great gig. We should be back next year.Thank you Rob.<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n The day started badly, as the Englad football team where put to the sword We were placed in a holding compound for the best part of 2 hours, as tempers They truned up hours later in some state of disrepair, after pausing frequently Then began a long wait for our appointed slot’\u00a6..<\/p>\n The Bourbon Street stage, has a capacity of 6-800 hundred with seating outside We went on to about 80 or so people, just as Stevie was finishing up on The Band played really well and early stage monitrpoing and level problems All 3 girls Kelly, Suzie and Mandie sang brilliantly. The crowd went mad The real heros of the night were Roger (playing with his really bad back) A 3 tap finish of ‘\u02dcTellin Lies’, ‘\u02dcPreacher Man’ and ‘\u02dcNo Place To Hide’ (The A million thanks to all Andy Fieldings great Roadhouse Promotions Crew, We waited back stage through another transport embargo, this one due to On this occassion the Landrover turned into the tardis. We put Roger in On the drive home, dawn broke over mist shrouded fields. Rising out of the Gary<\/td>\n Last time we stayed in a nice modern hotel, this time they provided a bed We spent the afternoon sipping beers in the sun soaked garden. Then Jo and It was another hot night, so Jo had a real concern over crowd numbers. However, A local Chicago style blues band playing their first ever show, opened the So onto the Roadhouse set and we changed things around a bit from the first As ever the Gompelhof crowd were brilliant and they gave us a great response. I recommend this gig to every major touring band as the hospitality and We’ll be back soon<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n The 013 has 3 halls, and features arttists playng recently like Chris Isaak Unfortunately it was what i expected’\u00a6..<\/p>\n We were so well looked after in our luxurious dressing room, the staff (mainly Three big problems:<\/p>\n – We’d never played that aprt of Holland before<\/p>\n – I dont think the venue did much promotion for the show<\/p>\n – It was boiling hot, still in the 80’\u00b2s at 10pm<\/p>\n I was proud of the Band as it put on a great performance under the circumstances. To make things worse I starined my voice during the first number as the Still we rocked out and two rpomoters who came to see us were very impressed The people at the 013 were nice and praised us to our faces, shame they Oh well onto Mol and a guaranteed good crwod and then to Glastonbury!!!!<\/p>\n You win some (most) other times you take it up the wrong hole (so to speak!)<\/p>\n Gary<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n This was the biggest crowd that we had pulled at the Podium so far. The A great version of ‘\u02dcBlues Highway’ prepared the ground for the kicking new There was so many local and cool musicians and artists in the audience, A massive thanks to Hester and hopefully we’ll be back next year.<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n We had a crowd of around 35 plus, this was better than last time, but still Still full of Roadhouse fans and old friends we still had a fantastic night.<\/p>\n The first set for once was superbly well played. According to Danny I was Everyone played well and the crowd response was terrific. The new songs In the break our good friend Jimmy Dublin played a short set alongside Bill Into the second set and Bill joined us for a rousing ‘\u02dcRoadhouse Blues’. Thanks to all those great people who came and supported us on the night.<\/p>\n Regards,<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n The opener ‘\u02dcBlues Highway’ saw a different approach from Robin, as he augmented The jam had some nice moments. My fave’s were Pete Sargeant’s harp playing, Towards the end of the night Kelly got up to deliver a great reading of Next month the jam will be run by my good friends Mark and Tony of Jam Pact. Gary<\/td>\n Atfter enormous Hope Tavern Sunday lunches (thanks to the amazing Graham!) Ther is always something special about playing the Hope. The crowd sits Over 75 paying punters turned up, which was a very big crowd for this small Things went well from the opening ‘\u02dcBlues Highway ‘\u02dcand ‘\u02dcNo Place To Hide’. Kelly and Rachel did well together, the only problem being a harmony on Only sad note was that great Roadhouse supporter and a local Ray Baldwin There we go for the for the grace of’\u00a6.<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n Midway through the first set David Cameron turned up (well it is his constituency) Anyway, onto more musical matters. The second set was very well played with A big thanks to Martin for his hospitality and a good night<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n Great to see a few familiar faces, as some Roadhouse fans ran up a lot of We had Mandie and Rachel out of our squad aof great female vocalists on The crowd were really great and pleasure to play to. the night finished Thanks to all for a great night<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n Recent problem with the bar and owners of the venue lead to this gig beng Still, ace Jounalist and musician (check out the Band, Elephant Shelf) Vicky The Band were on top form and featured strong performances fom all 3 girl Out of the new songs, ‘\u02dcToo Tired to Pray’ really rocked out and ‘\u02dcDark Angel’ The people there created a great atmosphere and we were able to finish with Upwards and onwards,<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n The place was packed and from the off Danny and I’s solo’s were cheered The time flew by, I played as well as I’d probably ever done and while on Sharon Colgan herself got up and did a fine reading of ‘\u02dcStormy Monday’ (always Mandie’s family came and gave her massive support’\u00a6 A great night, we’ll Gay<\/td>\n In the pub under the guest house (how convenient) Rachel ordered the ‘\u02dcmini To the gig’\u00a6. met Alan the promoter ‘. the kind of unsung hero that A nice room’\u00a6.. gets really going when there is about 150 people in it. The atmosphere in the first set was starnge. The crowd re-acted well enough, In the break I felt like a celeb as I was asked to draw the raffle. This In all seriousness the Band really kicked on and totally over the top versions Just a single encore at the end of a very long set, then some excellent Apparently, a handful of die hard Blues Purests has gone home, depressed The Clan Gwilym were there to monitor their sibling Danny’s talent and he And then onto the meanstreets of Redcar and the invetible late night kebab Gary<\/td>\n This gig was notable for it being Rachel Clark, our stunning new female The music itself went really well. However, we struggled with the in house The second set was a stormer. ‘\u02dcWatchtower’ really kicked, as did the killer A great night at a great venue, we’ll be back<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n An interesting night for the band on a number of levels. Firstly we had Secondly we featured 3 new songs for the first time. I chose to open with ‘\u02dcDark Angel’ was the next of the new songs to get it’s test drive. I’ve In the second set we managed to finally deal with the sound problems caused A guest appearance from Anne Campbell on ‘\u02dcBrooklyn Blues’ and then 2 encores, A good first showing in this new venue, full of true music fans’\u00a6 We’ll Gary<\/td>\n We set up in a fairly cramped space, but our spirits were soon lifted by Overall it was a rocking gig and a decent little venue. The Band’s hot streak We’ll be back in July<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n More and more people turned up including loads of faces\/freinds from the Roadhouse played a nice opening set with Kelly ‘\u02dcon point’. This was followed Many great musicians then put in an a appearance. Highlights inlcuded 13 We had great performances from Tim Matthewman, Burlesque, Geronimo and an A great crowd, a rocking night and here’s to the next jam on the 4th March’\u00a6<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n This was arguably one of our best ever big stage performances. The guitar All 3 Roadhouse ladies then delivered excellent lead vocals. Suzie.D on ‘\u02dcThe Answer’ was followed by the Youtube made classic ‘\u02dcVoodoo Dance’. After Preacher Man followed as the iconic and demanded encore”\u00a6<\/p>\n What a crowd, thanks to all there for your marvelous support. On nights On with the deam’\u00a6<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n We had a great crowd and the opening Roadhouse set really rocked. ‘\u02dcNo Place You can check out ‘\u02dcSea of Souls’ and ‘\u02dcRoadhouse Blues’ on Youtube, by pasting <\/p>\n http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/jumpthegunblues#p\/a\/u\/0\/gM27G2Pe9bk<\/p>\n Overall it was a great set ,with all 3 of our fabulous female vocalists I then ran arguably the best Jam session, that we’ve ever had at the festival. The crowd were the real stars; this was music by the poeple for the people. Here’s to 2011<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n The grim reality of the evening was that for two such ‘\u02dcquality’ Bands it Pete Feenstra our host was on great form, well lubricated for the Xmas period The Roadhouse set was another winner with Kelly in solo mode again, stepping The bands morphed together as the show rolled into the early hours. Jules All time Blues great John O’Leary joined us all on stage and sang and harped An all time great gig, which was partially filmed by top promoter Eric Harvey. Happy Xmas and New Year to all our freinds and followers’\u00a6 We’ll need your Thanks to all that came<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n It was a shame for the people who missed it as this was one of the best The show kicked off with a great set from our special guests Jimmy Dublin The Roadhouse set was one of the best we’ve ever played at The Bulls Head. The evening finished with host\/promoter George McFall on the Skins in a It was a great night’\u00a6. but the dwindling crowd numbers makes you wonder, Thanks to all that were a part of this fantastic night.<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n Buffalo Bill Smith, the promoter who runs the Colourhouse Theatre and The Late in the day Pete Bedford put in an appearance, along with Jon Griffin The next Jam is on Thursday 7th January’\u00a6 see you there!<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n The Colourhouse is well laid out with candlelit tables and a really great The good news, it was a fantastic nights music and in the absence of Mandie.G, Jimmy Dublin was our special guest and he played a nice little blues set The only dissapointment of the night was the mid sized crowd. We should Gary<\/td>\n The 2 late night shows had caught up with us. Voices were affected and it I then started to feel really ill and spent an hour lying in the tour bus So the show went on’.As the gig coincided with the Dutch celebration As we launched into ‘\u02dcBlues Highway’ the vocals were back in operation and This turned into a great gig and we met some excellent people including davidsonmick.squarespace.com www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk\/yourgallery\/artist_profile\/\/10226.html<\/p>\n There was just time for a quick round of goodbyes and then a standard Roger A great trip’<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n We were then taken to the Roadhouse pre gig dinner, where we sat down with Gig time’\u00a6..and the Band really rocked, the crowd were brilliant. Our 3 A double encore and mass autograph signing then took place, for those typically Thanks to the incredible Jo and his wife Anette We’ll be back next year’<\/p>\n An all time great gig<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n Good news ‘\u201c a lovely hotel, based 5 meters across the street allowed us Bad news ‘\u201c we were booked on techno\/house music night and there was mostly The low wooden ceiling gave the whole sound a nasty bass ‘\u02dcrumble’ and the The late night dance music allowed the Band to have a bit of a ‘\u02dcteam build’. It was very much have a good time and then let’s get onto the serious business, We had 2 new girls trying out for a place in our squad, in a move to take Overall about 15 regular punters and 10 musicians made the sojourn to the Special thanks to:<\/p>\n – Tim Matthewman<\/p>\n – Geronimo<\/p>\n – Pete Bedford<\/p>\n – Frank Dymore<\/p>\n – Jimmy Dublin<\/p>\n and others for their great playing and massive support’\u00a6..<\/p>\n Next jam is on Thursday 3rd December, come on down, let’s turn this into Gary<\/td>\n All this is weird, because though the jam was not pulling the big crowds Still as it was the last night, everybody came down for the wake’\u00a6 who A massive crowd included players wo had never even played the jam before, Still it was a great night of music, Mandie was as pissed as a rat and loads Thanks to too many people to mention here, but certain people should be When I think back about all those years at the Woodman the ghosts of Jules NOW ALL GO TO THE GROVE TAVERN, 2 MORDEN ROAD ‘\u201c THE FIRST THURSDAY OF EVERY The show must go on, no surrender!<\/p>\n Gary<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n Thanks to that good guitarist Gizmo, one of our jammers at the Skegness Things were all looking great, until we realised that Bill had left the Still the soundman came to the rescue with a limited set of cymbals from Onto the show’\u00a6. a massive festival 20 miles away featuring Dr Feelgood Still for the near 50 peple in the room it was a kicking gig.<\/p>\n Kelly had a night off and Suzie did a great job singing with Mandie. She Roger took the plaudits of the night however. He played an incredible drum A lovely venue run by a man with a great name (Gary) ‘\u201c we’ll be back on Gary<\/td>\n We were greeted by a very decent sized crowd, with some people driving over The stage is tiny at The Hope, which leads to the ultimate interactive audience Kelly and Mandie sang well and Danny and I’s trade off section on’Rock Me It was great to see Bill and I’s old school friend Boz and also our staunch A really good gig<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n Still it was a good performance, with pride of place to both the new songs, Roger’s drum solo at the end of Voodoo Queen was particularly venemous, Back into the vans for the drive up towards Lincoln\/Holton Le Moor. We had Gary<\/td>\n Hester came down from Schiedam and top Belgian rock writer Alfons Maes was Surrounded by these great friends and believers, last night was just a distant Crowd was a medium capacity, which everybody put down to the fantastically Suzie and Kelly combined brilliantly on the afternoon. Their solo singing The second set really ‘\u02dckicked’ on and my great friend Bobje (who has had After 2 great encores the gig generated some fantastic photos by Bobje and review by Alfons Maes which has already gone to print (we are waiting for A superb high speed drive by Roger onto the last ferry’<\/p>\n Rog and I were out on deck relecting on a good mini tour, yet another financial Gary<\/td>\n The small crowd in such a big and prestigous venue sucked the life out of Though the people present were right behind the band and made lots of noise, Lovely venue, lined with coffins, seating from muscle\/racing cars ‘\u201c i love Nights like this make me doubt the point of it all. Good old Danny accompanied The stars were pretty<\/p>\n Gary<\/p>\n Wrong evening, wrong planet’\u00a6..wrong ‘\u201c killer version of Preacher Man though’\u00a6.