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Hors d’oeuvres:
Aidan Marshall
Main Course: John
Brightman, John Illingworth,
Bob Cairns, Ralph
& Steve Leyland, Ian Good, John Pape & Steve
Unfortunately
our treasured Andrea cannot be with us tonight so she’s invited the affable and
admirably talented Aidan Marshall to step into her shoes (metaphorically
speaking of course!) Due to a variety of personal reasons, quite a few of
our regulars are also absent tonight so it’s a case of “never mind the quantity
feel the quality” because there are enough quality artists here to provide an
entertaining evening.
Aidan gets us under way with a
fine cover of John Martyn’s “One Day Without You”, before following with his
usual lovely version of “Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright” and another of his
favourites, Snooks Eaglin’s “Drive Her Home”.
Aidan’s got us off to a good
start so now he invites that masterful guitarist, John Brightman “to take to the
stage”. It’s already been well documented how much John is influenced by – and
how well he interprets – the compositions of the wonderful Dutch guitarist Harry
Sacksioni. Although John begins with the traditional “Scarborough Fair”, the
arrangement is very much au parfum de Sacksioni. Three Sacksioni
originals follow, the familiar “Bid Vogel”, “Blos” and finally “Screaming
Pines”. Just as if to prove that he’s no slouch himself when it comes to
composing guitar instrumentals, John finishes a sublime set with his own “Little
Miss Mischief”.
Next up are the popular John
Pape & Steve. They begin with an instrumental with John on 12-string mandolin
and Steve on bodrhan. They follow with a humorous and politically incorrect
swipe at Charles Kennedy and then pick up their bodrhans for a rousing, crowd
pleaser, “Biker Hill”. Just time for another PI swipe. This time they aim at
Tony Blair, a target so easy that it’s like hitting a barn door from two paces.
For our last act of the first
half we have John Illingworth - probably best known as being one half of Double
Take – in tandem with Aidan. They entertain us with a couple of blues classics,
“Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out” and “Trouble In Mind” with Aidan
and then John on vocals, before John treats us to some slide guitar as Aidan
takes us to half-time with an upbeat cover of Eugene McDaniel’s “Before You
Accuse Me”.
So we take a break. One of the
advantages of a relatively quiet evening is that there are more egg sandwiches
to go round! Seriously though, Tracy’s put on another super spread and there’s a
whole host of real beers on offer including three from Melton Mowbray brewers,
Brewsters.
To start the second half we have
the pleasure of welcoming artist, guitar maestro and renowned compčre Bob
Cairns. Although he’s specifically come to give Andrea his moral support, Bob’s
up for treating us to a few tunes. He warms up with the familiar “I Love You
Babe” before following with his beautifully mellow “Over You”. Bob finishes off
with the foot-stomper “Dance Your Dance” accompanied by a percussion ensemble
consisting of Ralph, Steve Leyland, John P. and Steve.
Blues,
Classical, Rock standards, Aidan’s versatility seems to hold no bounds, so he’s
only too willing to accompany our popular local, Ian Good. To compliment the
duo, another local, Steve Leyland, joins them with some impressive brushwork on
a snare drum top. They begin with a very enjoyable version of Steve Ray
Vaughan’s “Pride And Joy” before following with the ubiquitous “Crossroads”.
Ian, Steve and Aidan finish off with an instrumental which gives Ian an
opportunity to showcase his formidable guitar talents.
Aidan and John
I. are back with an instrumental before John takes up the vocals on a John Hart
number, Fat’s Waller’s “Ain’t Misbehaving” and Brownie McGhee’s “I’ve Been
Living With The Blues”.
John P. and Steve step back up
for an instrumental with John on mandolin and Steve on bodrhan. They follow with
the deservedly popular “Barley Mow” before bringing the evening to a close with
“The Lincolnshire Poacher”.
Thank you to all the performers who
entertained us tonight, Paul, our sound engineer, for another masterful job and
of course Tracy and Pete for their wonderful hospitality. However a special
plaudit must go to Aidan, who’s played his role tonight to perfection. Andrea
will be well pleased. See you all in a fortnight’s time!
