The Stag’s Head, Butterknowle
Friday, 7th September 2001

Reviewed by Judith Watson

Well – what a night!!  Marty had told us that when they played at the Stag’s Head the first time the place had been packed; it was a wild night, in fact the landlady had asked them if they’d stay longer and play some more if she paid them more money – this sounded great, so we decided to go along tonight.  As we knew it was going to be so crowded, and I, with my rickety back, wanted to be able to sit down, we wanted to arrive early – we decided 8pm should be OK.  We arrived outside the pub and could hear the sound checks going on – great, the lads were already there – but when we went in, they were the only ones!  Never mind, we could get a good seat easily.  So we sat and chatted with them for a while – it transpired there was something on in the nearby village, so maybe everyone was there – anyway, by 9 o clock, when they were due to start, we were still the only people in the pub, and we were starting to lay bets on whether or not they would do a concert for the four of us, who probably know their songs as well as they do!

Gradually, however, people started to arrive in the bar.  Then, at about 9.20, we heard something draw up outside, and the cavalry had arrived – a minibus of 10 people who had come out from Durham, especially for the concert!  The show could go on, with a respectable number of people in the audience – just!  It quickly got underway, with a similar set list to previous concerts, although there was an impromptu variation in the middle, when Les snapped a guitar string, and Brian played a tune on the accordion, I think, then he and Marty did The Water of Tyne, which we haven’t heard since their first concert at The Grand Hotel in Tynemouth.  Hope it’s back to stay!  I think they played something else impromptu, too, but I can’t remember what.

When Je Suis Desolé started 2 people started dancing at the back – Marty encouraged them to come to the front, which they didn’t at first, but soon couldn’t resist it, and proceeded to do some wonderful dancing, which I think was Irish, but I’m no expert.  It certainly looked good, and far too energetic for me to even think about! 

During the second half, we were all were getting slightly more boisterous and we were all dancing, some pretty wildly.  I have to thank the Happy Cats sincerely – this was probably the first time Trevor has been dancing in about 10 years, so I’m very grateful – you should be pretty impressed with yourselves!  Meet Me on the Corner was where it came to a climax, and someone bumped into the brand new speaker and lights that the band have just invested in – I’ve never seen anyone move as quickly as Les did to stop it smashing to the ground!  He managed, and no damage was done, and the concert continued with no further accidents.  As usual, Brown Eyed Girl was in the set, and it reminded me that I’d heard it on the radio last week, and thought that I much prefer the Happy Cats’ version to Van Morrison’s, which I used to love!

Liz managed to win herself a pint – after Dirty Old Town, one of the audience came to the mike – Steve, I think – and offered a pint to anyone who could name the writer of the song – which she could.  Shame she won, tho’, because she was driving and couldn’t manage another pint of soda water, so Norman and I managed to finish the beer between us – thanks Steve!

All in all, as I said at the beginning, what a night!  A small, but very appreciative audience – I hope the lads felt it worked out OK, because we all did.  I’m looking forward to hearing an extension to the repertoire of songs over the next few weeks, now that holidays are over and they’ve got more time for rehearsals – and I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a CD in time for Christmas!  I enjoyed meeting the gang from Durham, too – I’m sure we’ll meet up with you somewhere else in the future!