<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n No Mandie on this trip, as numerous chest infections had taken thier toll Kelly and Suzie worked wonders on the vocals and as the final blitz of Preacher Hester’s hospitality know no bounds, having already fed, watered and acted Friday was a day off due the closure of a venue and the subsequant gig cancellation. Still thats rock and roll<\/p>\n Here’s to people who believe in music and offer up their homes and generosity We came, we saw, we did a little sightseeing<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n Unfortunately, word on the street was that attendances were dwindling in The Band have done well in the last year, in the sense that there has only I guess that’s the important thing, isn’t it?????????<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n It was great to be allocated the peak slot on the big stage at Colne. Our Clad in my brand new US purchased, glittery ‘\u02dcrock and roll’ T Shirt ( a Suzie also had a glittery top on and with a few ‘\u02dcstones’ in Danny’s shirt Our new song ‘\u02dcSwamp Girl’ was given an airing’\u00a6. and no one believed that The room filled up a treat for us and the big crowd (as ever at Colne were The girls put on a great show, compensating for my broken rib (leaving me The ‘\u02dcBig Easy’ went really well (good lead vocal from Suzie) and a killer The 90 minutes blurred by and with the spotlights traversing the crowd ‘\u02dcPreacher Great ovation, CD sales, crowd and more memories’\u00a6.<\/p>\n Colne 2009 ‘\u201c One of our best -If you were there, thank you very much<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n Gary<\/td>\n The majority of the crowd positioned themselves in the row of bars to the This annual festival where one band plays per weekend, is taking its time The band were on great form in the evening sunshine. All 3 girls sang superbly The sun set over a well lit stage to a great crowd response and a double The people of Wervick were great hosts and a good crowd. CD sales were also A great thanks to Philippe and the organisers and we’ll hopefully be back Gary<\/td>\n I was pleased with the fantastic turn out with people making the trip to First up were Northsyde, now stripped down to a 3 peice from their Funkdory A quick turn around and the crowd were with us as we launched into the traditional We cooled it down for Kelly to sing a great version of ‘\u02dcThe Lying Game’ ‘\u02dcThe Preacher Man’ encore(featuring some excellent Southern frieid shredding Jules and Lorna then joined the 2004 version of Roadhouse (well most of It was like stepping into the tardis!!!<\/p>\n Danny was back up at the end, duelling away with Jules, over Mandie and A truly great night, one i’ll personally never forget, thanks to all our Gary<\/td>\n However, this turned into a storming night. With 32 advance bookings and We made a lot of new friends, but it was great seeing so many people singing One loyal supporter came by motorbike from Norfolk and the overall level The band were on great form. a slow and moody start on ‘\u02dcBlues Highway’, The 2nd set was like a rollercoaster as Roger and Bill drove us through CD sales were brilliant (Thanks girls!)<\/p>\n A great gig and a night to remember ‘\u201c thanks Pete<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n We arrived early and could not believe it when we saw Buffalo Bill’s (iconic On to our headline slot at 4pm. By now about 70-100 people lay on the grass, Suzie was down in London, so it was a full strength Roadhouse, with all ‘\u02dc Telling Lies’, ‘\u02dcHouse of the Rising Sun’, ‘\u02dcNot Fade Away’,<\/p>\n ‘\u02dcSlip Away’, Voodoo Dance’, ‘\u02dc<\/p>\n ‘\u02dcSacrifice’ , ‘\u02dcRoadhouse Blues’ and then the obvious Preacher Man ,with All in all an enjoyable and appreciated afternoon in the sun’\u00a6..<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n We had the traditional double finish of Terry Brennan (The Big Boss Man The Roadhouse se was good other than when we attempted ‘\u02dcLights on Water’. The rest of the set was fantastic. I’m always amazed how limp our perfromances Onto the Mircham Carnival this coming weekend.<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n At the highpoint, there was about 50-60 people in the room (where we usually A really good local support band opened, but were plagued by a wicked buzz We had a good sound guy as usual, but there were loads of PA problems. Monitors There were about 15 Roadhouse supporters down the front. We really went Let’s try again next year if we are all still alive<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n Last time the crowd was a good size, very appreciative and friendly (which The crowd got to a reasonable size, but were not as appreciative as last We tried really hard and rocked with a vengance and managed to get an encore.<\/p>\n It was an ok night, but not what we had hoped for.<\/p>\n Met some great people, played some good stuff ‘\u201c oh well ‘maybe this 1-1 draw<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n Tim Matthewman played 2 great sets on the bass, and as usual blew the crowd Mandie was sidelined with a chest infection so Kelly played the gig on her Gary<\/td>\n We tried hard in the first set but the re-action was apathetic. We were The pub fillled up in the second half with mixture or drunken soldiers, It got a lot better, but then it really needed to’\u00a6<\/p>\n Not one for the book of memories’\u00a6<\/p>\n Gary<\/p>\n Met some nice people<\/td>\n the excellent Eddie on guitar and vocals leading the way, joined by jam It was good to see John O’Leary back at the jam and the classy bluesman Roadhouse played well and the crowd went home very happy’.<\/p>\n This is the 8th year of the jam and its really great that it still alive Nice to see Anne Campbell in the crowd (Roadhouse legends never die)<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n We had a lot of friends and fans there and it was great to see so many familiar For a new festival, this one looks a winner. This gig went so well, I didn’t Here’s to next year ‘\u201c be warned new songs have been written!!!!!<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n Many of our regulars are now running their own sessions. Best of luck to Still by the start their was a respectable number of people present. We Mandie brought down some new guys she’d met at a jam in Acton and they were Geronimo was back from Spain and belted out some classic rock and both ace For the record Roadhouse performed ‘\u02dcThe Lying Game’ (welcoming back Kelly See you in 2 weeks<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n James Dublin (of course it’s his real name, Dublin was named after him) And Kelly was on holiday in Costa Coffee (its all she could afford) ‘\u201c sorry Hope more come down on the 30th May<\/p>\n Thanks to all<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n Many of Mandie’s family turned up for quite a touching family re-union, A packed room, a fantastic response and the 6th cracking gig in a row (def By the end I felt like I was running on empty and nearly died when the crowd It was a long, long way back to London, just in time for breakfast”(then Gary<\/td>\n As a consequence we opened with a kicking ‘\u02dcTellin Lies’ and then brought As ever the second set was even better with killer versions of ‘\u02dcVoodoo Dance’, 5th cracking gig in a row and out best appearance at Burnley by a distance.<\/p>\n Must be a record<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n Keeping music live, spontaneous and local<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n The overall view from the Band was of some disconnection in the first set The 2nd set was top rate. From ‘\u02dcVoodoo Dance’ to ‘\u02dcThe Roadhouse Blues’ and 3rd great gig on the spin<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n It was a worry for him, having any Band for the first time. But the crowd This was the 2nd great performance in a row. The band played really well. Which brings me on to Danny (directional dyslexia) Gwilym. We waited an The two sets shot bye in record time and the audience re-action was first A double encore of ‘\u02dcPreacher Man’ and ‘\u02dcSacrifice’ ended a classic gig.. Gary<\/td>\n What did the absent people miss:<\/p>\n – A decent support Band<\/p>\n – An excellent Roadhouse performance<\/p>\n – A Fantastic music loving crowd, who were responsive and created a great From the opening ‘\u02dcBlues Highway’ to the double encore including ‘\u02dcPreacher It was one of those times where I truly appreciated all the great people Highlights for me were some of Danny’s guitar solo’s (particualry on ‘\u02dcThe Well done all and on to Oxford on Monday<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n The highlight for me was Kelly and Mandie singing for some regular and new See everyone in two weeks time<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n – We were really well looked after, hotel was fine and all meals were served Once we turned up at our designated venue we found the organisation to be We were in Wallabies, an Australian bar North of Paris (such is cultural First up were to The Manic R&B driven youngsters in the<\/p>\n The Experimantal Tropic Blues Band ‘\u201c after some crowd surfing, female crwod The Friday night perfromance was a really good one. Starting with a storming Our version of ‘\u02dcRoadhouse Blues\/Jim Morrison est Mort en Paris’ was very The only shame about the Friday was that a portion of crowd drfited away By the end of Preacher Man I thought we’d done a great job and all around Come Saturday PM, some more chaotic communication and a no sound, sound We didnt move and the aformentioned lady managed to spoil most of our evening I will not describe Deltahead on this website other than to say they played Good old Fred the owner agreed to let us play past the 1am deadline (well Amazingly we were going down a storm, even better then on the Friday. People geting right behind us. Half way through our 3rd song, ‘\u02dcSacrifice’ my pedal Around this time I did unusually for me, totally lose my rag and was snapping Somehow we finsished the set and got a better response than on Friday, when An interesting weekend’\u00a6.<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n If overcoming my health issues to play was not enough of a challange, I It was fantastic to see so many people out supporting us on a cold Monday Jimmy Dublin, Geronimo and Byron Banks (Harp) kicked off the night with The Roadhouse set opened with a very emotional version of ‘\u02dcThe Answer’ – Kelly and Mandie nailed versions of ‘\u02dcThe Lying Game’ and ‘\u02dcRising Sun’ (and The failure of Kelly’s mic, lead to some Lesbian style mike sharing antics, Voodoo Dance rocked it up several notches, before an emotional ‘\u02dcSlip Away’ Bill & Roger were rock solid in a great all round Band performance. Personal John O’Leary then played the night out with some great harp driven blues’\u00a6.<\/p>\n So fantastic to see people like Darren Wisdom, who has written such great There is life yet’.<\/p>\n Off to the big festival in France now<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n A thin night musician wise and with only about 20 loyal supporters.. it We played ‘\u02dcWhen Mountains Fall’ for the first time for years. the girls Later in the night Danny and I redeemed ourselves with an epic ‘\u02dcWatchtower’ Some nice performances by the jammers but a poor night in my perception.<\/p>\n The second jam had a much bigger crowd and the Roadhouse set was re-energised. Nice sets from Jimmy (the tone) Dublin and a great young Band in the new A good night<\/p>\n Gary<\/td>\n There was a ‘\u02dchealthy’ amount of tension through the dressing room before, We were announced and the Safety Curtain rolled up as Roger hammered into The girls ‘\u02dcdanced with the devil’ (very nicely) and the 1st number had gone Second up was ‘\u02dcThe Answer’ and as the song opens with me singing and playing It went great, the only dodgy moment being when I glanced stage left and Three songs for the lucious ladies next, Suzie downsizing the Arena into ‘\u02dcSacrifice’ was given its big stage debut and ‘\u02dcTelling Lies’ provoked an There was no doubt about the encore and Preacher Man took up up to a set What a great crowd response and for me a validation of some very hard times Photo call from the great Alan White, CD’s and Autographs and then the long But surprise, Roger had recorded the whole show (and filmed it). we listened Thanks to the great crew at Skeggy, to Alan Pearce, Pete Barton and the Photos available from:<\/p>\n (Girls are looking good)<\/p>\n
\n– Part One05\/02\/2011<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Colourhouse Theatre ‘\u201c Merton Abbey Mills
\n– 16\/1\/2011<\/td>\nThis was a great warm up gig for the forthcoming, massive
\nSkegness Festival.Thanks to all who turned up on a wet night in January. It was a great turnout
\nand a solid gig.<\/p>\n
\nfull band ‘\u201c Elephant Shelf), provided the guest slot music in the break.
\nA nice mix of roots blues with cajum style fiddle playing. Loved the ‘\u02dcSwamp
\nnoir’ version of House of the Rising Sun ‘\u201c so different from ours.<\/p>\n
\nfor a great version of ‘\u02dcRoadhouse Blues’..<\/p>\n
\nperformed Mandie’s lead vocal song from Dark Angel, ‘\u02dcPlay with Fire’.. Well
\nsung Mands and well performed by the Band.<\/p>\n
\nto headline the Blues festival on Saturday the 27th August.<\/p>\n04\/02\/2011<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Beaverwood Club ‘\u201c Chislehurst ‘\u201c 6\/1\/11<\/td>\n The first week of the New Year was always going to be a test’\u00a6.
\nThe end result was not too bad with nearly fifty people in the room.Overall, this was a great gig with an excellent crowd reaction.<\/p>\n
\nworried about being a little rusty. However, the opening of the set was
\nmy fave part pf the night as we nailed 4 consequtive songs from Dark Angel,
\nincluding the title track in a row.<\/p>\n
\nthey nailed there opening songs, ‘\u02dcRising Sun’ and ‘\u02dcThe Lying Game’. The
\nsecond set produced worthy versions of their great songs from Dark Angel,
\n‘\u02dcSo Over You’ (Kelly) and ‘\u02dcPlay With Fire’ (Mandie). In truth the band are
\nstill in ‘\u02dcearly days mode’ with both these songs and they ‘\u02dcwobbled’ a little.
\nIt should not be long though however, before they reach their full potential.<\/p>\n
\ncopies of Dark Angel flew out of the door (demonic possesion obviously)
\nand thanks to Pete Feenstra for another great night’\u00a6.<\/p>\n16\/01\/2011<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Roadhouse Xmas Party Show ‘\u201c the Bulls Head
\n– Barnes ‘\u201c 13\/12\/10<\/td>\nWe’ve had some great atandances at our annual Xmas bash,
\nbut last years was a little quiet. With London doubling as Siberia in the
\nlatest ‘\u02dcmovie production’ things did not look too good crowd wise’Surprisingly it was a good night, with people coming from as far away as
\nBournemouth. The audience reaction was stunning, if only all live music
\ncrowds could be like the one in the Bull on this night’\u00a6..<\/p>\n
\nAmerican history by pairing Geronimo (The Guitar Player) with Buffalo Bill
\n(Smith, the harp player. These great players were backed by our very own
\nrythmn section of Bill and Roger. These guys in truth are our largely unsung
\nheroes and were as solid as a rock all night. Though the first number was
\na rather ill advised verions of Led Zep’s ‘\u02dcRock & Roll’, this was well redeemed
\nby the remainder of their set. Mandie’s mate Mel, then had a sing, but problems
\nwith the key of the number conspired against her’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\nand opening the O2 Arena fame) joined Roadhouse for a spine tingling version
\nof Stormy Monday. Truly brilliant, this achieved the first standing ovation
\nof the night.<\/p>\n
\non the vocals, we blasted into a selection of new songs from Dark Angel.
