With Xmas just around the corner and dreaded economic slowdown rarely out of the media it wasn't altogether a surprise that punters were a bit thin on the ground last week.

I've seen CP on many occasions over the years and through many line-up changes, but this performance was undoubtedly out of the best I've witnessed. The band looked like they were enjoying every moment on stage and for once we managed to deliver a sound out front and on stage that did justice to the Pride experience. A special mention must go to their new drummer who was only playing his second gig with the band and seems to have fitted right in ( as does their newish bass player).

A superb and reinvigorated performance by The Pride.

Regrettably Friday night also brought with it a medical emergency which occurred in the foyer on top of the stairs to a very close friend of all the Friday night organisers. Our eternal thanks must go to Lynfa for her actions in preventing a potential fatality. Thank God we had a medical professional in the audience who knew CPR and mouth to mouth.  

The last time Ian Parker graced the stage of the District Club we’d just started providing a house PA for the bands. Some of you will remember two gargantuan speaker columns either side of the stage, driven by some industrial sized power amps and a sound desk located close to the doors of the dressing room. Compounding this less than ideal set-up was the fact that none of us had any real experience of sound engineering and as a part-time musician the bulk of the responsibility fell on my shoulders. I recall making a real pig’s ear of the sound for several bands on the first few occasions, one of whom was Ian Parker.

 

Maybe our chequered history accounted for the long gap since Ian’s last visit – he is a difficult man to book if Nicky’s experience is anything to go by. Nevertheless for me it was an opportunity to right a few wrongs technically and provide a suitably professional conduit for Ian’s considerable talents. Thankfully we get attacked by the gremlins far less regularly than we used to and fortunately Friday went off virtually fault- free.

 

Not far off a full house welcomed our support act KADESHA to the stage, later accompanied by her guitarist, Steve. Many of us have been following Kadesha’s progress since her performance at this year’s Jam night and I’m pleased to report that she soon won over the audience with an engaging performance that showcased the growing maturity of both her voice and song writing skills. Kudos to Steve as well for some exemplary acoustic guitar work.

 

Ian and his band are a class act. From the off it was obvious that were in for a performance of great skill, emotion and searing guitar playing. Whether handling electric or acoustic instruments, Ian had the crowd in the palm of his hand and was suitably rewarded at the end of a blistering set of contemporary British blues. Thank goodness there still appears to be an audience appreciative of artistes like Ian Parker and luckily for us last Friday we in Ponty managed to catch him a the top of his game.

I must admit that I'd been looking forward to the return of Juicy Lucy for some weeks. The excellence of their last performance at the club had taken everyone by surprise , so hopes were high for their visit last Friday.

Upon arriving the band had to pass on the sad news that singer , and original member Ray Owen had that morning been rushed into hospital and was awaiting a serious operation. His life of rock and roll excess had by all accounts started to catch up with him (60 a day apparently and a devotee of the mad apple). Rather than cancel the gig the band had decided to share the vocal duties.

A reasonable sized audience were treated to the usual JL set with a few covers thrown in to flesh things out a bit. Their lead guitarist handled the bulk of the vocal duties and had what could best be described as a "lived - in" voice, not dissimilar to Lemmy but slightly more tuneful. Musically the band couldn't be faulted but unfortunately Ray's absence meant that the gig never reached the heights of their last performance. A real shame but we're grateful that the band didn't cancel the gig.

Thanks again to Glow for quality photos.

 

 

 

 

