Helsby Happenings
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By Chris Haggett 
SEVERAL GIGS, ETC., have been held at The Horse and Jockey and
around. The room was pretty full of the usual crowd, with not many ‘outsiders’ like us present. Stuart finished his bit early and Jack took the ‘stage’ (allotted area of floor). He was joined by Stuart and set off with a few instrumentals which were rapturously received, of course. After all, he plays banjo! Salt Creek had some very nice up-the-neck inversions, while in Salty Dog Blues Jack sang several ‘new’ verses like “Thought I just saw Dolly back there / It was two old men without any hair” and “When I was young and had no sense / I relieved myself on a ’lectric fence!” and others of equally dubious artistic merit(!) Around here The Tennessee Waltz was played in strict tempo - a couple were actually moved to dance cheek by cheek! Fireball Mail followed - the song played as a tune, then the ubiquitous Bill Cheetham. Jack dispensed all these with expert ease and the audience really showed their appreciation. Many say ‘One banjo is too many’ but at Helsby it’s a case of ‘There aren’t enough banjos in the whole world!’ so, after a few more pieces, Stuart swapped his guitar for a second banjo. Jack asked for requests and they ended up playing Foggy Mt.Breakdown, Dear Old Dixie and, of course, they weren’t allowed to get away without playing Duelling Banjos. Jack also sang some songs, including the unlikely-named Ugly Girl Song - dangerous ground, that! And when he announced he was going to sing I Can’t get Over You (If you don’t get out from under him) I was ready for the door... luckily there seemed to be no feminists in the room. After playing Jack circulated and chatted freely, something that was much appreciated, and set up his stall. | Write to Jack | Web site |
BRYN NEXT PUT ON Lilly of the West This is a four-piece band self-styled “the only four bluegrass musicians in Bulgaria.” The band, formed two and a half years ago, comprises Rossen Hristov (banjo/dobro), Rayko Pepelanov (mandolin/guitar), Tvetso Vlaikov (electric bass guitar/vocals) and front-girl Lilly Drumeva (acoustic guitar/vocals) . Chris Haggett, Warrington, writes: “Overall it was a very competent performance. Lilly hasn’t the strongest of voices but it has a plaintiff appeal which was heard to good effect on numbers such as Gillian Welch’s Orphan Girl and Gordon Lightfoot’s Early Morning Rain. Gretchen Peters’ If Wishes Were Voices and Robin & Linda Williams’ Any were enjoyable. She handles all the introductions in very good English with a winsome personality and attractive demeanour. “The high tenor voice of Tvetso Vlaikov is a great asset; his lead vocals on Lonesome Pine and Now It Belongs To You being particularly impressive. The simple guitar backing on this last song, together with Lilly’s harmonising, was one of the highlights of the evening. “The band’s well balanced repertoire included standards such as Shenandoah Valley Breakdown and Blue Moon Of Kentucky as well as lesser known material and several original songs written by Lilly. "Bluegrass purists might cavil at the choice of some of the material, at the use of an electric bass and the electric pick-up on Lilly’s acoustic guitar. And some might argue that the dobro is not a traditional bluegrass instrument. But this was a very enjoyable night’s entertainment from a most unusual source."
Enter Chris Moreton... Bryn and Bev Williams both held their functions on the same weekend - Bev the RochEdale Festival and Bryn his Free Helsby Picking Weekend. As it happens the two functions have an almost mutually exclusive following - few who went to either would have gone to the other. But The Rainy City played at both, as did Chris Moreton.
Chris commandeers Jean’s new Lebeda D18 copy Chris held a very good Sunday morning guitar workshop at RochEdale Then in the evening of 6th June he played a gig at The Netherton Hall in Frodsham. The solo performance went extremely well with Chris playing a good selection of instrumentals, including Lyme Rock, Under the Double Eagle, and his own composition Butt of Lewis, all expertly executed. After his ‘end-to-end Doc Watson medley’ - Bill Cheetham, Salt Creek and June Apple - he challenged the audience to name them the tunes, but the title of the 3rd had everyone guessing! And Chris’ arrangement of Mozart’s Turkish Rondo (played on Jean's new Lebada D18 copy) amazed many who had never seen or heard anything like it! Chris accompanied himself on several songs, including Whiskey Before Breakfast, Mule Skinner Blues (very cracker, that one!) and the talky fiddle number The Devil Went Down To Georgia. Then Chris was joined by Stuart (guitar) and Jon Hulme (banjo) to play a goodly assortment including Blackberry Blossom. As an encore Chris sang, solo, a medley of Hank Williams songs, which went down a bomb. An extremely pleasant evening! Chris Moreton: Tel: 01291-673849 | Web pages |
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