\n‘\u02dcToo Tired To Pray’, Rainmaker’, ‘\u02dcSwamp Girl’ and a fabulous ‘\u02dc Dark Angel’,
\nfollowed. Sam solo’d on ‘\u02dcThe Lying Game’, ‘\u02dcMandie on’ Play With Fire’ and
\nKelly brought the Roadhouse set to an end with a storming ‘\u02dcBig Easy’, from
\nThe Broken Land album. These songs received a truly amazing crowd re-action’\u00a6well
\nplayed Danny.G (you rocked mate!)<\/p>\n
\nO’Leary jamming through some great songs. Robin Bibi joined them on sensational
\nlead guitar and our very own Mandie was back on stage, layering on some
\ncool backing vocals. Funky George Dare (of ex- Roadhouse and The Foundations
\nfame) got behind the drums for the last number and even played them right
\nhanded (it must have been Xmas)’.<\/p>\n
\nin sub zero tempreatures.<\/p>\n24\/12\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Tropic, Ruislip ‘\u201c 21\/11\/10<\/td>\n Back to the Tropic, which was co-run by the late, lamented
\nGeorge McFall. Phillip who has now completely taken over the venue has decided
\nthat Sundays being George’s brainchild, will be wound up. as they have never
\nbeen a successful as the mega busy Fridays.The Band that hold the record for an attendance on a Sunday is for once
\n– US!’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nlaunch, we did not pull as many people as last time.<\/p>\n
\nlocals and ace Roadhouse supporter Darren Wisdom.<\/p>\n
\n(until Mandie got a bit worse for wear in Preacher Man and it did not matter
\ntoo much by then,as it was an encore).<\/p>\n
\npersonally really enjoying playing both ‘\u02dcRainmaker’ and ‘\u02dcDark Angel’ at
\nthe moment, those songs are all about feel, precision and power.<\/p>\n
\nSun’<\/p>\n04\/12\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Boom Boom Club ‘\u201c Sutton FC ‘\u201c 7\/11\/10<\/td>\n So to the much heralded launch of our new and in many’s opinion
\n(including mine), best ever CD, Dark Angel’We channeled a lot of effort into promo for the gig, as did ace promoter
\nPete Feenstra. The overall turnout was a bit dissapointing in relation to
\nthe size of crowds that we’ve had at past CD launches.<\/p>\n
\nwere amazing and we blasted through the 1 hour and 40 minute set (it felt
\nlike a quarter of an hour).<\/p>\n
\nPray’, ‘\u02dcRainmaker’, ‘\u02dcDark Angel’ and Swamp Girl. Samy.C.Richards joining
\nKelly and Mandie on the night, to deliver some great 3 part harmonies. I
\nwas personally delighted with both the crowd re-action and the level of
\nperformance.<\/p>\n
\n‘\u02dcPreacher Man’, brought the night to an end (encore and all). Roger and
\nBill were rock solid and Danny was superb (apart from the two comedy moments,
\n(a) when he started the wrong song, (b) When he tried to play with his lead
\nunplugged ‘\u201c but whatever, he’s Danny and he’s genius!!)<\/p>\n
\nfor doing the merchandising and I’m pleased to annouce that we sold 26 copies
\nof Dark Angel on this very first evening’\u00a6..<\/p>\n
\non a cold Sunday..We carry on because of you<\/p>\n30\/11\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Whetmore Whistle ‘\u201c Burton Upon Trent ‘\u201c 31\/10\/1<\/td>\n So to the 3rd gig of our Midlands mini tour. A very nice
\nSunday afternoon venue. A good crowd and we were joined on stage for a couple
\nof numbers by our old friend, Mick Rutherford for a quick jam. Mick certainly
\nhad his mojo working.This venue has a great atmosphere. Kelly, Suzie and Mandie doing great on
\nthe vocals and Danny blasting it out of the park on guitar’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nto catch this show ‘\u201c many thanks to you!!!!. I shagged up the beginning
\nof ‘\u02dcPreacher Man’ (sorry, new medication ‘\u201c strange but true!), but then
\nthe number picked up it’s usual epic feel and structure.<\/p>\n
\nand John for their help in putting a very enjoyable mini tour together..<\/p>\n28\/11\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Crew Bar ‘\u201c Nuneaton ‘\u201c 30\/10\/11<\/td>\n A strange night in more ways than one. the Crew Bar run a
\nsystem of a large concert hall upstairs and more unknown bands playing downwtairs
\nin the actual bar.So as relative unknowns in this area, we were playing in the funky rock
\nand roll styled bar downstairs. The audience made the night as they were
\nin the most outrageous Haloween garb imaginable. Every form of ghoul, ghost
\nand monster was present. And even being of more advanced years I must comment
\non seing some of the most sexy looking vmpires ever’<\/p>\n
\nfact that, (a) creatures of the night are not big on applause, (b) They
\nusually have covers bands on downstairs, where there is little re-action
\nanyway.<\/p>\n
\nand we made a lot of friends. One pocket of the crowd went mad for the girls
\nand watched avidly, while another did some close guitar technique observation.
\nBy the end the handful of Roadhouse fans down the front lead them to a decent
\nre-action and even an encore. As a conesequence of the good reaction we
\nwere not eaten or impaled, which in hindsight, I think was a good thing’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nhe loved the Band and we are trying to find a date\/arrangment where we can
\nplay the large concert hall upstairs’\u00a6<\/p>\n28\/11\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Roadhouse ‘\u201c Birmingham ‘\u201c 29\/10\/11<\/td>\n First of 3 dates in the Birmingham\/Midlands area.This was our first ever date in Birmingham and at the prestigous Roadhouse
\ntoo.<\/p>\n
\npromote this gig.<\/p>\n
\npeople to make the most of it. However, I guess we are a bit of an unknown
\nquantity up this way, as there were very few of the Roahouse’s regulars
\npresent this night.<\/p>\n
\nwho drove down from up North we had 58 paying punters. This was not bad
\nfor the first time at a new venue, in a new city.<\/p>\n
\nup on duty.<\/p>\n
\na killer ‘\u02dcRoadhouse Blues’, being played by Roadhouse in the Roadhouse (sort
\nthat out ![\":)\"](\"..\/..\/Journal_files\/icon_smile.gif\"){kind=icon}
<\/p>\n
\nthe job. The sound crew and door staff weere all well impressed, maybe we’ll
\ncome back to this great venue’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\njust as she sings it on the new CD. The crowd went crazy..<\/p>\n14\/11\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Yardbirds Club ‘\u201c Grimsby ‘\u201c 2\/10\/11<\/td>\n A long drive, but it was a dissapointing turn out.Mandie did a great job on solo vocal duty. Young Jason from the Brew did
\na fabulous guest turn with us on two different songs. He really is the best
\nyoung guitar player I’ve ever seen’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\nit us or is live music on a bit more of a down???<\/p>\n14\/11\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The New Crawdaddy Club ‘\u201c Essex- 30\/9\/10<\/td>\n After headlining a couple of this great venues charity festivals
\nand also holding Jules and Lorna’s farewell gig here, it felt weird that
\nwe had been away for 3.5 years.Still Paul who runs this place has a thinkless task, as now one of the Country’s
\nmost popular venues, there is an enormous list of quality bands in an giant
\nholding pattern trying to get gigs here.<\/p>\n
\nturnout of nearly 60 was quite dissapointing. But the people at thsi venue
\nlove their music and the PA guys know there stuff. The crowd are massively
\nresponsive and they got behind us from the off.<\/p>\n
\nin readyness for our set, very nicely.<\/p>\n
\nof ‘\u02dcBlues Highway’. Kelly solo’d on ‘\u02dcThe ‘\u02dcLying Game’ and Mandie on ‘\u02dcHouse
\nof the Rising Sun’. We played ‘\u02dcToo Tired Too Pray’, ‘\u02dcWorking Class Gospel
\nDrinking Blues’ and great versions of both Rainmaker and Swamp Girl’, from
\nthe forthcoming CD, Dark Angel.<\/p>\n
\n(far too quickly)’\u00a6<\/p>\n24\/10\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Red Lion ‘\u201c Stevenage ‘\u201c 26\/9\/10<\/td>\n A big thanks to legendary Roadie, Ron who brought in the
\nadditional transport to make this gig possible.Trevor (The Legendary Man In the Hat) Keeling as promoter brought in his
\nown PA and despite the absence of Bill’s Van, we were on.<\/p>\n
\nmusicians gaining an instant and full on re-action to their performance.<\/p>\n
\nentity for the first time. A good 20 hard core Roadhouse supporters\/CD collectors
\nwere in the crowd and she achieved excellent feedback with her performance.<\/p>\n
\nand ‘\u02dcDark Angel’ itself from the new CD of that name. A local girl singer
\ncalled Megan joined in on a version of ‘\u02dcStormy Monday’ in the second set.
\nThen we were at ‘\u02dcTellin Lies’ and ‘\u02dcPreacher Man’ and the night was over
\n(it passed by in a blink). ‘\u0153You’re too good for here’\u009d said Trev (kindly),
\nI don’t personally think we are ever too good to play to people who care
\nand really want to hear us.<\/p>\n17\/10\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n East Harling Social & Music Club ‘\u201c Norfolk –
\n25\/9\/10<\/td>\nA strange, but in some ways compelling night.The Band were all excited on the way up as we had just found an exciting
\naddition to the team. Her name is Sammy.C.Richards and in one week she had
\nlearned and proved worthy on virtually the entire Roadhouse portfolio.<\/p>\n
\ndiscussion with Mandie, arranging harmonies etc.<\/p>\n
\nwho after spending 2k on a service and then 1.8k on the breakdown that stopped
\nus from playing at this years Rythmn Festival, had broken down (yet) again.<\/p>\n
\nof ‘\u02dcBaldrick style cunning ideas’ Bill and his van (full of most of our
\nequiment) was beng towed back to London.<\/p>\n
\nThey helped us locate a local PA and then we committed to doing something
\nthat we had never done before. Danny and I would play guitars and the girls
\nand I would sing. The show would go on (after all who needs bass and drums!!!!!!!!).<\/p>\n
\nunbelievable, showing great vocal technique and performing well on all the
\nsongs.<\/p>\n
\n‘\u02dcSlip Away’ and the revisted ‘\u02dcNot Fade Away’, where the percussive elements
\nof the guitar held the song together.<\/p>\n17\/10\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Charlotte Street Blues ‘\u201c London ‘\u201c 16\/9\/10<\/td>\n A welcome return to rocking out in Central London and our
\nfirst time at this prestigous venue..Nice stage and sound set up with mixing coming from the upper gallery. The
\nopening band were classic three peice slide blues, no risks, but good quality.
\nThey experienced the donwside of the long thin room, that makes it hard
\nfor bands to connect with the audinece.<\/p>\n
\nthe audience from the off. ‘\u02dcBlues Highway’ was followed by ‘\u02dcToo Tired To
\nPray’ from the new CD, Dark Angel. Both girls brought the house down with
\ntheir individual solo performances and overall the long first set really
\nkicked.<\/p>\n
\nin the City. People start to think about the last train home. So though
\nit still rocked, the crowd was a little bit thinner on the Ground. Well
\ndone the party of Americans from Alaska, who had all up and dancing to ‘\u02dcRoadhouse
\nBlues’. Encore was of course ‘\u02dcPreacher Man’ and we hope to be back.<\/p>\n07\/10\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Groene Engel ‘\u201c Oss ‘\u201c Netherlands ‘\u201c 3\/9\/10<\/td>\n Well onto Liesbeth and Willy’s famous venue. This lovely
\ncouple put the Band up at their own house and treated us like royalty during
\nour stay.The venue itself was a surprise. I expected a music pub, but the pub opened
\nup into a large theatre style venue.<\/p>\n
\nto crowd numbers. With 5 minutes to show time there was no one there other
\nthan PA crew, bar staff and security. I was amazed that we went on to about
\n50 people, it had begun to fill so quickly. By the time we were on the 3rd
\nnumber the crowd was over 100 and there were more then 200 present by the
\nend of the 1st set..<\/p>\n
\nBy the time we came off for the break I was sure we were ‘\u02dcbombing’ badly.
\nI was then told that the audience was notriously quiet and that had been
\none of the best re-actions ever.<\/p>\n
\ngame and smashed into our rockier material. There was even more people there
\nand now he place was heaving. The crowd went crazy and there was people
\ndancing and generally behaving moe like a typicel Roadhouse audience.<\/p>\n
\nencore went to Mandie with ‘\u02dcHeavens Door’.<\/p>\n
\nRachel Clark. She had done around 30 gigs for us, but has now been recruited
\nfor a girl band’s 6 month tour of India (Chapti’s over for her)<\/p>\n25\/09\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Cafe d’Oude Stoep ‘\u201c Vlaadingen \/Rotterdam –
\nNetherlands 2\/9\/10<\/td>\nMany thanks to Hester, our brilliant Dutch tour manager for
\nsorting out this date.It was a nice trip across on the ferry. Danny asked us ‘\u0153Did I ever tell
\nyou that I used to be in the Merchant Navy’\u009d. Now he has mentioned this fact
\na few hundred times before and so earned the nickname of ‘\u0153Cap’n Danny’ for
\nthe rest of the trip’\u00a6. aaaaarghaaaahhhh me harties. We are now saving
\nup to but him a parrot and send him off for a cruise on the Black Pearl.<\/p>\n
\nbeen cancelled due to the promoter having serious health problems. Still
\nit was nice to return to this nice little music cafe.<\/p>\n
\nsupport. Some great students bought up the remainder of the Roadhouse CD
\ncollection, depsite not exactly being affluent. I loved the guys headbanging
\nin font of Cap’n Danny’s amp.<\/p>\n
\nwas a nice little gig to about 50 people. A good warm up fo the forthcoming
\nrecording sessions for the new CD, Dark Angel.<\/p>\n19\/09\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Private Function ‘\u201c Nottingham ‘\u201c 28\/8\/10<\/td>\n It’s weird for us, as tellers of tales of misery desperation
\nand voodoo, to be asked to play at a private function.Thanks tor seasoned Roadhouse supporters, Mr & Mrs Pete Laplanche for having
\nus for their Silver Wedding anniversary. They really looked after us.<\/p>\n
\nbasis and the crowd was brilliant. This was a real Roadhouse show in every
\nsense of the word.<\/p>\n
\nnight’\u00a6..<\/p>\n19\/09\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Abbeyfest ‘\u201c 27\/8\/10<\/td>\n After headlining at South London’s biggest open air blues
\nfestival for 5 years. we missed out in 2009. A big thanks therefore to Buffalo
\nBill Smith for getting us back on the Bill (Ok, Bill got us on the Bill)For the first time we were playing in the early (7pm -8.15 slot) in a double
\nheader with the excellent Pappa George. Usually Bands who play in that slot
\nperform to about 30-70 people. I’m so proud to report that there was at
\nleast 150 people there when we started and by the end of the set well over
\n600.<\/p>\n
\ntheir stuff, we previewed a lot of material from the forthcoming CD, Dark
\nAngel (to be launched at the Boom Boom Club, Sutton FC on Sunday 7th Nov).<\/p>\n
\nthen we followed up with ‘\u02dcToo Tired To Pray’ and ‘\u02dcRainmaker’ from the new
\nCD. Another highlight was Kelly singing the great new song she wrote with
\nDanny and I, ‘\u02dcSo Over You’. This is by far the most commercial and contemporary
\nsong we’ve ever written.<\/p>\n
\nand Tellin Lies the crowd was totally with us and we had a blast’\u00a6..<\/p>\n
\nbank hol..<\/p>\n18\/09\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Rythmn Festival ‘\u201c Bedford ‘\u201c 22\/8\/10<\/td>\n Unfortunately this is the sad tale of the gig that never
\nwas.It had taken me (with the great help of Roadhouse supporter Ray Baldwin)
\n3 years to get onto the Bill of Jin Driver’s great, large scale festival.<\/p>\n
\nto the gig on the M5. Rumours at the festival that Band members were hurt,
\nwere fortunately this was not true’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\nfront of so many people. Loads of great Roadhouse friends\/fans texted mailed
\nand phoned their good wishes through following our failure to appear.<\/p>\n
\nnext year’\u00a6.good man.<\/p>\n
\nall we need, as we are only a couple of weeks away from recording the new
\nCD.<\/p>\n05\/09\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Saltash Rock & Blues Festival ‘\u201c 21\/8\/10<\/td>\n The first of what we had intitally hoped as two big festivals
\nover the course of this weekend.The key festival organiser was our old friend and ace guitar builder\/luthier,
\nTom Anfield. With several stages in operation and The Damned as the headline
\nact in the main hall, we were headlining the main pub stage at The Union.<\/p>\n
\nin our face. The Band were really on form following the mid week rehearsal.
