KEEP MUSIC LIVE

Saturday, April 14, 2007

BLUES, BURNLEY AND BUSES!

The annual pilgrimage to the Burnley Blues Festival last Saturday, could have been titled “Timetables from Hell,” and appeared on various TV schedules, between re-runs of “Last of the Summer Wine” and “Celebrity wallpaper stripper”. Rendezvousing at Bramley Town End at 10-15am and arriving at Bradford Bus station at 10-55, a quick jump on to the Keighley bound bus, saw us hit Keighley Bus station at mid-day, only to find a change of time-table resulted in a 40 minute delay (spent reading Record Collector and NME in the station newsagents!!!), finally reaching Burnley at 2-00, and after a hastily scoffed pork-pie, we arrived at the bar of the Coach and Horses just as the Eric Olthwaite Gang finished their first number. The band typified everything good and wholesome connected with “The Blues,” in a performance which had the pub bouncing. At 3-45 a dash across the road, side-stepping the grocery-laden 4 x 4s to get to the Sparrow Bar, for the usual consultation with Doc Brown and his Groovecats, a visit to the Doc is always memorable, and a tonic for any musical soul. Ten past four and the lovely pub was packed to the oak-beamed ceiling in homage, to the band who never fail to bring the feel-good factor to any venue, with the sun shining outside, the world was a wonderful place. After a classic two-hour set, the good Doc put his guitar away and it was time to move on. A quieter dual-carriage way, enabled a stroll back to the Coach and Horses for an hour from the Rob Livesey Band, which finished the day off perfectly. Having been on a liquid diet! all day, it was decided the time was right for a mega-double-treble-whammy big Mac meal, before heading to the bus station at 7-50. Arriving home at 10-30 and basking in a Blues glow, while drinking a toast to the three classic bands on show, in two “proper” music pubs and a well run festival, pity about the buses!!!!