The phrase "what the heck was that?" is usually humorously ascribed to the Mayor of Hiroshima. The crowd reluctantly leaving the Tap and Spile in Hexham on Monday used it and several variants about the Happy Cats last outing prior to Christmas. It is very difficult to explain why some events are good and sometimes they are out of this world and you can rarely predict which it will be. I suppose that when talented musicians with a crop of excellent songs come together with a crowd hell bent on fun and enjoyment the result is bound to be somewhat explosive. Max Boyce used to utter breathlessly, "I was there," with pride after a towering display by the magnificent Welsh rugby team of the mid '70s. Well I can say of the Tap and Spile gig, "We were there." I don't know how many but you couldn't have got another in to the pub on this memorable night.   From the harp intro of the first number, Marty Craggs song Drifting Through, there were folk standing or dancing on chairs waving their arms in the air and singing along to every song. The songs need a mention because the set is a mix of numbers from the Happy Cats CD "Follow the Moon" and some great covers of classic songs that have been chosen with the skill and care of a Harrods buyer. This gives something for everyone and by the end the seat dancers ranged in age from 18 - OAP. This is obviously a "home fixture" for the band as we all knew the words to the new material and the under 30s can only have heard some of the older stuff such as Walk Away Renee, The Last Time and Help played by this amazing trio but could still sing along.   By the time the end was reached we were all exhausted but Fred the landlord was as keen as any to see the band continue. Their first encore was the title track, Follow the Moon. The song is autobiographical and charts the earliest days of the band. They have in it a priceless commodity - one of those great songs to send the crowd home happy. Fairport Convention have Meet on the Ledge, Lindisfarne Clear White Light and the Moody Blues Ride My See-saw. The line "good friends we have they're all wishing us well" could have been written for this crowd because I have seldom witnessed such a warm crowd response to a band who had played their hearts out with all of the considerable talent they could muster. When one of them said that we should enjoy this because Christmas and New Years Eve will be nothing in comparison you had to agree with the sentiment. In the words of another Happy Cats own composition, "It doesn't come any better than this!"  By way of contrast, the gig the previous evening was held in one of those soulless  monstrosities so loved by Hertfordshire new town designers in the post war period. We weren't sure whether we had found the right place as there were no posters and nothing to suggest that a gig would take place. The regulars, almost exclusively male, were augmented by several fans who were also at the Hexham gig the following evening. It was clear that the gig was something of an intrusion. There were even a few good-natured moans when the TV, showing the Deportivo match in the Spanish La Liga, was turned off.  The band had to display some good old-fashioned professionalism during a first half of backs turned towards them. It wasn't until the opening of the second half with Dirty Old Town that they got the crowd singing. One or two of the diehards had left. They began Elvis's I Can't Help Falling in Love but didn't begin singing until one Jimmy had returned from the loo. By the time they got to Brown Eyed Girl there were even some dancers on the floor. This was definitely an "away fixture" but the Happy Cats had triumphed again. In the process they produced some exquisite harmonies in the Little Feat number, Willin', that were on a par with the Eagles, Crosby Stills and Nash and the Caffreys. There is no finer tribute.  We were grateful to be able to take in two Happy Cats gigs on this visit to the Northeast. Like Dustanburgh Castle and Warkworth Beach they could appear in one of those books on the Best Kept Secrets in Northumberland. Make the most of it because their following and their fame is beginning to spread.