Setting up...in the rain
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Rebels Without Applause
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The Mines Tavern
Sunday in the sun 2003
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The Mines Tavern
Sunday in the sun 2003
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Saturday afternoon outside the Mines is traditionally the "run what you brung"
session, with the addition of other acts who want to play shorter sets than can
be accommodated on the bigger stages. The session started with Wossawudu?
(answer; washing facilities) with Dave McLean on keys, Roger Leece on drums,
Tim Davies on harp, Johnny Galbraith on bass and Steve Courtie on very
expensive guitar. Dave Wade did vocals on a few despite the clouds of smoke
coming from the barbecue! Kate Bass replaced the stricken Dave, treating us to
some favourites such as "Got to Fly" and "Big Boss Man", and
with Pete Woodman joining in on slide we enjoyed a revival of Rebels Without
Applause. The band's musical spectrum includes jazzier standards such as
Summertime, to classic Chicago and Country material.
Daniel Smith took over Dave Macs keyboards and gave a taster of what we could
expect in the evening, namely solid boogie-woogie and rocking blues. The rain
was pretty solid by this time, but the small audience was still enjoying the
atmosphere. Jackie Oliver then did a short set including a classy (and not as
croaky) version of Tom Waits' My Blue Valentine. She admitted to a severe bout
of nerves but could have blamed it on the cold wet weather- it was getting
worse and there was not much undercover space for the audience. Jackie has an
excellent voice for blues, and is well worth watching out for. Robbie and Lee
were next on performing a wide range of pop and indie material under the brand
name of the One Man Van Band (don't ask me where the name comes from). The line
up of drums and guitar may be unusual (White Stripes and who else) but Robbie
can certainly play and sing some and he has the confidence to put the material
over.
Sunday was supposed to be as wet as Saturday, but instead we had a couple of
hours of beautiful sunshine before the showers. This attracted a fair sized
crowd to the Mines for some great sessions by The Rebels without a Drummer
followed up by Guy Tortora backed by Pete Woodman on bass. Guy plays some
smooth slide guitar on mainly self-penned songs, none of which are straight
twelve bars. Fortunately Pete was well up to the task, and showed off his
handmade resonator bass (not many of those around) to some impressed potential
customers. Robbie and Lee did a further set that was warmly received and got
the audience joining in. The afternoon was rounded off by Lux, playing only
their second gig. This is a very tight band, which is going to win over a big
local following for their brand of slightly dark indie material. You'll have to
be quick if you want to book them.
Ken Callister from "Soundcheck" did his usual solid job on mixing for the bands
at the Mines- many thanks! The Red Cross bucket got pretty heavy by the end of
the afternoon, showing just how much the crowd enjoyed the session.
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