August Bank Holiday Barbeque
The Penny Black, Stockton
Following the success of the May Bank Holiday barbeque we held another on Saturday August 29th. This time we felt we were sure to have good weather so we arrived bright and early armed with a gazebo and the intention of holding the whole event outside in the carpark! The wind was quite strong so after securing the gazebo as best we could we started the days entertainment!
First up we had Christian & Georgia - a young duet whom we have had play at a couple of events now and still remain very impressed with the youngsters. They do a range of songs - some self-penned and some much loved classics.
They played a half hour set to the Penny Black the majority of who were now outside on the decking and enjoying the sunshine and the Barbeque. Christian & Georgia are very well known in their local area of Weardale but have only recently ventured further out into the north East. Already they are causing quite a stir and have picked up quite a following. Often seen at the numerous Open Acoustic nights around the area and many other events this duo are all set to become regulars on the circuit, all we can say is that we are very glad they have ventured out and Weardales loss is most definately Teessides gain!
Mick Merryweather - back by popular demand was our next artist to perform. This time we were in for a treat as he was joined for the latter half of his set from some of the former members of the Band of Mojo's who accompanied Mick on the drums and guitar. An absolutely top class act which is unfortunately not disbanded but no longer gigging at present due to other commitments. The Band of Mojo's were and still are a very popular, accomplished local band and one which we hope to see playing regularly again very soon.
The next artist is one of our most favourite acts, purely because of the originality and quirkiness of his original material, Carl Green, aka Head of Light Entertainment is a pure delight to watch, he is entertaining, thought provoking and all round good fun! His songs have a meaning and depth to them that we have seldom encountered in any other act - in fact one word to describe Carl is unique. He was an absolute riot and everybody loved the show he put on this Saturday afternoon. Opening his set by thanking the audience for coming to The Penny Black instead of the Leeds Festival and complimenting them on thier good choice he burst into life with a set containing someof his older material which we hadn't heard for a while and some of his newer material which will be released on a CD within the next couple of months. Carl finished his set with the epic Vicious, Delicious, Capricious - a song all about sex and chocolate accompanied only by two plastic pigs (Moonpig and Arthur) who provided the "backing vocals".
Ian Swinburne finished off our acoustic section and although he had told me he really didn't want to follow Carl he had absolutely nothing to worry about. Ian put on a superb performance - as he always does - and although the weather was not co-operating he kept the audience with him throughout his set. I was delighted when he played a cover of The Eels That I didn't Break Your Heart, a band I have not often heard anyone attempt to cover before. That pretty much sums Ian up, he is a true professional and not only attempts to break the mould of a cover artist, he succeeds and surpasses and is always a delight to watch perform. Unfortunately the clouds had come over and the sun was hiding, the Gazebo was about to take off and we decided to move indoors for the remaining part of our day. After a rush job of dismantling the PA and moving it inside we started with the second session of the afternoon - The Bands.
As we found that the barbeque we did we were rushed at the end to get off and allow the night-time band time to set up we had reduced the number this time with the intent that they could all have a longer slot and time to get on and off. The best laid plans as usual went by the wayside and we were running way behind schedule! However this didn't spoil anything at all.
Penny Black - yes thats the name of the band - played a half hour set to a very full Penny Black and kicked off the latter part of the entertainment. We have had this band play several times now and they always go down a storm. The next gig we have lined up for them is MFC Riverside Rocks on Tuesday September 29th when Middlesbrough play at home against Leicester City. Definately a band worth going to see so watch out for them locally.
The Princes of Monte Carlo took to the stage next and what a blinding show they put on. The Princes are one of the best bands Tees-side has to offer at the moment and one which we always enjoy having at our events. The rocked the Penny Black with a set consisting of their own funky rock tunes and some brilliant cover songs. The first ones we had play at MFC they have had quite a bit of publicity of late and their diary for next year is filling up rapidly. We would urge any venue who puts on bands to book these guys, they do not only a full set of original material but also a full set of classic covers and always go down a storm to a full house whenever they play. The pub was now absolutely bouncing and the Princes left the stage to a thunderous applause to make room for our third band.