I'm the most sceptical person you could imagine when it comes to the paranormal. Roswell, The X-Files, alien abductions etc bore me stupid, what sort of idiots believe in all that mumbo-jumbo? However recent events at the District have led me to question the certainty of my beliefs.
There has always been the suggestion of a presence at the club. The building stands on the site of an old house called "Jacobsdale" that was demolished to make way for the club. For years it's been rumoured that a ghost, allegedly named Jacob, inhabits the building. There have been several reported sightings of "Jacob" over the years, various stewards and members will swear to his existence to the extent that they won't venture upstairs on their own. One now sadly deceased member never set foot over the threshold of the upstairs hall after one particularly terrifying encounter with "something or someone".
I know what you're all thinking, what utter bollocks, and in the past I would have been the first to agree. I’m loathed to go into any detail for fear of looking stupid but I was wondering if any of our other regulars have had any weird experiences while at the club. I’m expecting a bucketful of ridicule but I’m genuinely interested in hearing for others who might be more “receptive” to this sort of thing.
Anyway… The Navigators. As always they put on a musically faultless performance that included a good selection of tracks rarely heard on the cover band circuit. I particularly enjoyed their interpretations of Joe Walsh’s “Life’s been good” and Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”. The Osmond’s magnum opus “Crazy Horses” also featured towards the end of the night, nostalgically taking us all back to the days of flares and acne – great stuff.
Hallowe’en also resulted in many of our regulars donning fancy dress for the evening with some inspired outfits on display. My particular favourite was the guy who came as The Phantom of the Opera , immaculate in black cape, hat and mask. I did laugh when someone quipped that the mask made him look like he’d taken a huge cumshot in the face. Photos on the main site.

I've just about run out of good things to say about The Puppets. Last Friday's gig was well up to their usual high standard and predictably loads of people turned up to see them.

Help me out here people !

I think most people were a little disappointed that we couldn’t manage to deliver on the Saxon and The Brew double-header that we’d been advertising - not our fault honestly. Chatting with the band before the show they were extremely enthusiastic about their growing reputation on the European circuit having been touring over there extensively since their last visit to The District and were off to Holland the following week. They’d even managed to get signed to a minor Belgian record label that had funded the recording of their latest CD and a live DVD which have been selling in vast quantities. (20,000 to date apparently). Obviously I bummed a CD off the band and will be happy to burn anyone off a copy that wants one.

 

They delivered a great gig too. Robust volume, full-on delivery and some very strong self-penned material. Particularly special was drummer Kurt’s take on Bonham’s  Moby Dick and guitarist Jason’s interpretation of Hendrix’s Little Wing in the style of Stevie Ray Vaughan. Maybe there are better fledgling musicians out there but the confidence with which the two youngsters attack their instruments bodes well for their futures in the music business. Bassist, singer and father of Kurt, Tim holds the bottom end together nicely.

 

Thankfully a shed load of people turned up to help one of our regulars, Jenny, celebrate a significant birthday including a vast contingent of our biker friends. The band also struck lucky thanks to Joyce and Gareth offering them all beds for the night thereby saving them a long journey back to Grimsby after the gig. Hopefully the two youngsters didn’t have to stay in Joyce’s special Discipline Room. (ouch !)

 

Another great night and fuck Saxon.

The Average Welsh Band were a major hit last time they played at the club and it was a gig that I’d been looking forward to for quite some time when Nicky informed me that he had rebooked them.

 

I’m glad to say that the band didn’t disappoint and if anything they had got better. Their choice of music was right up my street. They kicked off the night with a storming version of Sly Stone’s “I want to take you higher” , a real favourite of mine and one that I never thought I’d hear a band perform at the club, especially not a three piece. Definitely the highlight of the night for me (if not the year ! ). Christ another couple of drinks and I’d have been up on the dance floor on my own.

 

Not all the material chosen by the band is well known and if I’m not mistaken they performed three songs by Glen Hughes’s pre-Purple band Trapeze. An unusual choice but enjoyable none the less. 

 

Stuart and Lee are as powerful a rhythm section as any we see at The District and perfectly compliment Glen’s Marriot-esque guitar playing. What I’d forgotten about their last performance was how good all three members of the band could sing. Quite impressive considering neither Stuart nor Lee is allowed microphones in the other bands they play in. Front man, Glen’s voice was every bit as good as I’d remembered it – powerful, expressive and emotive.  Their second half version of “Afterglow” by The Small Faces, another seldom covered track, will stay with me for some time – truly exceptional.

 

No doubt there were those in the audience that didn’t connect with the obscure nature of some of the tracks performed but you might have gathered that it was right up my street. The really is nothing “average” about The Average Welsh Band.

 

P.S. Stuart – watch your back mate, I want that bass gig.