\nThe crowd really rose to the new, sing along style number ‘\u02dcThe Gospel Working
\nClass Drinking Blues’.<\/p>\n
\nband really kicked into life in the second set, as we achieved a better
\nvocal sound balance in this relatively confined space.<\/p>\n
\nby how much things have grown\/improved. The crowd and the festival organisers
\nbrilliant reaction, mean that we will be back hopfully on the main stage
\nnext year.<\/p>\n05\/09\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Charlie Butler ‘\u201c Mortlake ‘\u201c 16\/7\/10<\/td>\n It was weird for the Band to take a step back in time and
\nplay at a small pub. However, we owed the Londord, Chris (Crispin Mallet)
\na great deal.Roadhouse learned their tade about 17 years ago regularly playing at his
\nlocal (to us) Jolly Gardners venue. He also introduced us to his Barmaid
\nthe Roadhouse legend, Lorna Reilly and quite a lot of history happened as
\na consequence of that meeting.<\/p>\n
\nso as a consequence temporary soundproofing was in place. However, rumours
\nwere rife across the music scene that gigs had been suspended at the CB.<\/p>\n
\nour main promoter, Pete Feenstra and with the strategy of our record Company
\nI could not afford to promote it that heavily.<\/p>\n
\nbreaking low volume. visiting journalist Darren Wisidom complained that
\nthough he was standing only 6 feet from Danny, he was struggling to hear
\nhim.<\/p>\n
\nrevelled in being able to hear themselves much more clearly than usual.
\nThey sang brilliantly.<\/p>\n
\nwas given to the title track of the new (forthcoming) CD, The epic, ‘\u02dcDark
\nAngel’. By the start of the second set a good sized crowd had mustered and
\nwe rocked out a fair bit more. Reaction was great and we ran into some people
\nwho had seen us at Glastonbury (small world!)’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\nhas the Jam Pact boys running a good jam session every Tuesday ‘\u201c check it
\nout’\u00a6.<\/p>\n15\/08\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Millers Blues & Snooker Club ‘\u201c Kirkby In Ashfield
\n– 8\/7\/10<\/td>\nI was initially reluctant to travel up to do a gig near Mansfield
\non a Thursday night. Firstly, July audiences can be a bit thin on the ground,
\nthen there was the hot weather and the World Cup (two live music passion
\nkillers!)’\u00a6However, Rob was very persuasive and what a great guy he turned out to be.
\nLovely music room, good sound, nice big dressing room, food and drink all
\nsupplied. If only everyone looked after Bands the way he does.<\/p>\n
\nnight, all paying \u00c2\u00a37, is some acheivement in the current recession.<\/p>\n
\nbuddy Mick Rutherford for turning up.<\/p>\n
\na great speech introducing the Band. Another notable attendee was that ace
\nphotographer Tony Winfield.<\/p>\n
\nPray<\/p>\n
\ngot as off to a good start and by the end of ‘\u02dcToo Tired To Pray’ the crowd
\nseemed to be 100% behind us. ‘\u02dcDark Angel’ received a massive ovation which
\nbodes well for the new CD of the same name.<\/p>\n
\nLies’ made the stage shake.<\/p>\n17\/07\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Glastonbury Festival ‘\u201c 27\/610<\/td>\n A day to remember as our 20 year career lead us to an appearance
\nat Europe’s biggest music festival.A massive thanks to Andy Fielding and his wife Sue who put us on their excellent
\nBourbon Street Blues\/Jazz stage’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nby a tactically superior German side (augmented by the biggest refereeing
\nblunder of all time), we were shut out of the festival. All approaches into
\nthe festival were closed due to the massive crowds watching the game.<\/p>\n
\nand nerves became more and more fraught on a hot and humid day. Finally
\nArtist Transport whiz Dave found us in his magic Land Rover. The girls and
\nI were then driven to the stage, while poor Danny, Bill and Roger (and his
\nbad back), were left with a 3 mile walk in boiling conditions.<\/p>\n
\nto let Rogers back manage to take the strain.<\/p>\n
\non the grass for around another 1-2,000. There was relatively few people
\nthere all day, as people stuck with some big hitters on the main stages,
\nlike Slash and Stevie Wonder.<\/p>\n
\nthe Pyramid Stage. We started quietly with ‘\u02dcBlues Highway’ and by the time
\nwe hit a rocking ‘\u02dcToo Tired To Pray’ as a second number people statrted
\nto flood into the tent and onro the grass embankment.<\/p>\n
\nwere quickly overcome by the competent stage manager and sound crew.<\/p>\n
\nfor their 3 solo performances of ‘\u02dcThe Lying game’, ‘\u02dcHouse of the Rising
\nSun’ (which had been part played by Muse on the Pyramid on Friday night)
\nand ‘\u02dcThe Big Easy’. I managed to get a big ovation for my solo in ‘\u02dcHouse’,
\nso thanks to all the rest of the Band for making me sound so good. By the
\nmid point of the set, the crowd were chanting Kelly’s name (super star in
\nthe making?)<\/p>\n
\nand Danny who used the house backline and did a great job of producing a
\nkiller sound.<\/p>\n
\nwell deserved and cheered for encore), produced a rocking set to a fantasic
\nreaction from the big crowd. A few punters came up and said it was he best
\nthing they had seen all weekend (I’ll settle for it just being bloody good!).<\/p>\n
\nincluding Nails and Joe.<\/p>\n
\nthe large amount of drunk\/high people on the site. At around 3 in the morning
\nDave turned up in the magic Landrover.<\/p>\n
\nthe front, all the equiment in the back and then fitted six Band members
\nin the normal space that would be occupied by two people. This ws a simlar
\nexperience to being laoded onto a crowded Tokyo commuter train. I’d like
\nto apologise to Suzie for eating quite a large quantity of her hair. The
\n30 minute journey over bumpy ground will pass into legend.<\/p>\n
\nmist, a few hundred yards to my right rose the majesty of Stonehenge. I
\nreflected that, that construction had been around longer then Roger and
\nit put the whole thing into context for me’\u00a6..<\/p>\n30\/06\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Music Cafe Gompelhof ‘\u201c Mol ‘\u201c Belgium<\/td>\n This is such a great venue, that it felt like coming home..Jo and Annette, the owners are fantastc people. If only all music promoters\/venue
\nowners were like them. We were incredibly well looked after’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\nand breakfast in an amazing stately home ‘\u201c luxury!!!.<\/p>\n
\nAnnette took Kelly and I to a local football tournament (with much associated
\ndrinking)’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\nthough a bit down on last time there was still a good sized crowd.<\/p>\n
\nnight. They did a fine job.<\/p>\n
\ntwo shows. ‘\u02dcSlip Away’ got an airing and ‘\u02dcVoodoo Queen ‘\u02dc returned to it’s
\nusual slot as the penultimate song in the set.<\/p>\n
\nafter 2 Encores, there was time for a lot of CD signing and drinking with
\nthe local music lovers.<\/p>\n
\nCrowd are truly remarkable’\u00a6<\/p>\n27\/06\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The 013 ‘\u201c Tilburg ‘\u201c Netherlands ‘\u201c 4\/6\/10<\/td>\n From a great night and an excellent crowd to a gig that in
\nall honesty was painful’\u00a6.Ou orignal gig at great muso venue the Green Angel was cancelled and fatstic
\npromotet, Liesbeth magically booked us into this huge venue\/arena’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\nand Marc Almond and Pappa Roach’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nvolunteers could not have been nicer)’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nPlaying to an all time record low (in 19 years) of 8 people (plus 16 staff)..
\nit was hot and hard work’<\/p>\n
\nengineer had turned the mntors virtually off and lost the top 3rd of my
\nvocal range for the rest of the night’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\nand have booked us for their venue in September.<\/p>\n
\nhave been sarcastic on their website about the small crowd’<\/p>\n19\/06\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Podium ‘\u201c Schiedam\/Rotterdam ‘\u201c Netherlands
\n– 3\/6\/10<\/td>\nOur third time at this atmospheric canal side venue.Our great friend and Dutch promoter Hester cooked us both a great dinner
\nand cooked up a big crowd for this warm summer night.<\/p>\n
\nBand were on great form with Suzie.D sharing vocal duties wih Kelly Marie
\nHobbs.<\/p>\n
\nnumber ‘\u02dcToo Tired to Pray’. This night also featured the best version of
\n‘\u02dcDark Angel’ that we have played so far, the crowd reaction was fantastic.<\/p>\n
\nthat we had to play well. The Band delivered and ‘\u02dcPreacher Man’ was the
\nappropriate encore..<\/p>\n15\/06\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Colourhouse Theatre ‘\u201c Merton Abbey Mills
\n– 16\/5\/10<\/td>\nSo back to this great local venue run by journalist and ace
\nharp player Buffalo Bill Smith’\u00a6Set opposite to the famous bandstand which plays host to the enormous Merton
\nAbbey Mills Blues (catch us on Friday 27th August, in the open air, playing
\nto the big crowd) and Jazz festivals. This cozy candlelit theatre seats
\nabout 50 before they need to bring in extra seating.<\/p>\n
\nnot enough local support for my liking.<\/p>\n
\nbit loud in his mix, but checking with quite a few people out front the
\nbalance was spot on. From the opener, ‘\u02dcBlues Highway’, Kelly and Mandie’s
\nvocals combined superbly.<\/p>\n
\n‘\u02dcToo Tired To Pray’, ‘\u02dcDark Angel’ and ‘\u02dcSwamp Girl’, all went down a treat.<\/p>\n
\non the harp. As usual this was punctuated with alternative comedy and the
\nstandard public altercation with Mandie routine, that just cracks everybody
\nup.<\/p>\n
\nSoon we were at ‘\u02dcPreacher Man’ and then another great gig was over.<\/p>\n26\/05\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Roahouse Jam ‘\u201c Grove Tevern ‘\u201c 6\/6\/10<\/td>\n Our monthly jam at the Grove (the first Thursday of every
\nmonth) landed on election night. Unfortunately, this lead to a quieter night
\nthan recent jams.The numbers may have been down from about 60 to 30 something but a lot of
\nthe jam (and Roadhouse’s) core supporers\/friends were in attendance. Danny
\nwas missing (The first Roadhouse gig he has missed since joining the Band
\nnearly 3 years ago) and was replaced by a quality dep, in the form of the
\nlegendary Robin Bibi.<\/p>\n
\nthe song wih some great blues slide and even added a touch of wah wah to
\nthe progrression. We finished the set with the new song ‘\u02dcToo Tired Too Pray’
\nand Robin managed to produce the main riff, after just having it hummed
\nto him 5 mins before the start of the show (Quality!). Kelly and Rachel’s
\nvocals were right on point as this song really kicked.<\/p>\n
\nas he joined Robin for a set along with the great Tim Matthewman on bass.There
\nwas some really nice interplay between them. Geronimo was also on good guitar
\nform.<\/p>\n
\n‘\u02dcStormy Monday’. Then it was over to Grove soundman and Ozric Tentacles
\nfluteplayer extrodinaire, Jumping John. John finished the night with a great
\nacoustic guiter instrumental, very new world, but with a raw edge’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nRoadhouse will be on tour in Holland and Belgium. We’ll be back running
\nthe jam on the 1st July.<\/p>\n22\/05\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Hope Tavern ‘\u201c Holton Le Moor ‘\u201c 2\/5\/1008<\/td>\n The Hope Tavern has always been a great bastion of Roadhouse
\nsupport and so it proved once more, on an excellent Sunday afternoon in
\nMay.It was a first time here for Rachel and she was rewarded with a visit from
\n7 of her family, including Grandma (brave woman wasn’t deaf at all ‘\u201c before
\nthe gig anyway!).<\/p>\n
\nwe had some volunteers to roll us nto the stage.<\/p>\n
\nvirtually on top of you and you can see everyone;s faces as they react to
\nboth your successes (and to any mistakes). A lot of this crowd knew the
\nsongs better than we did, so the pressure was on to do them justice.<\/p>\n
\nvenue. And what lovely people, as we sold a lot of CD’s and 5 copies of
\nour new limited edition DVD.<\/p>\n
\nThe 3 new songs ‘\u02dcSwamp Girl’, ‘\u02dcToo Tired Too Pray’ and ‘\u02dcDark Angel’ were
\nalso big hits with the crowd.<\/p>\n
\n‘\u02dcThe Answer’ which was otherwise well performed. Great drum and even Bass
\nsolo from Roger and Bill repsctively, in ‘\u02dcVoodoo Queen’ . ‘\u02dcPreacher Man’
\nrocked and then it was over for another year at The Hope’\u00a6. what a great
\nvenue!!!.<\/p>\n
\nwas not in attendance. He was looking very ill last year and it broke my
\nheart not to see him in his rightful place at the bar’\u00a6..<\/p>\n12\/05\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The New Inn ‘\u201c Witney ‘\u201c 30\/4\/10<\/td>\n In this lovely Cotswold town, a really nice landlord called
\nMartin has been on a mission to bing top quality live music to the area.
