Holy moly it's Holy Holy, the Bowie related supergroup featuring the Dame's original drummer boy, Woody Woodmansey, his producer Mr Tony Visconti and...lead me into temptation...Heaven 17's very one Glenn Gregory (the only bloke I can imagine filling Bowie's platform boots). This was the first of three gigs in three nights in one of my favourite cities in the world, Brizzle, just an hour and a half away by train from my home town, and it was, as you'd expect a cracker. Featuring some deep cuts from Bowie's early 70's prime as well as the classics it was a joyful but occasionally poignant romp through some of the finest moments in proper pop.
At 82 Visconti's a steady performer these days but at a mere 76 Woody's quite possibly the most energetic drummer on planet earth (or any other planet for the matter) and you get the impression that he's releasing all of the pent up post Bowie years angst that came from what was a pretty brutal dismissal (Bowie famously announced that the Spiders From Mars were disbanding live onstage in 1973). Allegedly this is the last ever Holy Holy tour but I wouldn't bet against further shows if Woody has anything to do with it.
The next night we went to The Canteen to catch one of the best live bands I've ever seen, The Makings, an 8 piece soul jazz collective that could get a marble statue shaking its ass. I'm not a natural dancer but on the two occasions I've been to see them I've ended up a sweaty mess at the end of the night (in retrospect wearing a waistcoat and tweed tie wasn't the wisest choice) and if there's any justice in this world The Makings will be headlining Glastonbury in 2027. Trust me Emily Eavis, I guarantee they'd go down a storm and they'll be much better value for money than Harry Styles. How about it eh?
Sunday night was a little less sweaty but funkier than we were expecting. The usual Sunday night act at The Duke wasn't there this week but his place was taken by The Patsy Gamble Quartet who played a jukebox worth of classic soul and jazz numbers capping off the weekend in sax-sational fashion.
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