PAST MASTERS

[neilbridges99]

Hello, i am a typical yorkshire man and went to see The Pastmasters last night the tickets were £10 each and i said OW MUCH, but it was worth every penny, had to scrape my pensioner piggybank though.They played for nearly 3 hours with a short interval for some vitamin pills and refreshments.How they can remember all those tunes i dont know.If i dont play a tune for 3 weeks i have forgotten it but not this bunch of very talented people.They started with a few Buddy Holly tunes it sounded good as i sat and watched.And then came the MOMENT they played there first Shadows instrumental Dave leaned on a high stool and Malc picked up his blonde Gibson accoustic and off they went.Oh the sound of that guitar it was so powerful clean and pure i could not take my eyes of him and i thought how lucky to have a guitar like that. I spoke to Malc after and he said Oh i have got 2 of them. The night was filled with truly wonderful sounds from 50s 60s 70s and more.They played a few Shadows classics to absolute perfection,.and it went on classic after classic Oh why oh why cant they write songs like that anymore they are so timeless.Oh well looking forwad to the next one. Thanks again for a truly memorable night. Neil

[Tony Szpala]

100% in agreement with Neil's comments. it was an excellent evening. I'd organised 16 tickets and everyone, without exception, thoroughly enjoyed it. The playing and vocals of each and every member of the band was outstsanding and in my opinion there is nowhere, absolutely nowhere, where you can be entertained at this level for only £10-00 a person.
If you have not seen Past Masters before I would unreservedly recommend you do so - next appearance, at The Acorn Theatre, Worksop, is in May 2011.
Right, anorak on - Dave, what was the guitar you were using on the Beatles numbers you were playing? I thought it was a Gibson SG?? Very different sound to our favourite strats - but highly effective for the Beatles music.

Best Wishes

Tony

[dave robinson]

Thanks Neil I'm glad you enjoyed it, although I saw you in the audience we didn't get chance to have a chat. Do me a favour and keep telling Mal about that acoustic guitar, I believe that it is the key to 'that sound' on those numbers.

You're right Tony it is a Gibson SG Standard, I've resisted these guitars for far too long and I recently decided I wanted an SG and a Les Paul having watched Les Paul on the 'Chasing Sound' DVD that I requested for Christmas as well as a 2005 Paul McCartney show where I spotted Rusty Anderson wih an SG, prompting me to sell all my budget copy guitars and raise some cash which, enabled me to get the two Gibsons' of which I speak at very reasonable prices.(for those interested Les Paul 50's Tribute P-90 from Thomann £630)

I enjoyed the show last night apart from the heat which was making me do some strange things like losing concentration, totally losing the arrangement on Good, Bad and the Ugly, as well as mis-reading the set list.(it felt like doing a gig fully clothed in a sauna) I didn't bring our big fans in because I imagined that it wouldn't be that hot - I cetrainly misjudged that one.

The lads and I sincerely thank everyone for the support that you continue to give to these shows and we hope to see you all again soon. We are raising the bar for the next show and going eight piece, bringing in Daniel Martin and Adrian Fountain, which will allow us to include the 'Shaowaddywaddy' bit and get out the crapes and crepes out for a few numbers, as well as some exciting new stuff that we have lined up.

[dave.creasey]

Excellent gig Dave, very enjoyable as usual. thanks very much. Oh, and next time, play the Les Paul, i love strat's as much as the next man, but in our "shadows envioronment" it's very refreshing to see someting else. A lot of people forget that there are other great guitars out there!!

Dave

[dave robinson]

Thanks Dave it was good to see you there. I will be using my new Les paul as well as the SG , Strat, Gretsch etc etc on our 'Heroes & Legends' gig in May.

[petercreasey]

Oh and don't forget to play the fool as well!!!! The quips between the band are great and some folks can take things too seriously

Take care and thanks

[dave robinson]

Oh and don't forget to play the fool as well!!!! The quips between the band are great and some folks can take things too seriously

Take care and thanks

No problem Peter, with our lot that's part and parcel of the gig, we've known each other too many years to take things too seriously and I have witnessed too many gigs in the last 12 years in these circles that lack fun and enjoyment on the part of bands and audiences alike. I'm happier now than I've ever been, going back to a playing a variety of music that the masses enjoy and sadly having to come to terms with the fact that 80% of potential punters don't really care for our beloved instrumental music - Against my better judgement I have wasted the last few years doing something that not many people give a toss about - but hey ho, onward and upwards.

[AlanMcKillop]

So what are you playing at Newcastle?

[neil2726]

Dave,
Fully agree with you. I have seen too many "Shadows" bands, who may be very proficient in what they do - but lack any stage presence or audience interaction. Other bands with less musical skills have gone down a bomb because they "entertain" the audience. An old saying "its not what you do , its how you do it!"

[dave robinson]

So what are you playing at Newcastle?

Nice musics - seemples !