\nAccording to Blues Maters own Vicky Martin it was a dream of his to have
\nRoadhouse play thie quaint little pub.We turned up as part of a local beer and memorial\/’Heroes’ festival. This
\nwas the first time we were ever introduced by a priest, which was quite
\nironic as a set of songs about blues, voodoo and the devil sent him rushing
\nto the exit. Still the local Mayor stuck it out and decent sized crowd of
\naround a 100 started to really get into the music.<\/p>\n
\nand the whole evening became progressively more surreal. According to Martin
\nhe said, ‘\u0153They are not bad at all, are they’\u009d, which I guess is a quote that
\nwill now go down in Roadhouse history. I’m sure David is now regretting
\nasking the magic Genie that he can become well hung ‘\u201c ho, ho’\u00a6 sorry!.<\/p>\n
\nKelly and Rachel working well in tandem. Kelly sang a nice ‘\u02dcStormy Monday’
\nand once more the new songs ‘\u02dcToo Tired To Pray’ and ‘\u02dcDark Angel’ went down
\na storm.<\/p>\n08\/05\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Dove Valley Blues Club ‘\u201c 24\/4\/10 ‘\u201c Derbyshire<\/td>\n A first time at this nice blues club in Derbyshire. Thanks
\nto Fred and Dennis for having us along’\u00a6The club had not been doing that well in the recesion recently and I know
\nthe guys would have liked to have pulled in a bigger crowd for our first
\nappearance in this area. However, I think 30 something people paying \u00c2\u00a38.00
\nto get in was not a bad turn out for a first time.<\/p>\n
\nmileage to come and give their support (god bless em).<\/p>\n
\nduty this night. The Band put on a great performance. To me this night was
\nnotable for the new, epic song ‘\u02dcDark Angel’, really coming of age. We have
\nhalved the chorus structure and it’s really improved the dynamic (and duration)
\nof the song. Also Rachel was really brave as she took on another 2 songs
\nthat were brand new to her and she did well with both of them.<\/p>\n
\nwith ‘\u02dcTellin Lies’ and ‘\u02dcPreacher Man’.<\/p>\n01\/05\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Buzz Club ‘\u201c Barnet F.C ‘\u201c 18\/4\/10<\/td>\n Onto Pete Feenstra’s big stage North London venue.Nice room and a very large deep stage, great acoustics and a superb lighting
\ntechnician.<\/p>\n
\npoorly attended. I’d like to thank the 15 or so Roadhouse supporters who
\nturned up, but they were only augmented by 7 or so locals\/regulars.<\/p>\n
\nMartin was present ‘\u201c so expect a review of the gig in Blues Matters. This
\nis in advance of the in depth interview with me, which will be going into
\nthe magazine just prior to the launch of our new CD Dark Angel, in October.<\/p>\n
\nsingers, Mandie, Kelly and our new start turn, Rachel Clark. Roadhouse legend
\nAnne Campbell was in attendance and performed a guest slot, with a nice
\nversion of ‘\u02dcBrooklyn Blues”\u00a6<\/p>\n
\nis developing superbly and the cut down version of this epic worked a treat
\n(despite an intonation problem with my guitar).<\/p>\n
\na belting version of ‘\u02dcPreacher Man’.<\/p>\n28\/04\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Duck & Drake ‘\u201c Leeds ‘\u201c 21\/3\/10<\/td>\n So our mini tour of the North concluded with this visit to
\nMandie’s home town.This was a great pub venue.. yet another excellent Simon and Sharon Colgan
\nvenue (they are taking over the UK and good job too!). Ian the Manager was
\na good guy too and this was one of the best and most responsive crowds that
\nwe have played to in a long while’\u00a6..<\/p>\n
\nand Mandie and Rachel given ovations for their vocal prowess. This was one
\nof the best gigs of the year so far, the second set alone lasting in excess
\nof 90 minutes.<\/p>\n
\nstage felt fit and well and years younger. Within an hour of the journey
\ndown the motorway it was back to feling 95 again (and I’m not talking about
\nRoger speeding).<\/p>\n
\nloved her voice)’\u00a6. I think that this was the night that the new song ‘\u02dcToo
\nTired To Pray’ realy emerged as a winner.<\/p>\n
\nbe back’\u00a6..I hope!<\/p>\n04\/04\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Redcar Blues Club ‘\u201c 20\/3\/10<\/td>\n Redcar proved to be an interesting place’\u00a6 as I saw the
\nsteel works and chemical plants on the outskirts, I sensed the kind of hard
\nwork, toil and monotonous existence that force people into strange mechanisms
\nof escape’.would that extend to going to a Roadhouse gig?The centre of town was fairly shuttered and devoid of life, even in the
\nmiddle of a Saturday afternoon. The wind howled down the seafront, while
\nthe mannequin in the sexy underwear store window, suggested that a cross
\nbetween a ballerina and a bosons mate was the look that guaranteed you place
\nin some twisted sexual nirvana.<\/p>\n
\n‘\u02dcmixed gril and we then watched in awe ,as she munched her way through 5
\ntimes her body weight in meat. I ordered the chicken and bacon salad which
\nended up being a pile of steaming kebab meet on 4 lettuce leaves ‘\u201c unusual!.<\/p>\n
\nkeeps live music going in this country. John the PA man (it’s not heavy
\nmetal but I like it!) was also a real gent.<\/p>\n
\nRecent averages have been around 95. We probabaly did about 85-90, which
\nwas good paying crowd, but I would liked to have done better.<\/p>\n
\nbut it felt like there was something missing. Our new epic, ‘\u02dcDark Angel’
\nwas given its 3rd outing and went well enough ( all 4 hours of it ‘\u201c ).
\nI still think it needs some judicous editing, but it’s a classic in the
\nmaking.<\/p>\n
\nhall of fame acknowledgement of my undoubted talent led to a vastly improved
\nsecond set’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nof ‘\u02dcWatchtower’ , Voodoo Dance, ‘\u02dcRoadhouse Blues ‘\u02dc and a great drum solo
\nin ‘\u02dcVoodoo Queen’, won the day’<\/p>\n
\nCD sales followed’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\nby our ‘\u02dcRock leanings’, however for many it was some of the best music that
\nthey had heard for some years (and I quote about 10 of the lovely people
\nwe met there).<\/p>\n
\nof course blew them (and the whole crowd) away. Well played mate.<\/p>\n
\nshop full of fat girls in mini lycra party dresses and corned beef legs..
\npass the hot sauce’\u00a6..<\/p>\n04\/04\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Blues Cafe ‘\u201c Harrogate ‘\u201c 19\/3\/10<\/td>\n So the road took us North, back to Simon and Sharon Colgan’s
\nexcellent Blues Cafe in Harrogate..An intimate venue, it was crammed with people for this gig. Several groups
\nof Roadhouse supporters came long distances with groups of family and friends
\nfor this show and we thank them for their brilliant support. One great guy
\nsaid he’d spent over \u00c2\u00a3200 pounds on mini bus hire and babysitters to get
\nhis party to the gig ‘\u201c good man!!<\/p>\n
\nvocalists first tour with the Band. Also there was official Roadhouse Band
\nphotographer and journalist Alan White (www.earlyblues), who travelled from
\nLancaster to photograph the gig.<\/p>\n
\nPA in the first set. The main casualty was the new song ‘\u02dcTornado’, which
\nlost it’s vocal edge. But with Rachel and Mandie in fine voice (great version
\nof the ‘\u02dcLying Game’ by Rachel), the guitar trade off in ‘\u02dcRock Me’ was magical
\nand brought the first set to a fine climax.<\/p>\n
\nnew song’Too Tired Too Pray’. The two encores were ‘\u02dcPreacher Man’ and ‘\u02dcSacrfice’<\/p>\n01\/04\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Tropic, Ruislip ‘\u201c 28\/2\/10<\/td>\n George Mcfalls’ new venue has an established Friday night
\nmusic scene, but for Sunday’s it’s still early days for this atmospheric
\nback room at Harow & Wealdstone FC.Aided by fantastic support and promotion from journalist\/music afficianado,
\nDarren Wisdom and also from Roadhouse legend Anne Campbell, we managed to
\ndraw a reasonable crowd’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nan appearance from Rachel Clark .Rachel is a great young talent who has
\ndecided to join the Roadhouse squad and at this gig she joined Mandie and
\nKelly on 4 numbers.<\/p>\n
\nthe stomping ‘\u02dcToo Tired To Pray’, but this turned out to be a poor decision.
\nThough the song was great in rehearsal the band were hesitant in delivery.
\nThis hesitancy spilled into the second number, ‘\u02dcSlip Away’ and it was song
\nthree before we hit our stride’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\ngreat hopes for this song and it did not dissapoint. The girls sounded amazing
\non a chorus that manages to sound gothic, dark and commercial all at the
\nsame time (somehow!).. The song recieved a great reaction. Danny and I had
\nnot been on top form in the first set, but managed to hit our stride during
\nthe trade off section in ‘\u02dcRock Me Baby’.<\/p>\n
\nby the low ceiling. Things really rocked, as we ploughed through songs like
\n‘\u02dcVoodoo Dance’ and ‘\u02dcTellin Lies’ and another new rocker, ‘\u02dcTornado’.<\/p>\n
\n‘\u02dcPreacher Man’ and ‘\u02dcSacrifice’ ended the night.<\/p>\n
\nbe back<\/p>\n14\/03\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Blues Room, Harry Smith’s Bar, St Albans
\n– 6\/2\/10<\/td>\nFrom a big stage arena, and a crowd of thousands to a very
\nintimate venue in St Albans’\u00a6.This venue is being promoted by the talented Vicky Martin, front person
\nof the band ‘\u02dcElephant Shelf’ (check ‘\u02dcem out they’ve got this Berlin, decadent
\ntransgendered cabaret, blues thing going on, with female vocals and electric
\nviolin ‘\u201c interesting!), plus journalist and graphic artist. This venue is
\nalso being sponsored by our own Blues Matters label’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nan excellent turn out, including loads of people who’d seen us on the big
\nstage at Skegness the previous weekend.<\/p>\n
\nin terms of both performance and crowd pulling power continued. It’s great
\nto have Manide back on a regular basis and both Kelly and Mandie were on
\ngreat vocal form. All rose to Roger’s mighty dum solo and there was even
\na second encore as we extlled the virtue of Human ‘\u02dcSacrifice’ to the good
\npeople of St Albans (I bet that livened up a few after show parties! ‘\u201c mind
\nyou finding a virgin in St Albans can be an issue ‘\u201c apparently!)<\/p>\n02\/03\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Roadhouse Jam ‘\u201c Grove Tavern ‘\u201c Sth Wimbledon
\n– 4\/2\/10<\/td>\nAfter a quiet first two jams at this location, the January
\njam had been cancelled due to the snow and terrible icy conditions’\u00a6.With tempreatures still around freezing, we turned up expecting another
\nnight of ‘\u02dcattendance apathy’. We were pleasantly surpised’<\/p>\n
\nWoodman days and by the time the music started there was a great crowd.<\/p>\n
\nby great, young singer, Rachel Clark auditioning for a role in the Roadhouse
\nladies squad. She did a fine job and as a consequence will be working with
\nthe Band this year.<\/p>\n
\nyear old Chloe singing with the great Robin Bibi. She did a fine version
\nof ‘\u02dcHouse of the Rising Sun’, on which Robin’s slide playing was outstanding.<\/p>\n
\nexcellent finish from Jimmy Dublin playing with the superb Andrew Heart
\non the bass.<\/p>\n01\/03\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Roadhouse Live At Skegness ‘\u201c Centre Stage Appearance<\/td>\n So to Centre Stage on Sunday night. We were up against stiff
\ncompetition in the form of The Deborah Bonham band and Nazareth being on
\nthe equally sized, REDS stage.As we stood in the neon twylight, waiting for the curtain to go up, I felt
\nthe ‘\u02dcpositive tension’ (well some of us were shitting themselves) crackle
\nthough the Band. After an age the curtain swung upwards to reveal an enormous
\ncrowd and the Band responded by kicking into a rousing version of Tellin
\nLies’.<\/p>\n
\nsolos on ‘\u02dcBlues Highway’ drew ovations and the new song ‘\u02dcSwamp Girl’ achieved
\na great response from the superb crowd.<\/p>\n
\nthe Lying Game (she really owned that stage), Kelly Marie Hobbs (looking
\nand sounding amazing) on ‘\u02dcThe Big Easy’ and finally Mandie getting her usual
\nstanding ovation for our blues flavoured version of ‘\u02dcHouse Of The Rising
\nSun’.<\/p>\n
\nthe girls had carried out their normal samba with Satan the crowd went crazy’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nlike this you can almost believe in the future of live music’\u00a6<\/p>\n08\/02\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Roadhouse Live At Skegness ‘\u201c JAKS Set & The
\nSkeggy Jam ‘\u201c 30\/1\/10<\/td>\nSo to our 7th consecqutive appearance at the massive, annual
\nSkegness Blues and Rock festival. This year marked a changing of the guard,
\nin terms of many of the Bands who play the festival. A lot of old faves
\nwere not on the Bill and there was a rock stage, with likes of Nazareth
\ntreading the boards.We opened up on the Saturday aftenoon on the JAKS (500 capacity) stage\/venue.
\nHampered by a misprint in the programme, in terms of start time, we had
\nto wait until about 13.45 instead of the usual 12.30, before kicking off
\nproceedings.<\/p>\n
\nTo Hide’ was followed by ‘\u02dcSlip Away’ and an extended version of Roadhouse
\nBlues. The hour passed by in a blink and we finished up with great renditions
\nof both ‘\u02dcSacrifice’ and Voodoo Queen, with Roger getting an ovation for
\nhis excellent drum solo.<\/p>\n
\nthe following links into your browser:<\/p>\n
\nstrutting their stuff. The set was probably notable for the return of Mandie
\n(just when you thought it was safe!).<\/p>\n
\nHighlights for me were the set from top young guitarist Jason Barwick (of
\nthe Amazing Brew), who played with our own Danny Gwilym, along with Mick
\nRutherford on the bass. Sharon from the Blues bar Harrogate, then delivered
\na fabulous vocal, followed by the amazing Maggie who achieved such rave
\nreviews last year. Gizmo was also on form on the guitar and overall we featured
\nover 40 musicians and 4 different Bands.<\/p>\n
\nThe crowd supported, stamped and cheered for everyone, no matter their level,
\nconfidence, or ability. All rose to the challenge and the whole afternoon
\nwas a massive high’\u00a6..<\/p>\n08\/02\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Roadhouse & Special Guests Northsyde ‘\u201c The Hlaf
\nMoon Hearne Hill ‘\u201c 12\/12\/09<\/td>\nSo to our final gig of 2009. After this double bill worked
\nso well in the summer at our 20th anniversary show, it was decided that
\nit was worth giving it another spin.Jules & Lorna Fothergill are an intergral part of the history of Roadhouse.
\nThey appear together on 3 Roadhouse CD’s, Blues Highway, Roadhouse & Friends
\nLive and the legendary No Place To Hide. In my view thay played a better
\nset Hearne Hill, then they did at Sutton. Their Band were cooking and produced
\na really good set.<\/p>\n
\nwas another poor turnout. Still we saw loads of good friends and the people
\nthere made such a great noise, the atmosphere was terrific.<\/p>\n
\nhis banter between sets was top quality entertainment’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nup to the plate and delivering big time. My fave songs\/performances of the
\nnight were ‘\u02dcSwamp Girl’, ‘\u02dcBlues Highway’ and when Jules joined us for the
\ndouble encore of ‘\u02dcVoodoo Queen’ and ‘\u02dcPreacher Man’. The triple guitar harmony
\nwas a killer, top notch!.<\/p>\n
\nand Lorna joining Roadhouse for a killer version of ‘\u02dcI Couldn’t Get To Sleep’.
