With the hall suitably decked out to create a party atmosphere and a happy hour to oil the wheels, things were really rocking last Friday. Six local acts split between acoustic and electric stages resulted in virtually non-stop live music from 8.30 until late. First up on the acoustic stage was ex-Red Diesel frontman, Alan Bridges, with a suitably rousing set that included Monkey Business and Spook Blues. First band on the electric stage was Pat Grover's Blue Zeros who arrived minus a guitarist and bassman, but Alan Morgan, of Justice Done, courageously stepped into the bass breach and performed superbly. Catch the full band at the Queen's Hall again in late February when they will be supporting American bluesman, Brian Kramer. Back to the acoustic stage for my favourite local duo, Ella Guru. Unfortunately, the gremlins were waiting for them and snipped a string on one guitar and detuned the other. After a quick retune, Richie and Arlene, soldiered on with a great first set which included Chevrolet and a couple of Lucinda Williams' numbers, Concrete and Barbed Wire. Next up were Mortal Remains who opened with Carl Perkins's Blue Suede Shoes and continued in similar vein. This gave the old rock and rollers a chance to show the youngsters how it used to be done. They finished their set with an instrumental version of Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb with some awesome lap steel guitar playing from Judy Jones. Back to the acoustic stage for a second set from Ella Guru which included Muddy Waters' 'I Can't Be Satisfied' and 'When the Levee Breaks'. No gremlins this time! You can hear more of them in April when they will be opening for Albert Lee. A slight delay before all of Fred Herring appeared on the main stage as Bruce had to change his sound engineer's hat for his bassman's hat. A high octane set followed which included several self penned numbers. The opening number Mexico, Dead Man Walking and Cabido at the end. A return to the acoustic stage for Alan's final set for which he switched to his tin can bodied guitar made by Bristol luthier, Johnny Kincaid. A really sweet sounding instrument which we first heard last month when Alan opened for the Catfish Keith gig. He switched back to his normal acoustic for his final number, Cream's 'Sunshine of Your Love'. Final band of the evening were R&B supremos, Justice Done. Simon and the band gave their usual dynamic performance complete with dancing girls and finished their set bang on time at midnight. They came back on for some encores with Charlie (Fred Herrings) valiantly joining in on vocals. All the other guitarists had packed up their kit so the anticipated jam didn't happen. Maybe next time. The evening ran very smoothly much to the relief of Charlie and Mr. Fox who were sharing MC, stage management and lighting duties as well as playing in their respective bands. One of the audience was impressed enough to suggest that they might like to take on the railways. No thank you! A big thank you from the Queen's Hall trustees to all the musicians (who gave their services for free) and the volunteers who helped to run the event. Also to everyone who came out to enjoy and support the Hootenannie which raised several hundred pounds towards improving the sound and lighting systems. Maybe this should become an annual event?

The Silver Fox