The Author

In a strict 'no-smoking' venue some fourteen musicians gathered with instruments (5 banjos, 1 fiddle, 1 bass, 1 mandolin and 6 guitars!), together with assorted audience - and that was before the 'Showcase' performance of Frets Unlimited, otherwise known as Dave Bresnen (banjo and guitar) and Chris Wilson (guitar - all $4,000's worth - plus jokes!).

The early picking session was wide-ranging as the core Chester Crew(e) - Derek & Jean Brandon, Peter Massey, Chris Lee, Julie Cross, Jeff Blythin, Tony Keysell (Colwyn Bay) and yours truly - mixed it with friends from Liverpool and Rainford (Neil Rennie and his lady Kate Mole, Owen & Paul Duffey and 'Fiddler' Phil Newton) - good on yer to come over! And Paul chose tonight for his debut on guitar. By the time some of the latecomers arrived the room was so full they couldn't get in to play so a breakaway session started in a separate room (for the first time ever, apparently!)

Chris Wilson and Dave "Frets" Bresnen at Chester

Dave and Chris then presented a comprehensive 'showcase' of driving bluegrass numbers, including Glenn's Chimes and Nothing To It and more gentle numbers such as John Prine's Paradise, Ages and Ages Ago and The Engineer. Melodic Irish tunes were also on offer - Dave particularly impressed us with his version of Star of the County Down. Yet we knew a balance would be achieved by Chris's country influence, expressed in numbers like Crying My Heart Out Over You. He never actually said he'd been to Nashville, TN, but he was a credit to his new Galagher guitar and T-shirt! We all enjoyed his fancy fingering and his sensitive playing and singing of I Miss The Mississippi And You, and the subtle high neck back up from Dave was for me at least a real complementary feature. Their relaxed approach (can anyone imagine Chris being anything other than totally laid back?) suited the atmosphere of the Commercial Hotel, which now attracts an international audience! French people always seem to be there, and one even won one of the raffle prizes! I wonder? We could arrange some interesting exchange visits!!

To round off the evening, Dave and Chris led the final jam session; which was much enhanced by Phil's fine fiddling - we will always remember his 'internal reverse bow' renderings. You know - where he takes the hairy bit off the bow, slips the stick under the strings then re-assembles it with the hairy bit over them. If your brain's hurting at this point I'm sorry, but it sounded great!

I'm pretty new to this music and bluegrass is never really planned is it? That's the way the spirit prevails. Whilst the Commercial does not have the reverence of the Albert Hall, it nevertheless has its own intimate charm - if you are in a small room with 14 other musicians and an overspill audience of 'fans', then you really have to be friendly.

So, in summary, in such an atmosphere on such a night - it really was such a night - it definitely was the music that was 'smoking'!

David Brightmore, Rhyd Ddu, Snowdonia

Updated 23rd Jan 1999