Police Dog Hogan, Glasshouse, Gateshead

 It had been well over a decade since we first saw PDH.  There had been tickets bought since, but going unsiued due to force majeure (heavy snow in one case, covid in another).  So this was eagerly anticipated, and I wonderted what changes there would have been.  

A different line up for a start, with only three of the original group still there, and acting as the front men of the band.  James Studholme (guitar and lead vocals), Tim Dowling (banjo, electric guitar, backing vocals and occasional lead vocalist) and Eddie Bishop (fiddle and mandolin, and backing vocals) have been there since the beginning, and have developed over the years into slick entertainers, as well as much improved in the musicianship.  They have been joined by Shahen Galichian on keyboards and accordion, Don Bowen on bass guitar and Alistair Hamer on drums, with all of this trio also adding to the vocals.

I recalled, from that long ago gig, that PDH were competent musicians, who played within their limits, wrote excellent songs with memorable lyrics, and were good entertainers.  Much of that description still applies.  But they are even more entertaining, with some slick comedy built into the act.  The musical abilites have improved with time, so that their limits are higher than before.  Galichian adds another level, as the standout talent of the line up.  And the songs lyrics remain of a high standard.  Fummy, sad, ruminative, with clever structures and rhymes.  The melodies are decent too.

The style is derive from country, bluegrass and folk, with a West Country twist here and there.  A very Englsih form of Ameicana.  Studholme sings well.  Not the greatest voice technically, but distinctive, characterful, with imaginative phrasing.  Dowling impressed with his songs too.  

There was a good mix of the familiar, including the nearest they've had to 'hits' (Shitty White Wine and West Country Boy), and newer material.  Regular changes in tempo and sentiment and themes kept it all feeling fresh.  From the whimsical, like returning to Devon on the A303, to the melancholy, with reflections of the death of fathers.

I hope it isn't another decade before I see them again.

Brian Bilston and Henry Normal, Assembly Rooms

 Henry Normal in the first half, Bilston in the second.  A strong start when Normal came on to the Thurderbirds theme - he's very much of my generation!

Poetry and stories and jokes from Normal, in his own understated style.  Mostly very funny, but with occasional moments of thoughtfulness or sadness, or even anger about the horrors of the world.  And love.  His style is generally whimsical, full of clever puns.but there's some steel lying under the covers.

Bilston is more acerbic in his language, with well direxcted poetic gems against the monsters of today, like Trump and Johnson and the ridiculous Musk.  He's stronger on wordplay and structure and double meanings than Normal, with, at times, an intentionally cerebral approach, challenging his audience.  Well structured set that moved on rapidly across the wonderful and the bizarre.

A very enjoyable, and at times thought proviking, two hours.

The Scaff (A Play, a Pie and a Pint), Traverse

 Personal politics on the playground and the pitch. The Scaff features four aspiring school footballers, and social misfits, in a story of insults, jealousy, revenge and catharsis. Liam (Benjamin Keachie) has overheard star striker Coco (Craig McLean) calling him a Scaff - the worst possible insult. Egged on by mates Jamie (Bailey Newsome) and Frankie (Stuart Edgar), he targets his tormentor with a brutal tackle, and an injury that will keep Coco on the sidelines for months to come. Inevitably he is ostracised, not only by the whole school, but by his two supposed friends as well. And, being from a poor one-parent family, Liam is easy to put down.

But schoolroom relationships are complex, and malleable, and things don't stay that way for long. Over fifty minutes we learn the real reason for Coco's use of the hated insult, why Frankie and Jamie bend with the wind, and if Liam can rehabilitate himself. And maybe even be the hero of the hour?

While there are elements of social commentary sitting in there, this script is all about the laughs, and the play is extremely funny. The odd moment of pathos, and the feel of a Boy's Own storyline, are thrown in, but what you leave with is a memory of high energy, slick interactions, audience involvement, and some very funny lines. All four performers give a good account of themselves, as much a team on stage as on the ball.

A very enjoyable, if lightweight, end to the PPP season.