NINE BELOW ZERO (+ DAN BURNETT!) December 20th 2008

So here we are nine years into the RipleyBlues story and looking forward to the tenth appearance of the band who started it all for us – Nine Below Zero. As usual I have a slight worry beforehand as to how it can reach the heights of previous years and if the gig will be an anti-climax. Well for the answer go to www.ninebelowzero.com and read Mark Feltham’s blog where he describes it as “One of our great shows of this year….Fantastic”.

I am sure our enthusiastic audience (Brendan says the crowd get better every year) considered it one of the great RipleyBlues shows of this or any other year. The pace never let up for two hours and though I won’t bore you with a list of numbers from the superbly constructed set I will mention one I have not heard from NBZ before – Shake Your Money Maker played on Dennis’s b****rd guitar rescued from the loft.

The evening started with an excellent solo slot from local keyboard player/vocalist Dan Burnett and the surprise of the evening was when Dennis invited Dan on stage to join the band for a few numbers from their “Hats Off” album. It worked brilliantly and anyone would have thought Dan had played with the band all year rather than for the first time. Get the date in your diary for next year – Saturday December 19th!

Andy Herrington

IAN PARKER November 29th 2008 Ripley Town Hall

Saturday 29 Nov 08 saw the return of Ripley favourite Ian Parker.

Ian, appearing with his band after his last appearance as a joint venture with Aynsley Lister, is a very versatile performer. With minimal communication between songs ( "This one's not about me" ), Ian let the music do the talking. And what music.

This time around saw a good balance of new songs from his recent live album along with past favourites from his "Inside" album, notably the crowd pleaser "She Cries". The band are a tight outfit held together by 'Morg' Morgan on keyboards allowing Ian to show his varied talents.

With an encore incorporating a truly fantastic version of Hendrix's "Little Wing", Ian Parker is great value for money who gives, to quote one of his own songs, "Everything and More".

Mark Ashworth

PAUL LAMB & THE KINGSNAKES October 11th 2008 Ripley Town Hall

I was a little apprehensive leading up to this gig as ticket sales were slow and I was unsure how a harmonica-led band would be received at Ripley. Things looked more encouraging on the day with a late burst of ticket sales giving us an audience of over 100 including some keen PL & KS fans who spent over £200 on merchandise before the gig had even started.

The band currently comprise Paul on harmonica and vocals, his son, Ryan Lamb, on guitar, Rod Demick on bass and vocals, Sonny Below on drums and Chad Strenz on vocals and rhythm guitar. Paul’s prowess is well documented but it has to be said that the rest of the band are similarly talented and I was particularly taken by Ryan’s guitar playing and the distinctive vocals of Chad Strenz.

This band are true to “the blues” and perform a wide variety of material with energy and passion bringing the audience to their feet and to the dance floor during the second set. It was good to see the merchandise stand busy again post gig with band members happy to chat with the enthusiastic audience.

Andy Herrington

DR FEELGOOD + TANTRUM September 20th 2008 Ripley Town Hall

The last time Dr Feelgood played our club was 2003 prior to the refurbishment of the “Hotel de Ville” and I really don’t know why it has taken us so long to get them back. The band has the same line-up as five years ago, indeed the “newcomer”, vocalist Robert Kane, has now been with the band for nine years. Despite all the financial doom and gloom the gig attracted a near capacity audience who were treated to the usual high-energy performance and all the hits.

Opening the night the Lancashire band Tantrum were making their first appearance at Ripley and went down so well they sold out of CD’s. Although with an average age of only 20 Tantrum have been together for four years and are making their mark on the blues circuit. The word I would use to describe them is “invigorating”.

Apologies to those who got wet when the air-conditioning unit decided to discharge all the water it had collected on the audience below!

Andy Herrington

JON CLEARY & THE ABSOLUTE MONSTER GENTLEMEN at RIPLEY JULY 18th 2008

Friday July 18th was a day I'd been looking forward to for months. I was looking at the Ripley Blues website at upcoming events, and to my surprise (and delight), I saw that Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen had been booked to play. You see, I've been a huge fan of Jon Cleary for years, and as a piano player myself, have always looked up to him for inspiration.

The gig comprised of two sets, with no support act, and the first set included 'Unnecessarily Mercenary', 'Sometimes I wonder', and Professor Longhair's 'Tipitina' - all of which demonstrated how unbelievably tight and funky these guys are.

After a short interval (Giving Jon just enough time to get a pint of bitter, roll a cigarette, and get talked at by me), the band cranked up with the second helping. By this time, the band was firing on all cylinders, and the crowd were loving it. Songs such as 'Second Line', 'Moonburn', and 'Help Me Somebody' belted out from the stage and the performance concluded with 'When You Get Back', and the title track of their new live album 'Mo Hippa'.