\nThe song was played so well it sounded as if it had been lifted directly
\noff of the No Place To Hide CD!<\/p>\n
\nus out on a closing, classic ‘\u02dcRock Me Baby”\u00a6..<\/p>\n
\nWe are trying to get footage from Eric. I’ll keep you posted.<\/p>\n
\nsupport in the New Year in order to take the Band forward in these tough
\ntimes.<\/p>\n02\/01\/2010<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Roadhouse Xmas Party Gig ‘\u201c The Bulls Head –
\nBarnes ‘\u201c 7\/12\/09<\/td>\nThe annual Xmas party gig at this great riverside Jazz venue
\nhas become a tradition.After a quick set up, most of us indulged in some magical food from the
\nonsite Thai restaurant. The only shae about this fantastic nights music
\nwas the relatively low trunout. From around the usual 70 people in the room
\nmark, we were down to 35 (what’s going on ‘\u201c there were so many reglar faces
\nmissing!!!).<\/p>\n
\never Bulls Head extravanganzas’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\nand Geronimo, who were backed by Bill and Roger.<\/p>\n
\nA soaring ‘\u02dcBlues Highway’ and rocking versions of ‘\u02dcNo Place To Hide’ and
\n‘\u02dcTellin Lies’, were highlights. With the continued absence of a very poorly
\nMandie, we still managed to produce worthy versions of both the 2 new songs,
\n‘\u02dcSwamp Girl’ kicked and ‘\u02dcRainmaker’ worked in a 2 vocal format (well done
\nKelly again’\u00a6. An epic ‘\u02dcWatchtower’ and then ‘\u02dcVoodoo Queen’ brought the
\nset to an end. What a great response from the people there.<\/p>\n
\ngreat set ,fronted by our other special guest, musician, writer, DJ and
\nall round talent, the excellent Mr Peter Sargeant.<\/p>\n
\nwhat do you have to do, to get people to come out for live music any more???<\/p>\n27\/12\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Jam Session ‘\u201c The Grove Tavern ‘\u201c South Wimbledon<\/td>\n So to our second night of jamming at The Grove. As people
\nlove opening nights, this was always going to be the one to worry about.In the opening set Kelly continued with her superb singing form, nailing
\nboth ‘\u02dcBlues Highway’ and ‘\u02dcThe Lying Game’. We played a decent version of
\n‘\u02dcNo Place to Hide’ too.<\/p>\n
\nMerton Abbey Mills Festival, put in a welcome appearance. We were able to
\noffer an all time first of Buffallo Bill onstage with Geronimo. No blows
\nor arrows flying, just a great guitar and harp interchange’\u00a6..<\/p>\n
\nand Nicollette. Musically it was solid night, with just enough support to
\nproivde optimism for the jam taking root at this new venue in 2010.<\/p>\n27\/12\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Colourhouse Theatre ‘\u201c Merton Abbey Mills
\n– 29\/11\/09<\/td>\nOur return to the superb Colourhouse theatre. BB’s blues
\nclub was forced out of this great venue, due to little men with noise meters
\nbeing sent down by the council about 10 years ago’\u00a6 Guess who was on that
\nfamous night when they closed the Colourhouse down due to excessive volume??
\n(answers on a postcard to BBC Television Centre, etc, etc)’\u00a6.After the failure of the venue to prosper at GJ’s, despite the occassional
\ngood night (and we had a couple of them there)’\u00a6.; Buffalo Bill Smith has
\nbrought this venue back to life.<\/p>\n
\nyoung sound crew. This produced a superb sound balance and there was a magical
\natmosphere about the night.<\/p>\n
\nKelly rose to the challenge superbly. Most of the crowd could not believe
\nhow well she sang, as our voices belnded really well, especially on a very
\natmospheric ‘\u02dcBlues Highway’. It was really Kelly’s night as she belted her
\nway through the ‘\u02dcLying Game’ and a great version of ‘\u02dcStormy Monday’ ‘\u201c brilliant!<\/p>\n
\nin our break. Buffalo Bill himself joined us on stage for the ‘\u02dcRoadhouse
\nBlues’ and a fine harp player he is. I love the way he never overplays’.<\/p>\n
\nbe pulling better numbers on our own patch, so to speak. Many key regular
\nsupporters were missing. In the end it was their loss as this was one of
\nthe best gigs of the year.<\/p>\n20\/12\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Cafe Oud Brabant ‘\u201c Netherlands ‘\u201c 15\/11\/09<\/td>\n So a Sunday afternoon gig to finish this great little Euro
\nmini tour’\u00a6This highly recommended venue, has superb stage and equipment and is run
\nby the charismatic Jan Schelekens. Jan is a great guy and he and his fantastic
\nwife really looked after us’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nled to a lame soundcheck with us vocally murdering Slip Away (if I’d been
\nJan I’d have wondered about who I’d booked)’<\/p>\n
\nthinking i was going to die’\u00a6. but I don’t think the devil will let me
\noff that easy’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nof Xmas, the crowd was a bit thin to start. It filled up nicely by the end
\nthough.<\/p>\n
\na good crowd re-action allowed us to really rock it up in the second set’<\/p>\n
\na British photogapher called Mick Davidson. Check him out and his great
\nshots of the gig at<\/p>\n
\nHunt Formula One style drive, to make the midnight ferry’\u00a6.<\/p>\n08\/12\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Gompelhof Music Cafe ‘\u201c Mol ‘\u201c Belgium ‘\u201c 14\/11\/09<\/td>\n The best gig of the tour by far’The rear doors of this venue swung open to reveal a 400 capcity music room
\nwith giant stage. The auditorium was surrounded by giant, blow up pictures
\nof us all downloaded for the internet, the Manager had to restrain us from
\nimmediately nicking them’\u00a6..<\/p>\n
\nit seemed most of the town to a festival of muscles and frites, all under
\nunder canvas..magic<\/p>\n
\ngirl format was working a treat, with Suzie on great form. The new song
\n, ‘\u02dcSwamp Girl’ was a real stormer’<\/p>\n
\nfantastic Belgian people..We met so many great folk on the night.<\/p>\n06\/12\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Abdij ‘\u201c Briel ‘\u201c Holland ‘\u201c 13\/11\/09<\/td>\n The first date of the Euro mini tour, with a special thanks
\nto Tim Smith of the Brew, the wonderful Hester of Schiedam and Jo Verboeven
\nfor helping to book the whole thing’\u00a6.1st up was this mid sized, traditonal Dutch, ‘\u02dcBrown’ cafe’\u00a6..Thanks to
\nRobb ‘\u02dcFixerman’ Hendrix and Remko for having us at their atmospheric venue’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nto stagger home. The hospitality was great, good meal drinks, nice staff.
\nAll the people who like live music loved the band ‘\u201c the trouble was their
\nwas just not many of them there’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\na young crowd there for that. The different genre of music played either
\nside of our sets did not help the mood or the perception of what the night
\nwas about’\u00a6..<\/p>\n
\nlack of audeince response was dispiriting. However, instead of hiding the
\nBand powered out a great second set.<\/p>\n
\nAnd Suzie, Kelly and Mand’s truned the whole thing into a roaring night
\nout’.. pics on cyberspace via Hester..<\/p>\n
\nin the form of a major gig scheduled for the next day in Belgium’\u00a6.<\/td>\n06\/12\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The First Grove Tavern Jam ‘\u201c South Wimbledon
\n– 5\/11\/09<\/td>\nSo to our new venue, well not exactly new!. Roadhouse in
\nour earlier formats had played at The Grove Tavern for over 12 years’\u00a6..The pub is far more of a rough and ready music venue, with it’s own PA and
\nlighting and good old ‘\u02dcJumping John’ as the sound engineer’Reponse
\nto the opening Roadhouse set was really positive.<\/p>\n
\nthe pressure off of our 3 current ladies. Both girls Ashlyn and Michelle,
\nsang great.<\/p>\n
\nnew jam. This made it a decent opening night.<\/p>\n
\na success story.<\/p>\n03\/12\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Final Woodman Jam ‘\u201c Wimbledon Park ‘\u201c 22\/10\/09<\/td>\n So after 8.5 years of the jam running at The Woodman, the
\nfinal night before our move to the Grove Tavern (first Thursday of evey
\nmonth) beckoned’\u00a6..Apparently the jam was not busy enough fo the Brewery to endorse the patheitc
\n\u00c2\u00a3180.00 that Martin would pay for this musical extravaganza (if it wasn’t
\nfor the generous jug at this venue we would have gone ages ago)’.<\/p>\n
\nof old their was still a regular crowd of at least 70 people to see it though
\na quiet night..<\/p>\n
\ncan’t resist staring at a corpse????<\/p>\n
\nlike John Iden of Yardbirds fame’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\nof the old regulars played their hearts out’all very rock and roll!!<\/p>\n
\nthanked for their regular contribution, including Frank Dymore, Geronimo,
\nJimmy Dublin, Andrew Heart, Tim Matthewman and John O’Leary to name but
\na few’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nFothergill, Andy Cortes and Andy Thompson will be forever slugging it out
\nunder the conservatory’\u00a6memories!<\/p>\n
\nMONTH<\/p>\n28\/11\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Blakeney Harbour Rooms ‘\u201c Norfolk ‘\u201c 10\/10\/09<\/td>\n Our first time up at this gorgeous ‘\u02dcA’ list venue in Norfolk’.A lovely music hall with a big stage and great PA\/Technician, we were made
\nto feel very welcome’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nfestival, who took the time and trouble to broker us into this venue<\/p>\n
\ncymbals behind in his garage!!!!. Roger’s drums looked somewhat like a Xmas
\ntree without the decorations’\u00a6. and the cheerful chappie himself looked
\nmore than a tad more dour than usual (ok, he looked SCAREY!!)’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\nthe local music class’\u00a6.. well done that man!!<\/p>\n
\nand Wishbne Ash led o it being a quietish night.<\/p>\n
\nalso performed a lovely reading of ‘\u02dcStormy Monday’, as well as doing the
\njob on the new song, ‘\u02dcSwamp Girl’.<\/p>\n
\nsolo in ‘\u02dcVoodood Queen’ that made a nonsense of the fact that he was playing
\nwith ‘\u02dctoy’ cymbals.<\/p>\n
\nthe 18\/6\/2010<\/p>\n28\/11\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Hope Tavern ‘\u201c Holton Le Moor ‘\u201c 4\/10\/09<\/td>\n Back into business at Holton Le Moor’After Graham and his team completed their usual magical transformation of
\nthe venue, from sleepy Sunday eatery to initmate Blues Club, we were ready
\nto rock’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\n80 miles to see thier fave band (you are nuts, but we love you!)’<\/p>\n
\nexperience (i.e. getting knocked over as people try to reach the toilets).
\nMost of the crowd have all the CD’s and the interactive banter was fantastic.<\/p>\n
\nBaby’ , really caught fire. Other than that it was ‘\u02dcThe Answer’ that provided
\nthe afternoon’s goosebump moment.<\/p>\n
\nsupporters Nicky and Ray (get well Ray ‘\u201c we are thinking of you!).<\/p>\n17\/11\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Banham Barrell ‘\u201c 3\/10\/09 ‘\u201c Norfolk<\/td>\n A return to Banham, a great place run by the excellent Jonty
\nand his team (dispensrs of some of the worlds most lethal cider).This was probably our 10th time at this venue, where we have always had
\ngreat support. Unfortunately, this was to prove another quietish night.<\/p>\n
\n‘\u02dcSwamp Girl’ and ‘\u02dcRainmaker’. The crowd re-action to the girls gospel section
\nat the end of Rainmaker was fantastic.<\/p>\n
\nleading to the band crying out for a drugs test!!<\/p>\n
\nrooms in Peterborough City Centre Travel Lodge and emerged into scenes of
\nan alternative universe\/drunken carnage, as Peterborough’s late night revellers
\npoured out of the clubs and into the back of waiting ‘\u02dcmeat wagons’. Made
\nme feel old and just like a Daily Mail reader’\u00a6<\/p>\n17\/11\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Cafe T’Goor ‘\u201c Goreeind ‘\u201c Belgium ‘\u201c 24\/9\/08<\/td>\n The Sunday took us back to this excellent venue promoted
\nby our long time friend and loyal supporter Michele Hofkens’\u00a6.Paul the owner (great guy!!), met us and helped a super smooth set up’\u00a6
\nBobje Blues the famous Belgian rock journalist, who used to be our European
\ntour Manager was also waiting for us. It was quite emotional seeing him
\nagain.<\/p>\n
\nalso in the crowd.<\/p>\n
\nmemory.<\/p>\n
\nhot afternoon for the time of year (temp was still in the 80’\u00b2s when we kicked
\noff at 16.30). But it was still a good crowd, both in numbers and in spirit.
\nThey lifted the Band into delivering an excellent peformance.<\/p>\n
\nand harmonies really hit the spot (A great reading of Stormy Monday by Suzie
\nin the 2nd set)’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nit tough recently!) was moved by both ‘\u02dcSlip Away’ and ‘\u02dcThe Answer’<\/p>\n
\na great<\/p>\n
\nthe full translation)’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\nloss. Still the Channel was calm and the stars were bright’\u00a6 and played
\n3, won ,was a pretty good score for the weekend’\u00a6.<\/p>\n01\/11\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Rambler ‘\u201c Eindhoeven ‘\u201c Netherlands ‘\u201c 23\/9\/08<\/td>\n A return to this big and atmospheric venue in the centre
\nof Eindhoeven’\u00a6.I love the guys that run this venue and the last time we were there the
\ncrowd was good in the first set. However, this time was a major dissapointment.
\nWith numerous Dutch Independance Day festivals taking place in the vicinity,
\nthe crowd was far too small’..<\/p>\n
\nthe Band. We hit the ground running with Telling Lies as a kind of act of
\ndefiance and it rocked.<\/p>\n
\nband members were all miserable by the break and moaning about the sound
\n(I thought the sound was good ‘\u201c ace soundman in Walter!), the lack of connection,
\nthat fact that they weren’t immortal ‘\u201c you name it!. I spent the whole break
\non emotional damage control!’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\nit; and when The Cult play there next month, i think it might be packed’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\nme as I opted to walk back to the hotel (rather than ride the misery bus)’\u00a6<\/p>\n23\/10\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Podium ‘\u201c Schiedam\/Rotterdam ‘\u201c Netherlands
\n– 217\/9\/09<\/td>\nThanks to our great friend in The Netherlands, Hester (what
\na woman), we returned to The Podium. Last year we were introduced to this
\ngreat, canal side venue by our good friends, Tim Smith and the Boys in The
\nBrew.Loius was a great sound man and though the place was not packed the Band
\nwent down a storm. The crowd were pounding on the tables at the end of each
\nnumber and it sounded like the final charge in the movie Zulu (not a lot
\nof people know that).<\/p>\n
\n(and no shortage of fans wanting to rub the vic in for her).<\/p>\n
\nMan rippled across the canal it was time for us to retire to a variety of
\nsleeping arrangements.<\/p>\n
\nas agent, manager and tour guide. she also put up Kelly and Suzie overnight.
