Horns of plenty

Last night, to continue our ongoing 'go to the pub gigs' theme, myself, East and Big Andy journeyed to The Horns in Watford to see Eddie and the Hot Rods. I was last in The Horns 3 or so years ago as a member of Dave Finnegan's Commitments- we went there for a drink before playing a corporate show at The Coliseum round the corner- and it's been on my 'must go to a gig there' list ever since. It's an excellent venue, made all the more so by the rock memorabilia that adorns the walls, although East was somewhat suspicious of an autographed David Bowie album (if I recall correctly his comment was along the lines of 'he signed that one in the dark') and I for one wouldn't put a Buddy Holly signature out on display... but let's face it, any venue that's showing a Laurel & Hardy film on all the T.V.'s in the bar when we arrive must be a good one mustn't it?

Opening with 'Teenage Depression' the Hot Rods sounded even better than when I saw them at The 100 Club last January. I always thought that Barrie Masters was one of the best of the punk/new wave singers and an absolutely brilliant frontman- I can recall seeing him cartwheeling across the stage before climbing up the P.A. system on more than one occasion- and if he's slowed down a bit since those far off days his voice is still sounding as good as ever. They played a fair few new songs but us oldies got what we wanted too with 'Do Anything You Wanna Do' sounding like the anthem that we all remember it to be and 'Life On The Line' and 'The Power and the Glory' not far behind. On a personal note it was great to hear 'I Might Be Lying' in the encores which finished with a suitably breathless 'Get Out Of Denver'. Great stuff all round.

Afterwards I managed to grab a quick word with guitarist Richard Holgarth who I first met 20 or so years ago when he was the soundman at The Square in Harlow, one if The Price's then-regular gig venues and which, incredibly, he's about to become the owner of! Among the current crop of touring bands there'll be room for what he called the 'grown-up groups', including the likes of Wilko Johnson, The Hamsters and, yes indeed, The Price. Excellent news- I'd better call the lads then... when I mentioned to him that I've just bought myself a Gibson SG he replied that he's now got 5 of them. Top man.

http://www.thehornswatford.co.uk/

http://www.eddieandthehotrods.com/