The sheer brilliance of this band was mind-blowing, and all of the guys making it look so effortless too. Jon's soulful vocals and funky New Orleans piano (and occasional cowbell bashing) at the front of it all was the icing on the cake. I'd never had the chance to see this band live before, as they play mostly in the USA, but it was certainly one of the best performances I've ever seen.

If you get the chance to catch a performance by Jon and the guys, don't pass it up, and I'll bet you a fiver you'll be tapping your feet at the very least.

Dan Burnett

GUY TORTORA BAND and CONNIE LUSH & BLUES SHOUTER at RIPLEY JULY 5th 2008

Two bands, different styles but one thing in common – sheer class! First up The Guy Tortora Band…… something different on the blues circuit. I have all three of Guy’s albums and have been very impressed by the quality of his song-writing as well as his interpretation of other artists’ material. His lyrics are topical, relevant and often humorous – if Bob Dylan had released Guy’s latest CD “Living on Credit” it would have been hailed as a massive return to form and Guy deserves more credit for his work. Live in front of an appreciative audience Guy and his talented band displayed the variety of his original work together with excellent covers of numbers by Blind Willie Johnson, JJ Cale, Rick Estrin etc. As an encore the band concluded with a cracking version of Honky Tonk Women.

At the changeover I heard Connie say to GT’s band that they were “too good” and it did seem that Blues Shouter had a mountain to climb following the first band’s performance but boy how they took the challenge. When I heard last year that John and Carl had left the band to take “proper jobs” I was concerned that the band may not be as good as on previous visits to Ripley – on the contrary this was the best gig I have ever seen from Connie and Co. Afterward I said to her “Bloody Hell, Connie, you get better!” and she admitted that the new band members were inspiring her to greater things. I won’t bore you with a long list of songs performed but would make special mention of a number we had heard earlier from Guy, “Nobody’s Fault But Mine”. Connie sang it with only the accompaniment of her drummer, and it was absolutely captivating!

Andy Herrington

The Blues Band at Ripley Town Hall - 16th May 2008

Ripley Town Hall takes on a different feel when it is packed and tonight, the atmosphere was buzzing when what looked like a team of bespectacled middle managers took the stage under the guise of the Blues Band. The band’s extensive fan base was fully represented in the hall ranging from genteel middle aged ladies to Blues Band uber fans with a history of 25 years of gigs defined in the anticipation etched in their faces. They generated a long and loud welcome which was well rewarded by a cracking start with classics from the likes of Charlie Patton, Big Boy Crudup and couple from the highly regarded ‘Brother Ray’ album. The old Ann Peebles hit, ‘I Can’t Stand The Rain’ was a particularly good, although every other song was in the same class.

The first half of the set was mainly acoustic and really showcased the sheer excellence of Dave Kelly’s playing. (The Yorkshire newspapers’ for sale columns are from today packed with ‘one careful owner’ guitars as half the audience arrived at the sobering realisation that people like Dave Kelly play the same instrument as we do, but the music made seems to belong to a different planet).

The second half was electric. Both the instruments and the quality of the performance! Quite a few songs which invited audience participation, quite a few standards, and more from Ray Charles. The crowd loved it, but no more than the Blues Band. It is infectious. Even after all these years it is plain that each member of the band loves being up there, especially Tom McGuiness, who didn’t stop smiling for the whole evening. His playing was stunning at times and the interaction of Paul Jones’ harp with the rest was smooth as silk and never overstated.

This was a really enjoyable gig and I look forward to rest of the year’s programme. Earlier that day I had an e mail to tell me that tickets for Queen and Paul Rogers were on sale at four times the price of this gig. Would I rather watch them in a soulless arena, or come to Ripley and watch the Blues Band for four nights. No contest!

Kevin Wharton

April 19th 2008 THE STUMBLE and Chantel McGregor at Ripley

I had heard good things about Chantel McGregor and I know Andy rates her highly, but I wasn't prepared for this. About half way through the first number my jaw dropped and I must have stood open mouthed in amazement for the whole (too short) set. When you hear a band's set list contains Jethro Tull, Cream and Hendrix, you expect middle aged hippies not a bright young thing with a mass of blonde curls and a cheeky grin. The Chantel McGregor band brought these songs to life and Chantel's guitar skills are simply breathtaking, she has a pure natural talent and a real feel for the music. The band were tight, well rehearsed and unpretentious - and credit to the sound guys as well, the mix and balance were perfect. I don't think I have been so overwhelmed and impressed by a first listen to a band for many a year. If you haven't seen this band yet go out of your way to find them!