\nBill and Danny went to an all night Nazi, Rockabilly marching concert but
\nthat is another starnge and twisted story.<\/p>\n
\nWe did the tourist thing aourn the canals and windmills of Scheidam. The
\nweather was hot and as a group the vibe was terrific, such a shame we were
\nburning money and plunging further into debt’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\nbeyond belief, in the name of keeping ‘\u02dcit’ live. Thanks to Hester and all
\nthose great people we met in Schiedam<\/p>\n11\/10\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Famous Late Night Blues Club ‘\u201c Oxford –
\n14\/9\/09<\/td>\nWe returned to this great venue, but in truth it was a mixed
\nnight for the Band.This venue run at The Bullingdon in the centre of Oxford, by music promoting
\n,larger than life legend, Philip Guy Davies, deserves full on support.<\/p>\n
\nrecent weeks. This proved to be the case, with only around 20 something
\npeople tunring up’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\nbeen and handful of poorly attended gigs up to this point. Still band morale
\nwas down and I was dissapointed with the moans and groans I received from
\nsome band members. Still we put on a cracking show, sold a good few CD’s
\n(honestly) and the people present had a great time’\u00a6<\/p>\n27\/09\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Colne ‘\u201c the National R&B Festival ‘\u201c 30\/8\/09<\/td>\n Hopefully you’ve read the journalists review, which can be
\nfound under the review section of this Website.Here’s my personal perspective”\u00a6..<\/p>\n
\n7th year in a row., on this stage..and I have so many good memories of the
\ndifferent performances. The spirits of all the great players that have been
\nin Roadhouse, felt really close to me as we played a record 93 minute set’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\nperusal of which on the post gig camcorder footage, showed me looking like
\nan oversized glitterball at a gay disco). I launched the Band into ‘\u02dcTellin
\nLies’.<\/p>\n
\ntoo, we were throwing light into the audience at a kind of poor mans Pink
\nFloyd level (who needs lasers)’<\/p>\n
\nwas only the 2nd time it had ever been played. This song is now cemented
\nas a mainstay of the set’\u00a6.listen out for it.<\/p>\n
\nmaginficent), a pleasure to playe to.<\/p>\n
\nwith turning circle and manouverability of an oil tanker) and Bill and Roger
\nwere rock solid (from the neck upwards, of course)<\/p>\n
\nsolo from Danny.<\/p>\n
\nMan’ hit the sweet spot’\u00a6..<\/p>\n24\/09\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Colne ‘\u201c the National R&B Festival ‘\u201c 30\/8\/09<\/td>\n See the review by ace ‘\u02dcjorno’ Darren Wisdom under the review
\nsection of this site.The Band were so grateful for the support of the full house and the excellent
\nstge crew of this major festival’\u00a6.<\/p>\n16\/09\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Wervick Festival ‘\u201c Belgium ‘\u201c 19\/7\/09<\/td>\n A massive thank you to our great friend Phillipe Warlop,
\nwho arranged for us to play this festival and provided us with pre show
\nhospitality.A beautiful setting, with a big stage and massive PA in the towns main square.
\nThe hospitality of the organiseres was superb, as we were very well looked
\nafter.<\/p>\n
\nright and left of the stage, leaving a bit of a gap centre square which
\nwas a little hard to play to.<\/p>\n
\nto take off. Attendances last year were around the 200 mark, but by the
\ntime we had finished this nights show there was between 350-400 people there.<\/p>\n
\nand Roger and Bill niled the beat. Due to the family element we played a
\nfew more covers than usual, but all the Roadhouse classics were given an
\nairing including Blues Highway, Slip Away, Telling Lies, Preacher Man, The
\nAnswer, Sacrifice, and Voodoo Dance’\u00a6..<\/p>\n
\nencore.<\/p>\n
\nvery good. At the end we were offered the chance to come back in 2010 to
\nplay the major rock festival that the town is famous for. That festival
\npulls in excess of 4,000 people.<\/p>\n
\nfor the big one next year.<\/p>\n23\/08\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Boom Boom Club ‘\u201c Sutton FC ‘\u201c 5\/7\/09<\/td>\n And now to the 2nd part of our 20 years on the road celebration.
\nThere was a planned synergy to this night, as we decided to share it with
\nlegendary Roadhouse band members Lorna Reilly and Jules Fothergill.These guys have now chnaged their bands name from Funkydory to Northsyde,
\na Band to watch out for. Northsyde have just released a great new CD and
\nare gigging at major festivals and internationally. Between them they gave
\naround 10 years service to Roadhouse and it was fantastic to make this night
\na ‘\u02dcdouble header’ with them.<\/p>\n
\nSutton from as far away as Dorset, to be part of our celebrations. I could
\nname check so many of the approx 120 people in the room, but then this review
\nwould go on for ever (just like us).<\/p>\n
\ndays. Jules’s rich tone brought back a lot of memories, as did Lorna’s emotional,
\nfunky and soulful delivery. A great set, which was topped off by their excellent
\nand clever version of ‘\u02dcWhipping Post’. Losing the extra guitar and stripping
\nthe music back a notch has given them a much rawer and emotional edge –
\ncatch them!<\/p>\n
\n‘\u02dcstomp along’ intro to ‘\u02dcTellin Lies’. The crowd reaction was great throughout
\nour 1 hour plus set.<\/p>\n
\nand Mandie to ‘\u02dcnail it’ on ‘\u02dcHouse of the Rising Sun’.<\/p>\n
\nfrom Danny) was followed by Mr Feenstra himself coming on stage and saying
\nsome very generous words about the Band (good man Pete).<\/p>\n
\nit) on stage, for an amazingly polished version of ‘\u02dcI Couldnt Get To Sleep’
\n.<\/p>\n
\nKelly blasting out ‘\u02dcRock Me Baby’<\/p>\n
\nfamily and friends, members present and past’\u00a6..<\/p>\n12\/07\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Beaverwood Club ‘\u201c Chislehurst ‘\u201c 2\/7\/09<\/td>\n As part of the celebration of us beginning our 20th year
\non the road, we returned to Pete Feenstra’s excellent Real Music club.The last time we had played here, we had only attracted a crowd of around
\n30 or so people. This was a really hot day in the middle of the heat wave
\nand Wimbledon was in full swing, so crowdwise our expectations were not
\ngreat.<\/p>\n
\nover 90 people in the smallish (but very nice) room, there was a great atmosphere.<\/p>\n
\nalong to the songs and demanding requests from numbers spread across the
\n10 albums.<\/p>\n
\nof backing we received that night made me feel very humble.<\/p>\n
\nkicked into ‘\u02dcNo Place To Hide’ and then the title track of the new CD, ‘\u02dcSea
\nof Souls’. Danny played an awesome solo on ‘\u02dcSlip Away’ and the girls were
\nfeeding off the energy we were getting from the crowd, with both some great
\nvocals and on stage ‘\u02dcgetting down to it’ antics.<\/p>\n
\n‘\u02dcVoodoo Dance’, ‘\u02dcRoadhouse Blues’, ‘\u02dcTellin Lies’ and a double encore of
\n‘\u02dcPreacher Man’ and ‘\u02dcSacrifice’.<\/p>\n12\/07\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Mitcham Carnival ‘\u201c 13\/6\/09<\/td>\n Having missed out on our iconic, regular headline at the
\nMerton Abbey Mills\/South London Blues Festival due to change of booking
\nagent ‘\u201c as compensation we were offered the headline slot here and a retutn
\nto Merton Abbey next year’Pete Walder does so much for events and live music, as demonstrated by this
\nnew event at the Mitcham Carnival . A lovely open air stage in the right
\nhand corner of the canrival site, with excellent PA and crew.<\/p>\n
\nharp player) Band only be seen by a handful of people.<\/p>\n
\nin the afternoon sun in front of the stage area, including aroiund 30 or
\nso Roadhouse fans (special thanks to Kelly for the promotion)’\u00a6mind you
\naround 1,000 or so people in close proximity would have heard the music.<\/p>\n
\n3 girl singers that hit the stage.. We had a ball, played the full festival
\nset plus encore. Great stage prefromance and the crowd loved it ‘\u201c fun for
\nall, and the end of a run of a few dodgy gigs for us’..<\/p>\n
\nSuzie and Kelly swapping killer vocal lines to great effect. Bill and Roger
\nwere as solid as a rock and Danny had return to form.<\/p>\n27\/06\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Woodman Jam ‘\u201c Wimbledon ‘\u201c 11\/6\/09<\/td>\n Back at the Woodman and a relatively quiet night to consolodate
\nmy dissapointment over the last few gigs.Still, there was plenty of great music. Geronimo produced a blues number
\nthat he had written over 20 years ago and it was magic. Adrian was back
\non the Drums, Jon Griffin sat in on Bass for Pete Bedford and Burlesque.
\nFunky George Dare was back to drum through the last 3 sets.<\/p>\n
\nHimself!) and the amzing Syd on the Banjo.<\/p>\n
\nThis song has always had backing vocal problems since Mandie & Kelly became
\nour most regular singers. Harmonies have wandered ( a bit like going for
\nwalk down to the corner shop and then ending up in Bejing). 2 weeks ago
\nKelly did this song superbly on her own. This time the errant vocals combined
\nwith Danny trying a complete alternative to the normal guitar lines\/style,
\nleft me and the song to die a death’\u00a6.never again!!!!<\/p>\n
\nare at the jam, like we can’t be botherered to get out of first gear. But
\nnot on this night. ‘\u02dcBrooklyn Blues’ kicked off with Mandie and Kelly’s voices
\ncombining beautifully. The version of ‘\u02dcSacrifice’ was a killer, with Danny
\nsuperb on the slide and Kels and Mandie producing a wall of sound that gave
\nme chills. Frank Dymore joined in on percussion and the whole thing was
\none of the best versions of this great number I’ve ever played.<\/p>\n20\/06\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Yardbids Club ‘\u201c Grimsby ‘\u201c 30\/6\/09<\/td>\n Our 3rd time at this great purpose built rock venue, built
\nabove the associated bikers club.This was our 3rd visit and on the last 2 we had pulled really good crowds.
\nthis time the doorman predicted a bad night. The combination of another
\nreally hot day and the cup final buggered things up for us.<\/p>\n
\nget around 120-150). I apologised to the excellent Robbo, who runs the place.
\nHe was ok with things, especially as only around 10 people had turned up
\nfor a good band the night before.<\/p>\n
\ncoming off the stage. The same buzz was to be ever present throughout our
\nset.<\/p>\n
\nwere cutting in and out, feedback and levels changing, added to our frustration.
\nThe stage configuration had changed leaving Danny Sardined into the corner
\nlike a Japanese commuter.<\/p>\n
\nfor it, and some of the solos and numbers were inspired. Robbo wants us
\nback but I still think we lost this one 2-1<\/p>\n13\/06\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Highway ‘\u201c Hull ‘\u201c 29\/11\/08<\/td>\n For the 2nd time we were back on the ‘\u02dcHighway to Hull’ (forgive
\nthe Pun)’\u00a6..Terry and Pam run the place and have done great things for the live music
\nscene in that part of the world. This is about the 3rd venue they have had
\nto build from scratch, into a top notch music venue. Last time we played
\nhere they were away on hols, but this time it was good to meet them.<\/p>\n
\nis basically why we came back). This time a really hot day put paid to that.
\nthe amount of barbacue fires visible in the steets around the venue made
\nme feel like ‘\u02dcGeneral Custer at the Little Big Horn”\u00a6..<\/p>\n
\ntime. Mandie was very brave singing on a nasty chest and throat infection.
\nAs a consequence the vocals were not at their best, even Kelly seemed to
\nbe slightly off form.<\/p>\n
\nwas a<\/p>\n13\/06\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Woodman Jam ‘\u201c Wimbledon ‘\u201c 28\/5\/09<\/td>\n Musically a good night at the Woodman’\u00a6..John O’leary was back again with a quality set, Geronimo rocked with some
\ngreat instrumentals. Jimmy Dublin finished off the night with Adrew Heart
\non bass and these guys powered out some 60’\u00b2s great retro rock classics’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\naway with his soloing.<\/p>\n
\nown. This enabled Roadhouse to play ‘\u02dcLights on the Water’ for the first
\ntime in ages (we’d stopped playing the song due to problems with the backing
\nharmonies). As well as doing great on ‘\u02dcLights’ , Kel sang the ‘\u02dcLying Game’
\nand we experimented with a slow version of ‘\u02dcRock Me Baby’. This enabled
\nDanny and I to indulge in some slower than usual guitar trade offs’\u00a6..fun<\/p>\n06\/06\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Happy Frenchman ‘\u201c Folkestone ‘\u201c 16\/5\/09<\/td>\n Well our run of 6 hot gigs in a row had to come to end sometime.
\nHere it kind of hit an enormous wall, rather than gently running out of
\nmomentum’Researched (badly) as Folkestone’s top venue, we were surprised to find
\nit was basically a pub with a mixture of real music lovers (low percentage)
\nand drunks on a night out (high percentage) . Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve
\nnothing against drunks on a night out (probably sums up Roadhouse on tour)’\u00a6
\nHowever, due to some local factors, initial attendance was low. Atmosphere
\nnon existant and though we tried hard the whole thing was typical of the
\nBand about 8 years ago playing C list pubs in London.<\/p>\n
\nsupported by the managements half time pep talk, that we were brilliant
\nand everybody loved us, they were just a bit ‘\u02dcshy’ and we just needed to
\nchange the lighting by removing a couple of light bulbs.<\/p>\n
\nbikers (hooray to see them) and some strange, predatory looking women in
\ntheir late 50’\u00b2s, fresh out of a Wim Wenders movie (hold onto your Gerbils).
\nWe and they rocked quite a bit more in the second set. An encore was played
\nand the girls had to be surgically extracted from the pub’\u00a6<\/p>\n31\/05\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Woodman Jam ‘\u201c Wimbledon ‘\u201c 14\/5\/09<\/td>\n A good crowd at this jam and a high standard of music’\u00a6..Mandie’s friends returned with<\/p>\n
\nregular Byron Banks, for duelling harps great stuff ‘\u00a6..<\/p>\n
\ndelivered a great set joined by Eddie on the guitar.<\/p>\n
\nand providing a showcase for live music in South West London’\u00a6<\/p>\n31\/05\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The East Harling Blues Festival ‘\u201c Norfolk –
\n2\/5\/09<\/td>\nEast Harling’s Blues Club has been a staple stopping place
\non our circuit for the last few years. This year for the first time they
\nhad a ‘\u02dcBlues & Booze’ festival across the bank holiday weekend. With such
\nexcellent other bands involved as Egypt (ex Groundhogs) and The Grapevine
\nBlues Band, we were very happy with our Saturday night headline slot.We were the 4th act on in the day and the big room filled up really well
\nfor our 10pm start. Our 6th storming gig in a row, this is officially a
\nnew record for Roadhouse. Both set’s kicked proverbial arse and every Band
\nmember was on top form.<\/p>\n
\nfaces.<\/p>\n
\nstart to feel exhausted until the 2nd encore’..a reord for this year.
