Dust'n'Debris

DUST'N'DEBRIS

Donkey Venue: 31st October 2024

Thursday afternoon trip to The Donkey Venue to see Dust & Debris - UK bid their farewell to the Donkey as we currently know it, playing what may be their last gig there... time will tell!!

A different Dust and Debris, missing Jade and George, so playing with the quartet of Les, Elaine, Bud and new bass player Mark, with assistance on a few pieces from original band singer Dawn. They were also hampered by a lack of sound engineer and monitors!! Fair to say that this wasn't a vintage Dust and Debris gig, but the stripped down version, relying more on Elaines fiddle still delivered a highly enjoyable set to make a really good afternoon.

The strong country/cajun roots of the band showed fully in the stripped down version of the band, and the sound in the room, allied to the personalities of the musicians created a warm and homely feel which was seriously foot-tapping and enjoyable.

The set was fairly familiar fair for the band... kicking of with "Rocky Mountain Bell" and "Rock me Mama like a Wagon Wheel"... always a joy to hear... they also threw in some old songs from the early days of the band which were less familiar to me.

Les also sang a couple of pieces that Jade or George normally sing in part or in whole... and there were looks of panic in his eyes when he reached those verses!!...Dawn stepped up to join Les on the chorus of a couple of songs and delivered a lovely solo version of Robbie Robertson's "Evangeline"

They ended in familiar style as well with :Battle of New Orleans" segued with a cajun two step...

As I say, not really a classic D&D gig, but none the less, hugely enjoyable... Country music stripped back to basics, no frillls and hugely enjoyable.

Keep music live... keep music real... support your local venues

Naomi Bedford & the Ramshackle Band

NAOMI BEDFORD & THE RAMSHACKLE BAND

Musician Pub: 28th October 2024

Last night at The Musician Pub we had a hugely entertaining performance by Naomi Bedford and the Ramshackle Band.

A fine acoustic band switching easily between country and folk throughout and delivering a thoroughly enjoyable set.

The band lined up with Scott Smith on banjo and harmonica, Richard Leo on 12 string acoustic guitar and Paul Simmonds on acoustic guitar... but the focus of the band is the superb voice and singing of Naomi Bedford. She appears to have different voices for different music, delivering the Appalachian, folk and country numbers with equal quality and sounding totally authentic in each mode.. and with maybe a hint of Iris DeMent in the country stylings

The set was mainly original material, but with some well judged covers thrown in... one was an Appalachian ballad which didn't appear to have a tune... the band added their own tune and arrangement and it suited perfectly. Other covers included the hugely under-performed Dylan song, "Lay Down Your Weary Tune"... a personal favourite of mine and finally "Jolene" as the encore.

The four musicians are all top quality, the 6 and 12 string acoustics working perfectly together and the addition of the banjo added beautifully to the overall feel of the music, and through it all Naomi's lovely voice was outstanding. Paul also added some excellent vocals and he and Richard provided lovely harmonies.

This was a hugely enjoyable performance, but I have to say I found the second set much better than the first, where there was something totally undefinable missing, which was there in style in the second set... maybe the after effects of a marathon drive to the gig... that aside this was a hugely enjoyable show by a really great band... where especially in the second half the rapport between the band members and audience was clear to see...

Great performance... thoroughly enjoyed it.

Keep music live... keep music real... support your local venues

Marisa & the Moth/Slayer/Ugly Club

MARISA & THE MOTH/SLAYER/UGLY CLUB

Musician Pub: 25th October 2024 

Well, this was a very different gig at The Musician Pub to the previous ones I had been to this week... a good 3 hours plus of high intensity ear splitting metal/hard rock delivered by 3 bands who took no prisoners!... I loved the evening!!!

First up was a three piece... The Ugly Club, and what a terrific start to the evening they were... pounding drums and shrieking guitar powering away behind the powerhouse voice of Imogen Storey... the band pack huge power and energy and no little musical ability while Imogen leaps and prowls around the stage singing her heart out and totally commanding the stage... an absolute diamond of a singer/leader and together they delivered a monster of a set... powerful, vibrant and superb...

After a short turn-round up stepped the second band, THE STRAYERS... no less in terms of power and energy and featuring some terrific guitar playing while bass and drums continued to pound and drive everything along. The leader/singer also has a powerful voice cutting through the music with ease, but for me tended to slip over the line into shouting rather than singing...

Finally the headliners... MARISA & the MOTHS... after intricate fine tuning the stage set up the band appeared and kicked into their set before Marisa took the stage to great cheers... i hadn't seen the band before but clearly most of the audience knew their work well... Liam and Alex, playing bass and drums respectively, laid down another powerhouse beat while Alez was playing great guitar... up front Marisa Rodriguez was a commanding figure with a mighty voice... The band continued the theme of high intensity pounding top class hard rock with Marisa's vocals leading.

Midway though the set the band eased off from the hardest rock while Liam stepped up with lead guitar to sing a couple of solo pieces which went down a storm with the by now ecstatic crowd... after this Marisa stepped up with a quieter more reflective number before the band kicked on again with even more intensity and power than before building up to a mighty conclusion to the set.

On the negative side, as powerful and quality as the band were on the night, I had a couple of reservations... to be honest I was not keen on the solo section Liam delivered, though I felt in a minority in that, and found the use of stage crew to fetch and carry instruments and the guy with a selfie stick and phone camera wandering around the stage seriously distracting... I personally felt that without these issues and maybe a slightly shorter set the band would have maintained a more powerful and intense show and would have been even better... not withstanding these personal feelings, they are a damn good band.

But for me.. .i enjoyed the Ugly Club best on the evening,

keep music live... keep music real... support your local venues

Hands of the Heron/Anna Anise

HANDS OF THE HERON/ANNA ANISE

Musician Pub: 24TH October 2024

Absolutely wonderful evening at The Musician Pub last night.

First up was ANNE ANISE, a singer/songwriter from Cornwall who is also learning the Cornish language to keep it live...

Her introduction to the set was in spoken in Cornish and her infectious smile throughout the performance warmed the whole room. Anne has a beautiful voice and sang beautifully throughout whether in English or Cornish. Her own songs are excellent and well worth hearing.

Overall her voice, songs and infectious warm stage presence made for a simply lovely opening set.. loved it!!

Then the headliners... Hands of the Heron.. and they were something special... unique and beautiful. All three members contribute great songs, each with their own style and approach. They are predominantly a vocal harmony group and each member sings beautifully... but it is the faultless beautiful harmonies that truly stand out... they are mesmerising and make you tingle...

Not only are these three superb vocally, but they accompany themselves on a variety of instruments... banjo, fiddle, shruti box (i think that is what it is!!), clarinet and guitar as well as singing some pieces acapella. The musical accompaniments are superb and delicate and never crowd the vocals.. .they are a lush sweeping backdrop to the singing.

Primarily i think a folk group, but the overall sound is dreamy, lush and hugely warming and impressive, and there are elements of classical especially in the wonderful vocals.

They also brought Anna back to the stage for a fabulous four-part harmony performance of the last piece of the evening

Impossible to pick out highlights... the whole set was outstanding but should make mention of their touching comments and pause for thought about the situation in the middle east.

This was a very special, heartwarming and beautiful performance by a superb band.

keep music live... keep music real... support your local venues