Duane Eddy

[George Geddes]

Well, Ray, you did indeed get slightly better value than we did in Glasgow (not that I'm complaining, mind...) as we didn't get the vocals or RH. We got Cannonball as the first encore, too.

It was indeed Paul Corry on sax, and very good he was, but you have transposed the bass player and drummer. I am also sure we had Brian (or Bryan) Day on guitar rather than Shez Sheridan. He certainly had a Liffen-esque selection of guitars...

Great band, complementing Duane's playing and sound perfectly.

George

[JimN]

Reporting in from Bexhill... Free parking! But do not pass GO...

[RayL]

He certainly had a Liffen-esque selection of guitars...
George

You mean he had Burns, Baldwin, Hayman, Shergold, Alden . . . . . . ?

Must have been a different fella, then!

Ray

[George Geddes]

Ray

Not exactly... A Mosrite-a-like, and a weird vaguely Tele (which looking at the headstock might have been a Kay...) plus a lap steel and a fairly normal acoustic.

George
PS: re travel. Bloke standing next to me at the Oran Mor gig had come down from Aberdeen by 'bus (posh Citylink Gold, with free food and tea/coffee).

[RayL]

George,

Ray

Not exactly... A Mosrite-a-like, and a weird vaguely Tele (which looking at the headstock might have been a Kay...) plus a lap steel and a fairly normal acoustic.
George

Well, on Sunday Shez Sheridan certainly had a sunburst acoustic, a Mosrite-a-like, a lap steel and a dark-wine coloured guitar that Colin (two seats from me) though was an Epiphone plus a Brian-Setzer-style Gretsch 6120 which he swapped with Richard Hawley at one point.

Once Jim has seen the show we shall of course expect a detailed listing of all of these guitars, including string guages and action height.

Our Sunday evening was also enlivened by the multiple appearances of guitar tech Gordon White, seemingly embarassed by Duane's name-checking as he scurried back and forth with Gretsches and Danos, including of course the famous 'tuned to F' guitar, just brought out for Peter Gunn!

Ray

[JimN]

At Bexhill, Duane used two examples of his current orange Gretsch signature guitar, plus two Fender amps which I at first thought were Twins, but later came to suspect were Vibrasonics. That's a Twin combo with a 15" speaker. If it were the piggy-back style it would be a Showman. Duane also used the Danelectro six-string bass for two or three numbers, including Because They're Young, which I'd waited fifty-one years to hear him play live.

Shez Sheridan, the guitarist in the band, played several guitars, but in the balcony at the De La Warr Pavilion*, I was too far back to identify them all precisely (had I known how far it was, I'd have taken a pair of binoculars). I think there was an Eastwood Sidejack (the Mosrite clone mentioned by George, and my ID of it is based on the LP/335-style Kluson keystone-type tuner keys). There was also what looked like one of those Peavey rockabilly semis from a few years ago, in black or a similar very dark colour, fitted with a vibrato tailpiece. The lap-steel guitar looked fairly new (indeed, the whole band's gear looked easily replaceable and decidedly non-vintage). There are currently several companies offering lap-steels, including Gretsch. The acoustic guitar used for rhythm by Shez - and also on a couple of numbers by the saxophonist - was unusual - a square-shouldered dreadnought of the Martin type, but finished in sunburst. That might not sound unusual, but it certainly is. You instinctively expect a sunburst jumbo to be slope-shouldered, á la Gibson J45. The bassist used what I take to be a Hofner Violin Bass throughout the show.

The support artiste, Nell Bryden, accompanied herself on what at a glance looked like a Gibson J200, though the impression lasted only a second or so. This was a non-cutaway Gibson archtop, and from a distance looked as though it could have been an L-7 (but not the better-known L-7 or L-5 because of the fairly plain tailpiece.The guitar was in fantastic condition, and Nell obligingly offered the information that it is a Gibson L-12 from the 1940s. She played it very much as she might have played a dreadnought though... What I want to know is how it was amplified. It was audible over the PA but was not fitted with a magnetic pickup (the usual way of amplifying an archtop). It isn't easy fitting a Fishman or similar to an archtop - full marks to whoever managed it.