\nMaybe there is hope for the old git yet. well done to Bill and Roger, solid
\nas a rock all night’\u00a6..<\/p>\n17\/05\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Woodman Jam ‘\u201c Wimbledon ‘\u201c 16\/4\/09<\/td>\n An even quieter jam’.Maybe a contributory factor is that thet new jam sessions are popping up
\naround London just like new cases of swine flu.<\/p>\n
\nall, wouldn’t it be a miracle if live music grew in popularity’<\/p>\n
\nhad no problem filling the running order with some ace musicians and some
\nquality music.<\/p>\n
\ngreat as we kicked off with duelling harps (a la Alabama 3). Then superb
\nguitarist Eddie sang a song and impressed all with his great technique.<\/p>\n
\nbass players, Tim Matthewman and Andrew Heart were on form. The night finished
\nwith the traditional sexual interplay between Jimmy Dublin and Mandie on
\n‘\u02dcWhole Lot of Love’ (Watch out for the trade descriptions act) and Syd on
\nhis banjo, plonking us iconically into the night.<\/p>\n
\nfrom her hols in Columbia), ‘\u02dcHouse of the Rising Sun’ , ‘\u02dcSacrifice’ and
\n‘\u02dcThe Answer’.<\/p>\n10\/05\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Woodman Jam ‘\u201c Wimbledon ‘\u201c 16\/4\/09<\/td>\n Another Woodman Jam and a quiet one for a chnage. Musicians
\nwere as thin on the ground as the hair on my head, not to say they were
\nthin, as most musicians are fat (poor eating and drinking habits and bad
\nnutritional advice, anyway who needs fat hair!)’\u00a6.Andrew Heart is not fat and is not just a bass player, as his 3rd solo rock
\nguitar\/60’\u00b2s classics vocal performance was very well executed and a real
\ncrowd pleaser. Well done Andrew’\u00a6..<\/p>\n
\nclimaxed the night with his great tone and a superb performance. Then Terry
\nBrennan rolled back the years (a la HG.Wells) for a performance classic
\nof 2 songs that ended with the words ‘\u02dcman’ ‘\u201c well done mate, a table of
\nladies luvved it all up<\/p>\n
\nCosta Rica ‘\u201c memories a funny thing at my age’\u00a6<\/p>\n29\/04\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Blues Cafe ‘\u201c Harrogate ‘\u201c 12\/4\/09<\/td>\n We arrived in Harrogate at around 02.15am, and then had the
\nrare experience of kicking our heels around town all day, waiting for the
\nnights show.It was a great night at Simon and Sharon Colgan’s intimate but very atmospheric
\nvenue.<\/p>\n
\nwhile we were paid a big complement by a lot of people, who left the Burnley
\nFestival and drove to Harrogate to catch the show.<\/p>\n
\nan all time record). Highlights included Sharon herself singing ‘\u02dcStormy
\nMonday’, Suzie back on ‘\u02dcThe Big Easy’ and Mandie wrapping her tonsils round
\n‘\u02dcHeavens Door’.<\/p>\n
\nwould not let us away with a single encore’\u00a6..<\/p>\n
\nI nearly did die)<\/p>\n18\/04\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Burnley National Blues Festival ‘\u201c 11\/4\/09<\/td>\n We were headlining the smaller Festival\/Press Room Stage,
\nwith the 22.00 hours slot.After a rapid turn around with the excellent Jay Tamkin Band, we were ready
\nto rock (even though monitor levels were decidedly dodgy). Jay’s band had
\nrocked, but for some strange reason the audience re-action was only lukewarm.
\nWe were determined that would not happen to us.<\/p>\n
\nthe level down with a epic version of ‘\u02dcBlues Highway’. With Kelly on holiday
\nit was great to be working with Suzie again and she was on great form. Both
\ngirls nailed their showcase numbers, Suzie on ‘\u02dcThe Lying Game’ and Mandie
\non ‘\u02dcHouse of The Rising Sun’. The repsonse was great’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\n‘\u02dcAll Along The Watchtower’, ‘\u02dcSlip Away’ & ‘\u02dcVoodoo Queen’
\nAfter the encore the feedback was fantastic, the stage manager and bar staff
\nsaid they ‘\u0153Wanted us to keep playing and playing’\u009d and we had a number of
\napproaches for gigs and tours.<\/p>\n15\/04\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Woodman Jam ‘\u201c Wimbledon ‘\u201c 2\/4\/09<\/td>\n A good jam, Roadhouse were at full strength and there was
\na decent turn out. Overall a good jam.See everyone in 2 weeks<\/p>\n15\/04\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Banham Barrell ‘\u201c 28\/3\/09<\/td>\n Our fave venue in Norfolk, we love Jonty and his hard core,
\nmusic loving staff’\u00a6So many old friends came out for this one’\u00a6 it was great to see Alan Harvey
\nagain, a man\/jounalist\/photographer who’d been such a great early champion
\nof the Band’\u00a6.To many friends to mention really.<\/p>\n
\n(though I enjoyed it). We’d brought back the duelling guitars on ‘\u02dcRock Me
\nBaby’ and the crowd lapped it up’\u00a6I enjoyed opening with ‘\u02dcThe Amswer’ for
\na change<\/p>\n
\n‘\u02dcSlip Away’ played as a tribute to heart attack victim and top drummer at
\nour Jam, Reg Isidore (of Robin Trower fame).<\/p>\n10\/04\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Famous Late Night Blues Club ‘\u201c Oxford –
\n23\/3\/09<\/td>\nMonday night and our first gig in Oxford at The Bullingdon’\u00a6.We got to meet the living legend, promoter Philip Guy Davis, what a character
\nand a great guy’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nwas a good size and according to the punters nearly double what he’d had
\nfor Kent Du Chane on the previous gig. We’ll pull more for him next time’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nMandie was in a good mood and on top, top form’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nhour for the soundcheck as Danny was bringing Kelly and overshot the motorway
\nexit by four entire junctions’ A record, even for this Band.<\/p>\n
\nrate. a number of CD collectors were there looking to augment their Roadhouse
\nback catalogue and CD sales went over the \u00c2\u00a3200 mark.<\/p>\n
\nWe hope to return’\u00a6<\/p>\n05\/04\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Limelight Theatre ‘\u201c Aylesbury ‘\u201c 20\/3\/09<\/td>\n Thanks to Derek White for booking us for this great gig.
\nA small Theatre but with great atmosphere, fantastic sound system (and engineers)
\nand alarge playing area. Highly recommended as a music venueThe only dissapointment on a great night, was the relatively low crowd numbers.
\nPre- bookings were worryingly low at only 26, but on the night the crowd
\nswelled to near 50, but it was still below the promoters break even point.<\/p>\n
\natmosphere.<\/p>\n
\nMan’ the Band were on top form both vocally and musically.<\/p>\n
\ncurrently in the Band (I usually hate the fuckers); their friendship, trust
\nand support that has enabelled us to achieve so much in our 19th year’<\/p>\n
\nAnswer’ and ‘\u02dcVoodoo Queen’), Rogers Drum solo and a killer vocal by Mandie
\non ‘\u02dcRising Sun’. But everyone played great (including me ‘\u201c a good guitar
\nnight for yours truly!) so it’s wrong to single out individual contributions’\u00a6<\/p>\n28\/03\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Woodman Jam ‘\u201c Wimbledon ‘\u201c 19\/3\/09<\/td>\n While I had been away Pete Bedford and Burlesque has run
\nthe last Woodman jam, a major thanks to those guys. Unfortunately they had
\na poor turnout, so we expected the worst on this night.However, though not packed we had a great jam, with a reasonable crowd and
\na good number of musicians.<\/p>\n
\nJammers, and sounding great’\u00a6.Geronimo continues his return with a damn
\nfine version of ‘\u02dcFreebird’ with Andrew Heart playing some great bass.<\/p>\n28\/03\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Le Blues Autour Du Zinc Festival ‘\u201c Beavais,
\nFrance, 12th & 13\/3\/09<\/td>\nThe first festival apearance in France for us.The good stuff first:<\/p>\n
\nfor all the musicians under the big top, main stage arena, at set times.
\nBands had been sourced from all over Europe, so this was great for Networking
\nand seeing friends like label mates The Brew and The Mustangs. The food
\nand red wine, went down very well.<\/p>\n
\nmore laid back\/chaotic.<\/p>\n
\ndiversity these days!). We were 3rd on the Bill both nights with some very
\nstrange Bands in the opening\/supporting slots.<\/p>\n
\nmemeber stalking antics the front man ‘\u02dcclimaxed’ by dropping his pants and
\ntrousers and flagellating his willy with his guitar lead’\u00a6 ‘\u02dcelectric’ and
\nof course ‘\u02dcexperimental’. The 2nd band wer also young and had attitude and
\nother than being repetitive were not bad; and then after a delay (as no
\nturn arounds had been tmetabled for ), we were on.<\/p>\n
\nclap along with ‘\u02dcTellin Lies’ and ‘\u02dcVoodoo Dance’, Suzie, Kels and Mandie
\nlaid down there 3 solo slots to great acclaim’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\nwell played<\/p>\n
\nas we went past midnight, in order to get their positions for the late night
\nevents in the main arena.<\/p>\n
\nus were very complementary.<\/p>\n
\ncheck. The local organizers at Waalabies were inviting us to go on first
\ndue to the ‘\u02dcalternative nature’ of the 2 other Bands ‘\u201c which in my mind
\nwas a thinly disguised ploy the female orgainser to get her Faves, Deltahead
\nwho she’d imported from Sweden further up the Bill.<\/p>\n
\nby encouraging Deltahead to overplay by 15 minutes and then to sell their
\nCD’s and not bother to pack their gear down for another 20 minutes.<\/p>\n
\n15 minutes of intro music via a ‘\u02dcHis Masters voice’ style gramaphone, had
\nall their faces painted white like clowns, and played a punk alternative
\nstyle that only Suzie and Kelly ‘\u02dcgot’. They were of course from Sweden (the
\nWorlds highest rate of suicide also comes from Sweden)<\/p>\n
\ndone Mandie, for her ‘\u02dcinfluencing’ skills). By the time we got on (past
\nmidnight) a screaming monitor (right in my face) and sound balance issues
\nhad taken my patience to the limit.<\/p>\n
\nwere dancing on the bar and<\/p>\n
\nboard blew up and in the 5 mins it took good old Bill to solve the problem
\nabout a 3rd of the big crowd had drfited away.<\/p>\n
\nat fellow band members, left right and centre. I think if someone had told
\nme I’d never have to play another gig agan at this time I would have celebrated..<\/p>\n
\nwe had played so much better.<\/p>\n22\/03\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n The Bulls Head ‘\u201c Barnes ‘\u201c 2\/3\/09<\/td>\n To our annual birthday bash at one of Londond’s top Jazz
\nvenues’\u00a6.It was the night of my Birthday and a celebration of Roger reaching 60 (god
\nknows how he’s made it!).<\/p>\n
\nstuck a bread knife through my left index finger at lunch time, just to
\ngive myself a reasonable level of challenge for the night’.<\/p>\n
\nnight during the ‘\u02dccredit crunch’. So many people who are special to the
\nBand. Both old friends and new.<\/p>\n
\n3 blues grooved songs. Next up was Pete Sargeant (a great friend to, and
\nsupporter of the Band) on bass and vocals joined by our host, promoter George
\nMcfall on the drums.<\/p>\n
\nit hurt, but I was playing the guitar pretty well (just leaking a bit!).<\/p>\n
\nwere on all round top form).<\/p>\n
\nthat certainly ‘\u02dcwarmed’ the crowd up..<\/p>\n
\n(great solo Danny!) segged into a stomping ‘\u02dcTelling Lies’.<\/p>\n
\nintros with much onstage birthday banter, punctuated Voodoo Queen, before
\nPreacher Man gave the set a ‘\u02dcstadium’ style finale’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nnational reviews of the Band and Roadhouse legend Anne Campbell, whose efforts
\ndrove the Band forwards for years..<\/p>\n08\/03\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Jam Sessions ‘\u201c The Woodman ‘\u201c Wimbledon ‘\u201c 5&19\/2\/09<\/td>\n A tale of 2 jam sessions’\u00a6.After the massive crowds and fantastic reponse at Skegness, jam session
\none was a reality check.<\/p>\n
\nwas hard for the Band to produce any energy in their opening set.<\/p>\n
\ndid great with the vocals but Danny and I’s solos did not cut the mustard.<\/p>\n
\n(longest one yet i reckon’\u00a6).<\/p>\n
\n‘\u02dcWe played ‘\u02dcMountains Fall’ again and this time the guitars were good and
\nthe vocals all over the place (we’ll get it right sooner or later!)’<\/p>\n
\nBand slot’\u00a6.<\/p>\n08\/03\/2009<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Gary<\/td>\n Skegness Festival ‘\u201c Centre Stage ‘\u201c 25\/1\/09<\/td>\n To possibly our greatest big stage performance’The upside of being the opening act in the 2,000 plus capacity big room\/Centre
\nStage is that you have a lot of time for your set up. The down side is that
\nyou could have a poor crowd, as people tend to drift in after dinner.<\/p>\n
\nwhich for Kelly meant vocal warm up exercises and for the rest of us meant
\ndrinking and or worrying. We stuck our head round the curtains with 10 minutes
\nto go and there was only about 3-400, in a well deserted room. Still we
\nhad to tackle the show ‘\u02dcFull on’, or it just would not work’\u00a6.<\/p>\n
\nthe drum intro for ‘\u02dcVoodoo Dance’ . My first thought was ‘\u02dcWhere did all
\nthe people come from’\u00a6.’<\/p>\n
\ndown great.<\/p>\n
\na difficut set of guitar arpeggios on my own, a tester. Bearing in mind
\nmy continuing decline in health and the battles still to come, this was
\nlyrically and emotionaly a big song for me personally.<\/p>\n
\nsaw my my face up on the giant screen, in close up (sporting more chins
\nthan the Hong Kong phone directory ‘\u201c ghastly!)’\u00a6 Danny was getting into
\nhis stride the girls sounded great and I even managed a half decent solo’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\na smokey, intimate club, with her stylish reading of the ‘\u02dcLying Game’. Kelly
\ncomfortably belting out ‘\u02dcThe Big Easy’ and Mandie reapeating yesterdays
\nepic Success with ‘\u02dcHouse of the Rising Sun’. She got a standing ovation
\nfrom a room that was now very full (amazing as we were up against The Rats
\nin the other Big Room = members of the Boomtown Rats without Bob Geldorf,
\nwho apparently had a poor crowd).<\/p>\n
\noutbreak of air guitar playing. Then came Voodoo Queen. First I totally
\nwent blank on how to play the intro and then we regained some cred by getting
\na good portion of the crowd to sing along in true ‘\u02dcstadium style’ (thanks
\npeeps ‘\u201c very kind of you). Rogers strobe lit drum solo was the highlight
\nof the Band introductions and overall the Skegness crew did a great job
\nwith both the sound and a top light show.<\/p>\n
\ntime of around an hour and 5 minutes.<\/p>\n
\nand shed loads of pain, to get to this point’\u00a6<\/p>\n
\nroad home.<\/p>\n
\nand were quiet impressed’\u00a6.. wonder what the DVd will look like<\/p>\n
\namazing crowd.<\/p>\n
<\/a>