What a superb evening's entertainment. Its the first Pipeline that I have attended but I hope it won't be the last. I made a decision to "sit back and enjoy the music" so didn't make notes on playlists etc. (Rob Bradford was taking notes so I expect there will be a full write-up in the next issue of Pipeline).
First on were THE BOYS, a group from Belgium.
They played mostly Shads material but also did some Spotnicks material and some originals
(using a very good "Shads" syle). They were superb - the style and overall sound
were spot-on.
The next group, THE VICKINGS, also from Belgium played mostly Ventures material. Their set
started a little slowly but then they played an excellent version of the Cougar's
"Saturday Nite at the Duckpond" and after that just got better and better. By
the end, the lead guitarist Luc Kennis was getting some amazing sounds from his
instrument.
You can imagine that an evening of Shadows/Spotnicks/Ventures tunes superbly played is just about the best evening's show I can imagine - and that's before the Local Heroes came on stage!
Local Heroes kept us waiting a long time doing sound checks which didn't make a good impression but their performance was as polished as usual. Alan Jones was on top form with the bass and it was great to see and hear Phil Kelly being given more lead work to do. He is a fine guitarist and was getting a very "clean" sound (those in the know around me explained that Phil was using an original Meazzi echo unit). Barry played well as usual with a more mellow sound on numbers like Argentina and Cavatina and being able to switch the lead between Barry & Phil with their differing styles gives extra variety to their set.
 |
 |
|
 |
 Clockwise from top: Phil Kelly Alan Jones Clem Cattini Barry Gibson Cliff Hall |
 |
Brian Locking was a revelation. At the SCOFA evening and on the other appearances I have seen, he was always a "guest" of the Local Heroes but on Sunday, he was very much the STAR and once he had come on stage, Local Heroes were the backing group.
Brian was very relaxed and confident and gave the impression that he was really enjoying himself as well as playing very well. Interestingly, unlike previous occasions when Brian has guested with the Local Heroes, Alan did not leave the stage even when Brian was playing bass but moved next to Barry to make a 4-guitar line up which was very effective.
Particularly impressive was NIVRAM in which every band member played a solo part. They went through their usual numbers, the only new number being a very good rendition of "TRAMBONE" which Brian introduced by referring to Big Jim Sullivan and the Krew Kats. All in all, an excellent night's entertainment.
 |
 |
Our thanks are due to Alan Taylor and Dave Burke, the organisers of the convention.
A video of the show will shortly be available to Pipeline subscribers
 |
available from: Alan Taylor 12 Thorkill Gardens Thames Ditton Surrey, KT7 0UP England |
Subscriptions £12 UK, £15 Europe, £18 elsewhere including postage.