Nag's Head, High Wycombe

What a blast, a great way to finish off.  Some friends who saw us at Maryport (loooonnnnngggg drive from High Wycombe), and others who saw us at the Limelight and the Bullingdon, showed up at Nags Head.  It was pretty hot (as in 90 degrees) inside the club, but the music was fantastic.

The house band pumped out a funky version of Crossroads and a driving Rock Me Baby, usually a couple of overplayed chestnuts.  But with the quality of the players, it was a pleasure to hear.  Jim Maving on guitar showed how versatile he could be with the slide along with regular solos, and drummer Sam Kelly kept the rhythm section on their toes with off beats and sudden accents, but never lost the groove.

We got up and played "Sam the Bluzman", "Whiskey Bottom Road", and ended with "Death Letter".  The crowd had a lot of musicians, so their enthusiastic response was very gratifying.  Our agent, Derek White (an excellent player with Larry Miller and his own well known group, "Storm Warning") got up and did a few numbers.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to play with him this time, which would have been a lot of fun.  BTW, Storm Warning's new CD is #16 on the amazon.co.uk blues charts as of today - check it out.

Nancy Hampton (sister of our saxist Mike Snyder and significant other of our bassist Mike Porter) got up to sing three numbers, so I had the pleasure of backing her up as well as playing with Jim Maving.  Our drummer Guy sat in with another group of jammers, and everybody had a good time.

Then we all went back to Derek's house, cooked up some food and opened some beer and wine, and had an impromptu jam until about 2 am.  Maybe it went longer, but I punked out by 2...

So, we're getting last minute packing done, printing boarding passes, finding places to put the beer and wine so we can drink it at the airport before we go through the checkpoint (well, maybe not.)

It's been a real adventure, and we'd like to publicly thank Derek and Ali White for their unending generosity and hospitality, Chris Sharley for his amazing support, and our friends who came to see us at the shows.  The guys in the band have been stunned by the reception we've gotten - and can't wait to come back. Also, a huge thanks to Marshall Amplifiers for lending us the incredible Marshall 210c (guitar combo amp) and the bass amp MBB40h (and 4x10” cabinet) for our tour.

We'll get the photos up when we come home, because there just isn't time right now.  Check back, if you like!

Hope Tavern, Lincolnshire

We got to sleep until 9am!  Whoo-hoo!  Got a quick breakfast, and we all shuttled off the Lincolnshire.

Have I mentioned how incredibly beautiful the English countryside is?  While the drives have been pretty long, the scenery is just amazing.  Yeah, we're driving on the wrong side of the road (sorry, had to throw that in) but you're so wrapped up in these beautiful vistas you don't even notice it.

We got the Hope Tavern about 1:30, just in time to catch the "Sunday Carvery".  That's a buffet of beef, pork and lamb (all fresh) with vegetables and some incredible sauces, plus Yorkshire Pudding (an empty pastry shell you can fill with gravy or whatever.)  So, we ate like pigs, had some of the great local brew, and were pleasantly surprised to learn we were going to play outside.  We were worried because the tavern was a bit small to fit the whole band into, plus we would have to watch the volume very carefully.  Now, we could set up in this truck (like a Showmobile), and just play out.

The beer garden filled up, and we had a great time.  After Maryport, this was a completely no pressure gig!  We had Chris Sharley sit in for a couple of numbers, and just had fun.  Plus, we got to play "Raining Up In Harlem", a slow blues we haven't had time to do this tour that has a fun routine in the middle and the end.

The audience made us do two encores (not like we minded!) and bought a bunch of merchandise, which we really appreciated.  I was pretty shot, so Joanne, Dianée, Eric and I got into the van and headed back to London.  All the others went across the road to the home of a great couple named John and Sally who offered drinks, food, and a spontaneous acoustic jam broke out!

So, the tour is winding down.  We still have a guest appearance at the Nag's Head, but Al (trombone) caught the plane back to Boston this morning and Eric (trumpet) and Dianée head back to NY tomorrow, then off to Las Vegas.  The rest of us are going back Wednesday evening.  One more post after Nag's Head, and I'll finally get to post some pictures later today!