Sabre at the Jolly Naylor last night
Ironically, Pete was the first NWB person I met after becoming a member last year - Sabre were also the first backdrop I did, but it's taken me this long to finally go and see them!
It's the second time I've been to this venue (I saw 'Out of Town' there a few weeks ago), and it's a great little boozer with lots of real ales at very reasonable prices, and I got to meet Mary the landlady last night ('are you Alyerpal off NWB? My husband recognised you' - aah, the price of fame!).
The band set up in the back room, which is a good size,and it all kicked off at 9.30ish
Sabre are:
Mark - drums
Tony - lead guitar (mainly)
Bill - bass
Pirate Pete - guitar, harmonica, keyboards, cow bells, backing vocals.
They had pressganged Mark from 'Vankwish' to sing for them.
Okay, I know I've said it before, but great sound, well balanced. These guys certainly know how to play, and performed a mainly 'classic' rock set, with a couple of unexpected, but excellent songs thrown in. Tracks ranged from 'Comfortably Numb' to 'Paranoid' to 'Long Train Running' and 'Rocky Mountain Way'. They also did (to my delight) a cover of 'Don't fear the Reaper' by Blue Oyster Cult (I suspect from his tattoo that Tony is somewhat of a fan!), and it was the full album version, not the single edit.
Tony is the only lead guitar player i have ever seen who does not 'gurn' when he plays! Nowt wrong with it - you just expect pulled faces don't you?- but that didn't stop him playing some fantastic solos.
Mark at the back must be one of the hardest hitting drummers I've seen - he really clouts things! It's no wonder he doesn't mike his kit up! Still manged to get the dynamics in there though.
Bill is a solid bass player - nothing spectacularly fancy, but then, you don't need that from the bass. He also surprised us by dumping his bass and singing lead on 'Copperhead Road' by Steve Earle!
What can I say about Pete? This guy plays everything (including some lead parts). Keys on 'Copperhead Road', harmonica on 'Walking by Myself', cowbell on 'Don't Fear The Reaper' etc etc. Outstanding Contribution to a Band award I think.
Mark (Vankwish) is a first class front man. He has the vocal range and power to pull off anything thrown at him, and knows how to banter with the crowd aswell! Some of his comments had me in stitches!
The pub was reasonably full - there were probably 30 people in the back room, but there were more in the other rooms aswell, and a drift in and out of people. From the applause, I think they liked Sabre as much as me and my deputies (the usual suspects, Iain our kid, John, Andy and Greg) plus I deputised Dee and Dave for the night (which was an unexpected pleasure). There was plenty of dancing by the mid point of set two aswell.
We had intended to watch set one of Sabre and then move onto Old Isaacs for 'August', but once the boys hoisted the Jolly Roger and slipped the dock, there was no going back. We had to stick with them for the whole voyage, and very enjoyable it was too.
It may have taken me 18 months to see Sabre, but it won't be long before I walk the plank again.
Alyercan'tbelievehowmanyclichesIgotintherepal