The Happy Cats Concert Review

The market town of Allendale is over 1000 feet above sea level right in the middle of thousands of acres of barren moor land with some of the most spectacular scenery in the country. The market square hasn’t changed much over the years and the whole place at first sight has been largely untouched by the new millennium. In other areas can be found evidence of a bygone age as pubs and inns are converted into apartments or demolished to make way for houses or electrical superstores. Not so Allendale. The centre is dominated by several watering holes full of rustic characters and dodgy tank tops during the day. At night the area heaves with youngsters getting in the mood for a trip to the clubs of Hexham or Newcastle, with locals of all ages heading for their favourite spot or spending a little time in each. There are the visitors from surrounding villages or those from further afield sampling the delights of the area or arriving to take in some live music.

We of course fell into the last category having arrived to take in the Happy Cats maiden Allendale gig. They should have been there last year but Marty Craggs’ vicious throat infection led to a cancellation. The wait for those gradually filling the Allendale Inn was worth it. The place was packed at the end by singers and dancers who had had a wonderful evening and who were all in various stages of happy intoxication, with sore hands and throats from clapping and singing along to Marty, Brian Duffy and Les Dodds.

The first set was a typical mixture of songs from their growing repertoire of self-penned music and carefully chosen classics. Although this was virgin territory for the band it was soon business as usual as those who had come to see the “bloke who used to be in Lindisfarne” became converts and sales of their Follow The Moon CD were brisk during the interval - one chap handed over his money as soon as it was mentioned a couple of tracks earlier. Tracks in this set included Shania’s Still The One and a superb rendition of Tom Waites’ "Looking For the Heart Of Saturday Night". Indeed if Tom is still looking he should have been in Allendale and had his quest fulfilled. If what you want is great music in a party atmosphere then take in a gig by the Happy Cats. You won’t be disappointed.