Seasick Steve - Friday 30th September - Pryzm, Kingston

Brief review:  A Banquet Records event. I know absolutely none of Steve's material, but had seen him on Jools Holland's TV show a few times. It was actually quite enjoyable, although I don't know how much for the "hobo" image is an act or if there is truly a need for a piece of string to be the guitar strap. Well worth the low entrance fee.

Venue and View:  Front Right. Pretty busy, but room to breathe.

Setlist
Don't Know Why She Love Me But She Do
Put That in Your Pipe
Hobo Low
St. Louis Slim
Crash and Burn
How Do You Do
Treasures
Soul Food
Summertime Boy
Train Wreck
Bring It On
Blue Room
Thunderbird

Counterfeit Quo - Friday 23rd September - Conservative Clue, Belmont

Brief review:  Competent Quo tribute act who I'd not seen before who also included some "newer" material in their set. I enjoyed it, despite the crowd numbering less than 20. Personally, I don't see that the wigs add any value to the band whatsoever, but that is a personal choice. Very strange choice of venue for this type of show. I can only assume the people of Belmont are not really Quo fans or it needs a while for the music evenings to gain in popularity. Maybe, with hindsight, it wasn't the best idea to play on the weekend of the Quo Convention, thus losing much of your potential fanbase.

Venue and View:  Large rear room at the back of the club with low stage. Seated next to the dancefloor. Excellent view, good staff and cheap bar prices.

Creedence Clearwater Review - Friday 16th September - Boom Boom, Sutton

Brief review:  Excellent tribute band playing a mix of CCR and John Fogerty classics very well indeed. Must remember to wear a checked shirt next time! And hopefully they will get the bigger crowd that they deserve.

Venue and View:  Slightly right of centre standing, 10 yards from the stage, but you could basically stand where you wanted.

Toploader - Sunday 11th September - Feastyfest, Cheam

Brief review:  The Annual FeastyFest festival in Cheam Park. Amazingly they didn't run out of beer this year! Having only known one Toploader song (Dancing In The Moonlight), I thought they were quite pleasant and sensibly threw in some well known covers to keep the crowd engaged. Certainly I didn't see many leaving during their set which is always a good sign!

Venue and View:  Miles away on the hill in camping chairs! (photo excepted)

Setlist *
A Balance to All Things
Higher State
Roll With the Punches
Achilles Heel
Breathe
Only for a While
The Whole of the Moon 
Signs of Life
Turn It Around
Let the People Know
Dancing in the Moonlight 
+
Dancing in the Dark

* this setlist may not be 100% correct (it is taken from the next show they played), but was very similar. Please correct if you have the definitive version.

Chris Slade - Friday 9th September - New Cross Inn

Brief review:  Ex AC/DC drummer in one of my favourite pub venues. Loud and with a set list as eclectic as the audience. Chris has performed with Manfred Mann, Tom Jones and Gary Moore amongst several others. 2 vocalists were employed - one handled the AC/DC portion of the set and the other the quieter numbers. Very enjoyable.

Venue and View:  To the left of the stage, near the window. Grabbed some high stools

Setlist
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Big Gun
Joybringer
High Voltage
July Morning
Sin City
Parisienne Walkways
Back in Black
Vengeance
Hells Bells
Blinded By The Light
You Shook Me All Night Long
Delilah 
Comfortably Numb 
Kashmir 
Thunderstruck
The Razors Edge
Highway to Hell

Slim Jim Phantom - Thursday 8th September - O'Neills, Leytonstone

Brief review:  Off to Essex tonight and a bit off a pub crawl in Leytonstone - the undoubted highlight of which was The North Star with an excellent range of beers. Earlier, there was a very loud band on in Luna which highlighted the problem you get if one of the band is good (the lead guitarist), but the rest aren't (or at least don't know the songs). We grabbed the swiftest of halves whilst they murdered Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit".

Slim Jim had finished the large burger and chips we saw him eating when we picked up the tickets earlier in the evening and was playing the function room attached to the pub. In a 'T' Shirt and jeans, I had made nowhere near as much of an effort as most of the crowd in their rockabilly gear and fantastic hair styles.

The show was as you'd have hoped - lots of 50's/60's rocking covers and some Stray Cats classics. The always-excellent Darrell Higham was on lead guitar and there was impromptu guest spot from Jim Jones.  Marvellous!

Venue and View:  Front left on floor.

Quireboys - Saturday 3rd September - Forum, Kentish Town

Brief review: The much postponed "Orchestral Show", reduced to a single night from the 2 sold pre-Covid. Now Spike-less, this was always going to be a challenge for the band, but I think they came through it well. A varied set list with some rarely played favourites, the "Orchestra" turned out to be 4-5 (excellent) musicians on strings and wind sections. It worked well as a one off and it will be interesting to hear if the upcoming CD / DVD of the performance captures how well it came across in the room.

I do think the real challenge for the band going forward is how to grow their fan base - it must be hard for them to be profitable currently without outside interests.

Venue and View:  Front left on the floor. Very sparse, so lots of room!

Setlist
Gracie B
Roses & Rings
There She Goes Again
Mona Lisa Smiled
Hello
Blackwater
The Promise
Stubborn Kinda Heart
Late Nite Saturday Call
I Don't Love You Anymore
I Love This Dirty Town
Louder
This Is Rock 'n' Roll
Original Black Eyed Son
7 O'Clock
+
Sex Party