 

 

Adam Bomb tried to nick my fags , the bastard !!!!  Typical behaviour from a native of a country who’s foreign policy involves staking claims on whole continents let alone unattended packets of Marlboro. I got them back eventually and I was surprised that an apologetic Adam didn’t offer the excuse that he knew what was best for me and was saving me from a life of nicotine addiction. Bloody Yanks ….. Where were you lot in 1939 ??? …. Shagging your sisters probably.

 

A disappointing turn out this week for what should have been great night’s entertainment. I know that Adam’s brand of loud, in-yer-face, scuzzy rock isn’t everyone’s taste but we were expecting a far better crowd. Maybe everyone had heard that the beer has gone up.

 

What we got was Adam’s trademark showmanship complete with pyrotechnics and all the usual bells and whistles. There was an approximate 50/50 split between originals and covers but all were delivered fast and furiously. Among others I can remember tracks from The Stones, Hendrix, ACDC and Frank Sinatra featuring. I managed to capture some video footage on my camera which I’ll hopefully post on the main website if I can ever get it uploaded onto YouTube (christ it’s slow).

 

We’d certainly like to see a few more people next week for The Average Welsh Band – you have my personal recommendation that they are excellent.

 

 

 

Spartan Lifestyle arrived for their third gig at The District with a new vocalist and bass player. The singer had previously appeared at the club singing with The Real Deal and we knew that he had a good set of pipes on him and he once again delivered with the new band.

 

The band’s set had changed markedly since their last visit and we were treated to a number of over familiar tracks which I could have done without. Although they were performed proficiently, what had previously set the band apart from other cover bands was their unusual and quirky selection of some obscure gems . Personally I’d rather have heard them play  XTC’s “Sergeant Rock" than another version of “Alright Now”.

 

I don’t want to be over-critical but with the new line-up it would be a shame to see them take the easy route when they have the capacity to be so much more. I don’t know how long the new line-up has been going and maybe they needed to flesh out their set-list with a few standards but I’m hoping that we’ll see the re-introduction of some less obvious track selections when we see the band return to the club.

 

The Hamsters in the Muni for £15 or The Dopeys at The District for £4 , that was the dilemma facing our regulars last Friday. I'm pleased to say that sense prevailed and we once again managed to attract a respectable sized crowd for The Dopeys first visit to the club.

I've been a long-time critic of The Hamsters, they're totally overrated as far as I see. OK , they play a selection of music from two well-loved bands (Hendrix and ZZ Top) but generally perform sterile versions, musically adequate, but failing on all levels in capturing any of the excitement of the originals. I've had the misfortune of seeing the band in a number of different venues, from The Naval to The Point and they've never failed to disappoint. In that respect ,they are consistant. God knows what sort of fee they command nowadays but £15 to see a covers band is a bit of a liberty.

...and so to The Dopeys , three brothers and a drummer from Swansea with a love of Thin Lizzy.

The boys turned up nice and early (which for Swansea bands is a rarity) and got themselves set up in plenty of time to have a chill out in the smoking area. I had a long chat with the lead guitarist who turned out to be a smashing bloke and amazingly complimentary about the club and itching to get into the mood with the rest of us, but he'd promised his bandmates that he'd stay straight until after the gig.

Having refused a soundcheck the bands first few songs sounded little ropey but things gradually improved and as promised we were treated to a Lizzy-heavy set. I can't really remember the exact content of the set but most the usual favourites were played as well as some lovely sustained guitar on their version of Parisienne Walkways. The band's sound would have benefitted greatly from the addition of a couple of Marshall stacks but we decided to push the main mix levels a little higher that normal after receiving complaints the week before that the band were too quiet. Did anyone notice though ?

The patter from the lead singer between songs was hilarious - complete and utter gibberish ! I'm sure that we missed some real pearls of wisdom but to me it sounded like a conversation between Cheech and Chong after a heavy night on the Acapulco Gold. Well it made me laugh anyway.

The band, while not quite up to "tribute" standards were enjoyable none the less and played a selection of material that as a Lizzy fan I couldn't really fault. Great fun.