BEER R&B FESTIVAL - OCTOBER
2006
This charming fishing village welcomed the Beer R&B Festival for the
ninth year. The festival created by Steppin’ Out Promotions, Jim and
Sheila Riley, packed in excellent blues from start to finish. The opening band were The Nigel Bagge band, which was a real treat for me as I seem to have
missed them before. They did not
disappoint and got the festival off to a brilliant start. The band was Nigel Bagge, guitar and vocals, Eddy Armer
on Harmonica and Mandolin, “Cheeky” Tunbridge, Bass
and Ed Spevock on Drums. They played “Crazy ‘bout An Automobile”, and John Fogerty’s
“110 In The Shade”, which had a nice country feel to
it with Eddy on mandolin and Nigel’s slide out in full force. Nigel is a superb
guitarist and has been influenced by all our old favourites;
the crowd loved it.
The headliners this year were my old friends Motel 6 though not in their
original lineup: missing the Hammond and replacing it with a new band member on
second lead guitar. This worked well but I did miss that amazing Hammond. However considering it was only the third gig
they have played in the new format you would never have known. The band’s
line-up this evening was: Dan Anderson, Guitar and Vocals, Grant Day, Guitar,
Chris Page, Drums and Laurie Higgins on Bass. Robben
Ford and Stevie Ray Vaughan were represented with “Rugged Road” being cleverly segued into “Cold Shot “.
We heard some Freddie King in “Tore Down” and Mel London’s “Sugar Sweet”, other classics such as “Chevrolet” and “Cross
Roads” all got an airing while “Voodoo Chile” had virtually the whole audience
dancing to round off a very successful first evening.
Following an excellent breakfast in our B&B, (you have to book accommodation early, as Beer gets fully booked up for this festival weekend) it was down to the bustling café on the beach to take in the sea air and views of the cliffs. On the way we stopped off in the church to look at the “Sea Harvest Festival” decorations and a glimpse of the first Wirlitzer organ brought into the UK – it’s behind the pulpit, which is half a boat! The locals really relish this weekend, and are extremely friendly and add to the ambience. Several of the musicians stay in the caravan park on the cliff top and venture down for a good old fry up on the beach. So there are always plenty of like minded people to chat to, discussing the previous evening and what is to come.
Saturday is a busy day. Dave “Sugarbeet” sponsored Cliff Gater
and Steve Kiraly an acoustic duo, who appeared at
lunchtime at the Social Club. This is a
very relaxing start to the musical day, with humorous interludes between
numbers. Both Steve and Cliff have
soulful blues voices, conjuring up sadness and happiness. Some notable numbers were “Dust My Broom” and
Hendrix’s “Little Wing” which played acoustically, was just lovely. “Pride and Joy” was covered by just about
everyone over the weekend. A harp and
guitar intro on Hendrix’s “Red House” was dedicated to Red House Roy, and we
ran a book on how many times it would be played over the weekend - we counted
four. This version featured the harp
more prominently than I have ever heard before and it really worked. They ended their three hour set with Howling
Wolf’s “Superstitious” and an encore of “Stormy Monday” with its lovely lilting
riff which builds and builds. The chilli and curry at £2.50 is excellent value. Whilst this was a chill out time for non
musicians, those budding guitarists could join in the master class hosted by Honiton based Tim Royce which was in the Mariners Hall, the
main venue.
The completely sold out evening got off to a rocking start with Jeff
Chapman’s Roosters. Jeff Chapman, Guitar and vocals, Pete Wright on Drums and Jim
Riley on Bass. They belted their way through the Chuck Berry songbook with
“Nadine”, “No Particular Place To Go”, and “No Money Down”. Classics such as “Peter Gunn”,
“Who Do You Love”, “Route 66” and “Louie Louie” all
had the dancers on their feet. However, the Dr Feelgood
numbers were the best with the drummer’s sticks cracking a good pace. Going out
with “Gloria” brought a rapturous applause and a chance for some real ale from
the bar in the interval.
The headliners were The Robin Bibi Band, with Hans Ferrao on Drums and
vocals, and as Robin commented beforehand, it will be a melodious gig: and it
was. Tony Marten on Bass produced a magnificent “Don’t Let Me Down” and “Switch
off the Night” was awesome as usual. The hall
was full with dancers by now and it was a sell out, with unfortunately, people
being turned away, whilst the rest of us enjoyed a fantastic evening.
With the sun shining and the sailing boats capsizing in the strong
onshore breeze, Sunday arrived. Blues in
Britain presented Tim Royce’s acoustic session in The Anchor, a charming
seaside pub, which always welcomes the free Sunday session. Tim has a gravely blues voice, and switches
between guitars with ease. His set list
is battered but his music is not. His
amusing banter between numbers adds to a very enjoyable session. Then it is the usual hike up to the Social Club
again for the ever popular Monster Jam.
The numerous musicians enjoy the living room jam atmosphere where anyone
is made very welcome. Cliff Gater entertained acoustically before Dave “Sugarbeet” joined the throng with his haunting electric
violin, with Red House Roy on drums.
Albert who hosts the jam gave it his all. This jam is one of the highlights of the
festival. However with the music ended
it was all back to the Anchor to sample the local food and a few more pints of
the local ale.
A good time was had by all and if you haven’t been to Beer before consider it as a little haven of paradise before the winter sets in. Next year’s festival will be even more special as it is the tenth anniversary and has already been booked for the 12th - 14th October 2007.
Helen Jones & Paul Stiles
Blues In Britain