Another band I hadn't seen before, The Stumble were a very different experience, a six piece RnB band with a warm and full sound they had the front of the hall dancing all night. It was also nice to see a good turnout tonight, it makes all the difference to the atmosphere (or is that the Theakstons?). I was particularly impressed with the interplay between the two guitarists and the way they took turns about at playing slide (oh yes, he's the best slide player, oh no, he is....) and they both created quite different sounds and emotions. The overall richness of their Chicago blues sound was aided by the addition of some soulful sax playing and we also heard this in surround sound, when the sax man walked through the crowd and back onto the stage without missing a beat (seems to be getting popular this walkabout business!). The rhythm section were spot on and the excellent singer and front man gave it the full soul treatment. A very slick and professional show from a band who obviously enjoy their job and pass that enjoyment on to their audience. Well worth another look I think! All in all, another great night out. No disrespect to The Stumble (who were fantastic) but for me the night belonged to Chantel and I will be looking out for this band in future.

Colin Tait

April 6th 2008 GREEN MAC at Coopers

If you want to see some snow go to a Green Mac gig, for the second year running there was white stuff about for their visit to Guiseley. Fortunately it didn’t affect the turnout with a large and enthusiastic audience enjoying a cracking night’s entertainment.

The current line-up for Green Mac is Dusty Miller, guitar and vocals, Steve Harrop, guitar and vocals, Craig Jackson on bass and Peter Tallent, drums and raffle tickets. Steve had just joined the band for their Coopers gig last year and it was good to see how he has settled in with some excellent interplay between the two guitars.

The show started with a couple of Fleetwood Mac’s less well known numbers and then the band played a number of Elmore James songs featuring Steve on slide guitar. The first half finished with the classics,” Man of the World” and “Black Magic Woman” and we could only admire how Dusty recreates both the guitar sound and vocals of Peter Green.

Come the interval it was time for drummer, Pete, to get to work with the raffle tickets – they are trying to create a fund to cover transport costs for their tour of Holland in September and Pete tempted the audience with the chance to win some chocolate “left over from the Easter before last”. The second half started with “Strangers Blues” and “Need Your Love so Bad” followed by other favourites too numerous to mention. There was even a version of “Oh Well” with the lyrics changed to state that “Andy wasn’t pretty and he wasn’t paying the band enough” – thanks Dusty!

Andy Herrington

March 15th SEAN WEBSTER BAND & KYLA BROX BAND at Ripley

On getting home from the gig I switched on the TV and there was Kyla’s near namesake “Kylie”. Having just witnessed Kyla’s tremendous vocal performance it struck me how insignificant a singer Kylie is, the show was all about presentation and little about talent. Frustrating then that she can attract audiences of ten of thousands and we struggled to get seventy or so to Ripley for two great bands at £10/£12 per ticket.

Those that were there witnessed a cracking performance from both bands. First on stage were the Sean Webster band consisting of Sean on guitar and vocals, Tom Latham on bass and our old friend, Dave Raeburn, on drums. Dave is now the record holder for playing the venue with the most number of different bands – he has previously graced the stage with The Nimmo Brothers and with Danny Bryant’s Redeyeband. The band were straight into one of my favourites, Ike Turner’s “Matchbox” followed by “Here me Now” the title track of Sean’s new EP. The rest of the set consisted of excellent versions of some classic numbers mingled with the band’s original material. My wife, Lynne, and her friend, Judith, were both well impressed with this band – always a good sign!

The last time Kyla played Ripley it was in our upstairs room accompanied by Danny Blomeley on guitar and Tony Curtis on saxophone. Tonight Danny switched to bass and they were joined by Marshall Gill on guitar and Phil Considine on drums. As well as her outstanding vocals Kyla plays the flute and, along with partner, Danny, writes a lot of their material including a couple of my favourites performed on the night “Coming Home” and “Too Young to Care”. Her version of Nina Simone’s “Do I Move You” is also outstanding. All in all a great evening with two of the best young bands on the circuit.

Andy Herrington

February 23rd & 24th 2008 THE HAMSTERS - Coopers, Guiseley & Ripley Blues

Before the weekend I had decided to complete this section of our gig history by simply saying The Hamsters - see last year's review. Now having seen the gigs I feel motivated to add a few more lines to all that has been said about the band in the past. Attendance was a bit down on previous years, maybe people thought, like me, that they had heard it all before. Well the absentees missed out as it was not only the usual high quality set but it contained a good amount of new material some of which they were playing live for the first time - Freddie King's Me And My Guitar was particularly well received.

To add to the entertainment Slim had some decent (or indecent!) new jokes and there was the usual party piece of a trip into the audience which is always well received. So, even if you think you are "hamstered-out" go see the band again when you get the chance - they are the ultimate professionals.

Andy Herrington

Other history: 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999 (in the beginning...)