I'm not going to review the show - let's just say that I was blown away by the sound and the professionalism of everyone concerned, especially the Sheffield-based backing band who normally work with Richard Hawley (who was not present).

Travel: It took about 1:45 to drive to Bexhill and I parked, free of charge, in the street outside the Pavilion. Just try getting from here to London in the same time and at the same sort of cost, especially by train (for two people). Or just try parking for less than a tenner at the very-PC South Bank Centre, which has had all of my money that it is ever going to get. If my car isn't welcome, then neither is my cash.

JN

[PS: * I'd never seen the De La Warr Pavilion before, even though I drove through the town years ago. It wasn't quite how it looks in the pictures, but still an impressive modernistic building, built in the early 1930s and typical in many ways of south coast holiday resorts. I am pleased to have visited it at last.

[tt2005]

I took the wife and two friends to see Duane Eddy at the Hippodrome Great Yarmouth were we live on saturday night
just could not believe we were 25ft away from him.He was brilliant worth while going to see if his down your way.

[JimN]

Just heard that my son (who lives down that way) has a ticket for Duane's show at the Cheese and Grain in Frome tomorrow.

I'd have gone to that show rather than Bexhill (and stayed the night in Somerset) - but I heard that it is a standing-only venue...

JN

[Arpeggio]

Saw Duane last night at Basingstoke's Anvil Theatre. Absolutely superb! If anything, he was even better than when I first saw him in 2010. His own sound and playing were simply outstanding & the band were on top form - really rocking out but also subtly understated at times. Just brilliant. Standing ovations notwithstanding, Duane was as laconic, affable, modest and laid back as ever. He lets his guitar do the talking, which it does most eloquently. Believe it or not I still haven't bought or heard "Road Trip" yet!! That meant that the tracks played from it were completely new to me. Again, they were superb. I was particualrly impressed by "Bleaklow Air" and "Attack Of The Duckbilled Platypus". OK. OK. I'll get "Road Trip" real soon! Duane name - checked 'Whispering' Bob Harris who was in the audience. As well as the brilliant playing (the sax man blowing up a storm throughout) an unusual highlight (noticed by many in the audience) was provided by one of the stage crew. Yes....off to the side of the stage in semi - darkness (& obvously thinking that he couldn't be seen) one gentlemen was genuinely 'freaking out' and dancing wildly (very good actually) throughout "Peter Gunn"! Another slightly revised set list:

Detour / Movin' 'n' Groovin' / Yep! /The Lonely One / Shazam! / Bleaklow Air* / Ramrod / 3.30 Blues / 40 Miles Of Bad Road / The Attack Of The Duck Billed Platypus* / Because They're Young / First Love, First Tears / Road Trip* / Curveball* / Cannonball / Rebel Rouser / Peter Gunn /(encore) Mexborough Ferry Boat Halt* / (encore) Hard Times

Bests....Rob

PS: A shame that the girl singers weren't there for "Dance With The Guitar Man" etc as the Anvil is a very large, major venue. Oh well.....the pics posted from gigs that they are on look great!

[Pol]

[quote="JimN"]

The support artiste, Nell Bryden, accompanied herself on what at a glance looked like a Gibson J200, though the impression lasted only a second or so. This was a non-cutaway Gibson archtop, and from a distance looked as though it could have been an L-7 (but not the better-known L-7 or L-5 because of the fairly plain tailpiece.The guitar was in fantastic condition, and Nell obligingly offered the information that it is a Gibson L-12 from the 1940s. She played it very much as she might have played a dreadnought though... What I want to know is how it was amplified. It was audible over the PA but was not fitted with a magnetic pickup (the usual way of amplifying an archtop). It isn't easy fitting a Fishman or similar to an archtop - full marks to whoever managed it..[/quote


http://www.fishman.com/products/view/ar ... tar-pickup with installation guide pdf.
Close-ups of Nell`s Gibson L-12 reveals that it`s most likely a Fishman.
Pol