Strange Doors

STRANGE DOORS

Musician Pub 10th February 2023

Saturday night at The Musician Pub a big crowd turned out to hear the music of the Doors, and to say farewell to one of the best tribute bands you will ever see.... The Strange Doors - UK Doors Tribute Band, who were playing their last ever tour and last ever gig at the Musician. "Not Jim Morrison" said at the beginning this was their last visit to the Musician and they intended to deliver an outstanding show... and they did that and more... something over 2 hours of classic Doors material delivered with energy, passion and obvious love, and uncannily accurate... you could easily believe you were listening to the original...

Just look at the set list... a bona fide cross section of classics...

The band kicked off with "When the Music's Over" which had the audience fully bought in to the show and bouncing...

The band work their socks off throughout the show to ensure a powerful unforgettable show, and "Not Jim" must have watched hours of the band to have Morrisons style and movements down so accurately...

The fabulous "Unknown Soldier" included the iconic "Shot" and collapse to the ground which had the audience gasping... and the final song of the first set was maybe the most famous song "Light my Fire" which stretched into a jam featuring a mesmerizing keyboard solo from "Not Ray" followed by a superb guitar solo by "Not Robbie"

After the break the band came back with the same intensity building to a superb "Riders on the Storm"

The next song, "Soul Kitchen" had elements of the audience fearing it was the last song... "Well, the clock says it's time to close now..." but it was far from that.. "Roadhouse Blues" had the audience belting out "Let it roll baby roll"

LA Woman then romped to a climax with the audience belting out the iconic "Mr Mojo Risin" tag line

It was then time for the closer... inevitably... "The End" always a hugely powerful piece delivered here with immense power... albeit missing out a few lyrics replacing them with snippets of Morrison poetry... and ending with a fabulous tour de force drum solo by "Not John"... As the song ended the crowd roared and bayed for more and they encored with a rocking, powerhouse "Changeling"

The band had delivered a magnificent set... powerful and absorbing throughout.. Superb musicians all... and a special word for "Not Robbie" who was a relatively last minute deputy for the regular guitarist... she had learned the whole set in about 3 days and one rehearsal on the day... and was faultless throughout.

So.. after "Changeling" the band linked arms, took a bow and were gone... for the last time at the Musicians

"This is the end... beautiful friend"

I will take this opportunity to thank the band for their fabulous performances and wish them well in all future projects

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

Andy Griffiths/Melanie Pegge/Amy Dx

ANDY GRIFFITHS/MELANIE PEGGE/AMY Dx 

Duffys 8th February 2024

Thursday night saw a really lovely acoustic gig at Duffy's Bar.

Opening proceedings was Amy Daniels (Amy Dx) playing a solo set with just voice and keyboard. I've seen the band several times, but this was the first time i have seen Amy do a solo gig... and it was a real delight. Amy has a gorgeous sweet and haunting voice and i really love her singing. She plays primarily her own high quality songs and tonight included a cover of a Cranberries song.

The set started with a couple of pieces from the lovely "Time" album and some much newer songs, including a forthcoming single, followed by a couple of songs so new they had little practice... that didn't show, the whole set was delivered with great assurance and quality and was a real delight

Next up was Andy Griffiths who delivered his customary excellent set. Andy said he is involved in a songwriting project and revisited some of his older songs, which started the set. Part of the project is a "Skirmish" where the writers are given and title and have one hour to produce a song.. The title given was "Breakdown" and his song was a real gem.

Andy finished with his glorious song about the loss of most of the fishing fleet from a scottish port... a tragic tale beautifully written and sung... worth going to the gig to hear this!

Andy was in fine form, his guitar sounding beautiful and his voice smooth and easy to listen to.

Finally, the unique Melanie Pegge. Melanie has a fairly unique guitar style, bordering at times on flamenco and with, i think, hints of jazz... but what ever the style it is always interesting and enjoyable, and beautifully complements her voice and songs... and she plays beautifully.

A lot of her songs have pastoral themes and are well worth hearing. Her voice can move from soft, almost a whisper, to strong, sweet and clear.

Her performance was real quality and hugely enjoyable.

So overall, we saw three acoustic performers... all high class songwriters, singers and musicians and all delivered hugely enjoyable high class sets which were all thoroughly enjoyed by an enthusiastic audience. A really lovely evening.

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

Nigel Wearne

NIGEL WEARNE

Musician Pub 6th February 2024

Tonight at the The Musician Pub was a real treat. A visit from Australian singer/songwriter Nigel Wearne

When Nigel took the stage his warm easy manner won over the audience immediately. His songs cover a range of subjects, from human shortcomings, grace and the cosmos, as his website says, songs that cut to the bone... he also delivers a folk song or two!... and accompanies himself on guitar and banjo.

The guitar tome is wonderful and his playing outstanding, with elements of many styles in there.. there are hints of folk, jazz, country, blues, rock and gypsy jazz in there as well as piece featuring slide guitar with shades of Ry Cooder... the playing is at all times outstanding and hugely interesting and enjoyable.

Nigel sings with confidence and assurance in a clear strong voice and concluded with a fine song "The Reckoning" which is the title track from the new album.

The album is also unique, coming in two versions... the main one featuring a full electric band with a brass section, the other version being purely solo with just guitar/banjo accompaniment as he appears on stage... at this stage this version is available only at the gigs

Nigel is also a fine story teller, his between songs being warm, informative and fascinating, he also accompanies his banter with some pretty nifty guitar work.

If you love fine songs delivered beautifully both vocally and instrumentally by a great and engaging performer this is the show for you... I really loved the performance from start to finish, and Nigel generates so much warmth in his delivery it is impossible not to love him. A great and memorable performance...

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