Ride On at The Cricketers last night
First of all - Websters bitter at £1.80 a pint - result!
I've played The Cricketers a couple of times with different groups, so the venue was no surprise - it's an easy load in from the fromt with loads of room for parking vehicles and a large carpark round the side.
Me n RKid n Gee LTD (Greg) were the first ones in apart from the band! I said hello to Chris then left them to setting up and sound checking.
By the time they went on at 9.45 the place had filled up quite nicely.
I finally met Charlie & Norma (what a lovely couple!) and Rockin' Ken was in (although I didn't get to talk to him); I'd guess there were 30 - 40 in all.
Ride On are:
Chris on bas and vox
Paul on guitar
Rob on guitar and vox
Dave on drums
Rick on lead vox
And very bloody good they are! They play Bon Scott era AC/DC as it should be - the guitar sound was spot on, with a big fat bass rumbling behind and Dave co-ordinating it all. Paul and Rob both take on lead breaks and played brilliantly. Chris is actually struggling with a tendon in his right hand, but you wouldn't have known! Rick is a superb vocalist, and his voice really suits the material. He is also a consumate showman, playing the whole room, getting the audience involved and table walking (and bar walking!).
A fantastic 50 min first set was followed by a second over an hour long - classic tracks one after the other - 'If You Want Blood', 'Problem Child', 'Sin City', the inevitable 'Whole Lotta Rosie' and more. The encore, ofcourse, was 'Let There Be Rock' and there certainly had been! The crowd absolutely lapped it up and joined in singing and air guitaring.
The only thing I could pick on was the sound - it lacked a bit in clarity and the drums were somewhat lost in the mix at times. Had a chat with Rob about it at half time and he admitted that they were struggling a bit with th PA, but also, I think the very square, bare room didn't help, and maybe the overall volume was too loud, but hey, it's Rock!
Most of the usual NWB suspects were there - Rick and Ann, Dee & Dave, Mr and Mrs Meerkat (for the second set) and Ian Wild (bass player in a dodgy indie covers band!) Rick had a great time with his new camera taking pictures of the floor!
We raised a glass to our missing comrades - Viking (sadly fallen in battle) and Tex (at some dinner do with Steve 'interesting' Davis!)
All in all, a bloody good night and long may Ride On.....er....ride on?
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