Crickettes Wow Porthcawl Pavilion Audience

[Arpeggio]

Just to kick this thread off. Pat Terrett can be justifiably proud (& believe me he is a hard - but fair - taskmaster) of ace guitarist Zoe McCulloch and all members of the fantastic all - girl instrumental group the Crickettes (take a bow Roxy, Rachel and Nia) after they put on a superb show in Porthcawl last Saturday. I will write at greater length shortly, but the girls were all brilliant. Just 4 months ago they were playing 7 or 8 numbers whilst supporting the Fabulous Shadows. Come Pipeline in April they were up to c. 15 numbers. In the nine weeks since then, they have learned up and routined a further 18 instrumentals. When you consider that all of the members have either full - time jobs or are in full - time education - that's no mean feat. Moreover - they haven't just 'learned' the songs. No....all polished to a superb level of performance. Lots of sheer hard work allied to great individual talent - and it showed!!!! Way to go girls!!! Full report to follow very soon.

Bests...Rob

[noelford]

Yes, it was a smashing evening and, as Rob says, the girls have worked hard and reaped the rewards. We already know what a talented guitarist Zoe is, but each one of the girls is, individually, a fine musician, who would be perfectly at home in any professional band, and together they produce a nice tight sound.

And the bonus was, of course, meeting Rob, in the unusual role of photographer's assistant! Nice to talk to you 'live' Rob.

[Arpeggio]

Good to meet you too Noel. Photographic assistant to David Hawley is far too grand a title. I was just carrying his bag and tripod occasionally!!!!

Rob

[Arpeggio]

Yes.....the Crickettes certainly put on a fabulous show at Porthcawl on Saturday, June 15th. As I said in my previous post. In February they were playing 7 numbers in public. Come the Pipeline Convention (March 31st), that number had risen to 15. Come Pothcawl - they had learned up 33 numbers - playing 31 on the night. An astonishing achievement in such a short space of time. It was amazing to think that the girls were performing literally half of the numbers in public for the very first time that night. Their sheer professionalism and enthusiasm shone through. I was present during their afternoon rehearsal / soundcheck. Pat Terrett worked tirelessly with the sound engineers and other theatre staff. He spent a lot of time working on presentation and lighting - all of which were very effective - thanks to his unstinting efforts and attention to detail. He also spent a not inconsiderable amount of time ensuring that the overall sound was as 'spot on' as it possibly could be. The Crickettes were very patient throughout, taking on board many suggestions / directions. Pat also operates a lot of the equipment off to the side of the stage. He's very much a 'hands on' manager - who will never settle for second best.

Back to the music. The show was cleverly subtitled In And Out Of The Shadows. Thus - the first half featured lots of Shadows / Hank Marvin instros, whilst the second half comprised numbers from a diverse variety of artists including Dick Dale, the Ventures, the Spotnicks, Duane Eddy, Jet & Tony etc., etc.

SET LIST (1): Shadoogie '83 / Apache / Wonderful Land / Dance On! / The Rise & Fall Of Flingel Bunt / Mustang / The Savage / The Young Ones / Gonzales / Nivram / Diamonds / It Doesn't Matter Anymore / Sacha / This Ole House / Dance With The Devil

SET LIST (2) Wipeout / Misirlou / Last Date / Amapola / Karelia / Other Side Of The Moon / Theme For Something Really Important / Telstar / Jessica / WDR / Runaway / Pipeline / Tequila / Secret Agent Man / Hawaii 5 - 0 / Ghost Riders In The Sky

I won't detail every number - because each and every one was delivered with style and panache. Top drawer performances throughout. Highlights for me? Nia's superb rhythm work throughout - I particularly loved her relentless strumming in "Telstar" and "The Savage". Rachel is proving to be a real asset on bass. She learned up "Nivram" especially and came up with a sylish version (paying homage to Jet & yet also having something of her own interpretation too) played with forceful energy. Great! Roxy was also tremendous throughout, but really excelled herself on an outstanding version of Cozy Powell's "Dance With The Devil" (very fitting as the late 'drum meister' was a huge Jet Harris & Tony Meehan fan). Superb!! Zoe? Well....what can you say. Simply outstanding playing. I loved it all - "Sacha", "Jessica", "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" - lots of tricky runs and fills (plus fantastic solos) all seemingly played with carefree abandon. Very deceptive - a combination of great natural ability and hours of dedicated practice. Way to go Zoe!! Way to go Crickettes!! For those of you who weren't there....they will be appearing at Shadowsfix in August. If you haven't booked your tickets yet.....do it!! You won't regret seeing & hearing the fantastic Crickettes. Meanwhile - they will be supporting Creedence Clearwater Revival in early August (Rock Across The Channel).

Rob

[wstagner]

Luv the set list.

[Andy Stace]

they are also booked to appear at the Secombe Theatre in Sutton (Surrey) on Saturday 4th January 2014. A long way off I know, but tickets are already available!

Andy