So…Bures Music Festival has been like a home to me for the last 3 years – In 2012 I played there with Hokie Joint, and was interviewed for BBC regional news. 2013 I performed with The Struck Bats (Cupsey , Tank and myself), which included a guest spot from JoJo Burgess, and a debut of 3 LaVendore Rogue tracks.
This year, it was the turn of LaVendore Rogue in its entirety. An hour of new material, warming the crowd up for Henry Padovani and The Pretty Things. Yes, The Pretty Things. You know, the band that were around when The Rolling Stones were first starting out, all those years ago.
To say I was excited about performing before them was an understatement.
Cupsey, on the other hand, was like a kid in a sweet shop. A great thing to witness!
We kicked of at 7:30pm for an hour. Having finally sorted our “festival” setlist out (which roughly translated means ‘let’s drop most of the miserable songs and allow people to enjoy themselves), we received a great reaction from the crowd. Many said it was the best performance we’d done during our 3 year stint at Bures Music Festival.
After missing the majority of Henry Padovani’s set due to clearing away our gear and stuffing our faces with free burgers and chilli, we settled in for The Pretty Things.
In all honesty, I had no idea what to expect. Would they be a group of has-beens who would be wheeled on and wheeled off? Nope. They still had it.
Dick Taylor was a force of nature, and Phil May still had all the moves.
The highlight of the evening for me was when we sat around drinking with them all after the gig, hearing Phil tell tales from Carnaby Street and Tin Pan Alley in the early 60s. Names flying everywhere – Eric Clapton this, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards that. Fantastic stuff.
I also got talking to Dick, who was playing the same light blue Hofner Verythin as I do. Great to meet another Hofner artist on the road and share our love of this great guitar manufacturer.
What a thoroughly nice bunch of chaps, and a wonderful evening to boot.
Thanks to Tom Moore, James Payze, Claire Ashby and Nigel Woodmason for the hospitality, and here’s to many more Bures Music Festivals!