Freeze Sucker! were next to play. Now, I find it hard to describe this band as they are completely different to the many Cover Bands we have out there at the moment. Fairly new to the circuit these guys cover not only the classic rock songs that are more commonly played they also do a range of more unlikely tunes which are very well received by the audience. Lead singer Gary is born front man, he is brilliant and completely engages his audience with his light banter, dry sense of humour and his absolutely crazy antics on stage. By now The Penny Black was on its feet dancing away to Freeze Sucker! and it was still only 6.30! Another band who deserve to be more popular in the local circuit and one who we are sure, as they become more well known, will be a much sought after and popular cover band locally and in the North East.
Once we finally managed to get Freeze Sucker offstage - they would have played all night and the audience would have let them! Radio Dynamics made their return to the Penny Black. They played at the last barbeque and were requested again for this one as their performance last time was so brilliant. Radio Dynamics are an absolutely fantastic, band. Most of their material is original with a couple of covers thrown in for good measure. The guys were definately up for it today and they played a 40 minute set to a packed out Penny Black and left the stage to shouts for more! These guys are one of the bands who we are watching with much interest, they played at SIRF this year and were possibly the best local band we saw there - in our opinion of course. They have all the ingredients to go all the way and we would urge anybody to go and see them play live. Radio Dynamics marked the end of our slot for today and we made room for the evenings band DVD a local cover band who play regularly at many venues in the North East and who continued the entertainment through until 11pm.
Hats off to The Penny Black for doing these barbeques, its events such as these that give our local artists the chance to be seen and you out there the chance to see them! We are already planning a bigger event for next year at the Penny Black which we will tell you more about on our News page once we have the details.
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First up we had Christian & Georgia - a young duet whom we have had play at a couple of events now and still remain very impressed with the youngsters. They do a range of songs - some self-penned and some much loved classics. They played a half hour set to the Penny Black the majority of who were now outside on the decking and enjoying the sunshine and the Barbeque. Christian & Georgia are very well known in their local area of Weardale but have only recently ventured further out into the north East. Already they are causing quite a stir and have picked up quite a following. Often seen at the numerous Open Acoustic nights around the area and many other events this duo are all set to become regulars on the circuit, all we can say is that we are very glad they have ventured out and Weardales loss is most definately Teessides gain!Mick Merryweather - back by popular demand was our next artist to perform. This time we were in for a treat as he was joined for the latter half of his set from some of the former members of the Band of Mojo's who accompanied Mick on the drums and guitar. An absolutely top class act which is unfortunately not disbanded but no longer gigging at present due to other commitments. The Band of Mojo's were and still are a very popular, accomplished local band and one which we hope to see playing regularly again very soon.The next artist is one of our most favourite acts, purely because of the originality and quirkiness of his original material, Carl Green, aka Head of Light Entertainment is a pure delight to watch, he is entertaining, thought provoking and all round good fun! His songs have a meaning and depth to them that we have seldom encountered in any other act - in fact one word to describe Carl is unique. He was an absolute riot and everybody loved the show he put on this Saturday afternoon. Opening his set by thanking the audience for coming to The Penny Black instead of the Leeds Festival and complimenting them on thier good choice he burst into life with a set containing someof his older material which we hadn't heard for a while and some of his newer material which will be released on a CD within the next couple of months. Carl finished his set with the epic Vicious, Delicious, Capricious - a song all about sex and chocolate accompanied only by two plastic pigs (Moonpig and Arthur) who provided the "backing vocals".Ian Swinburne finished off our acoustic section and although he had told me he really didn't want to follow Carl he had absolutely nothing to worry about. Ian put on a superb performance - as he always does - and although the weather was not co-operating he kept the audience with him throughout his set. I was delighted when he played a cover of The Eels That I didn't Break Your Heart, a band I have not often heard anyone attempt to cover before. That pretty much sums Ian up, he is a true professional and not only attempts to break the mould of a cover artist, he succeeds and surpasses and is always a delight to watch perform. Unfortunately the clouds had come over and the sun was hiding, the Gazebo was about to take off and we decided to move indoors for the remaining part of our day. After a rush job of dismantling the PA and moving it inside we started with the second session of the afternoon - The Bands.Hats off to The Penny Black for doing these barbeques, its events such as these that give our local artists the chance to be seen and you out there the chance to see them! We are already planning a bigger event for next year at the Penny Black which we will tell you more about on our News page once we have the details.