Tag: longcroft

REVIEW – Wakeman & Son @ The Corn Exchange, Devizes – Saturday 21st February 2026

Yes! Wakemans’ Journey To The Centre of Devizes!

by Andy Fawthrop

Rumours are swirling round that D-Town is about to launch a bid to be named the UK Town of Culture, and you have to think that we have to be in with a chance. Let’s face it – any competition that doesn’t use the state of the local roads as one of its yardsticks has to be worth entering….

And, as if by magic, up pops an event that, once again, proves that we’re punching above our weight.  We’ve already highlighted here in Devizine some of the amazing stuff that’s coming up over the coming months that will put us in with a shout, but last night at the Corn Exchange just went to prove what we can do here in our little town if we put our mind to it.

Despite relatively little advertising of the event, over 400 people snapped up tickets to see the return of rock legend Rick Wakeman to the stage last night, in a one-off “warm-up” gig for his forthcoming US tour, this time accompanied by son Oliver.  I guess it was a case of “If You Knew, You Knew”, and the event was a complete sell-out from weeks ago.  The room was so packed that the sound guys had to set up shop in the hall’s kitchen area and to work their magic through the hatch.  It was a bit tight in there, but we were all friends, so that didn’t matter one little bit.

The Wakemans are no strangers to this particular stage.  Rick appeared here a couple of years back with his outfit KGB (another cracking night that was), and his other son Adam has twice appeared with his band Jazz Sabbath (also highly recommended).  Looks like Longcroft Productions have got the inside track with the Wakeman family.

Rickman senior breezed onto the stage, belying his 76 years, and proceeded to wow the room with his first piece on the grand piano. He was shortly followed by elder son Oliver, and the two keyboard wizards then proceeded to deliver a two-hour plus show of absolutely stunning musicianship.  Moving easily between the five different keyboards on stage, the two men played a wide range of pieces including both relatively recent compositions, as well a goodly smattering of block-busters from the huge back catalogue.  And Rick told us that as a “warm-up” it was chance for them to experiment a little.  “You’re getting more here than the Americans are going to get.  You deserve it more than they do!”  Cue rapturous applause.

Image: Oliver Wakeman

It wasn’t just the music though. Father and son are both born raconteurs, and interspersed the items on the set list with some wonderful anecdotes.  We had stories of rescue dogs, marriages and weddings, of the Wakeman parents, of encounters with unwilling pub landlords, and even of previous encounters with our local Moonrakers. Some of which might help explain why “How Much Is That Doggy In The Window?” and “Sweet Georgia Brown” made short, yet unsurprising appearances in the set-list.  There was a lovely running gag about the exact date of Oliver’s birth, and how old he was at various times in the stories.  And it was great to see the obvious warmth and respect between the two men.

And of course there was plenty of time across the two hours (interrupted only by what Rick referred to as “the Bladder Break”) to explore themes from their musical pasts.  Both men have featured at various times in the different line-ups of Prog superstars Yes, from the 1970s onwards.  So there was a mash-up arrangement named “The Yes Suite”, followed by several of Rick’s solo ventures – “The Six Wives of Henry VIII”, “Myths & Legends of King Arthur”, and the stunning “Journey To The Centre Of The Earth”. We also journeyed round some older stuff from The Strawbs and David Bowie’s “Life On Mars”. 

Musically it was an absolute master-class.  To say that these guys know their way around a keyboard is to massively understate just how good they were.  As a night’s entertainment it was engrossing. Of course there was plenty of whooping and cheering, and a standing ovation.  And of course there was a two-hander encore.  Can I give it more than ten out of ten?  I would if I could.

And before the Wakemans finally disappear into the night, swirling cloaks and hair about their persons, just a word about the back-room boys.  You don’t get fabulous nights out like this without an enormous amount of background work and logistics.  So hats off to Paul Chandler of Longcroft Productions for even daring to bring this one off show to D-Town. And here’s also to the piano suppliers, to the piano-tuner, to the sound and light guys, to Wadworth for sponsoring, to the Corn Exchange staff and to the small army of volunteers.  A true team effort to bring together a really amazingly good night. Bravo to all concerned.

Trending….

Dulcet Tones Rock Back to Bassett!

You’re a teenage Tom Cruise, at least you wish you were, but stay with me on this! Your parents are away, you’re home alone with…

Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.

REVIEW – Lachy Doley @ Corn Exchange, Devizes – Friday 9th December 2022

Awesome Aussie!

Andy Fawthrop

On a perishingly cold night in D-Town, the one thing you needed was to get warm as soon as possible.  And fortunately for us there was some genuine Australian heat waiting for us.…

Paul Chandler’s Longcroft Productions had done the business yet again.  Pulling off something of a coup by securing the Lachy Doley band’s only UK date on their current European tour, they were rewarded by a very large crowd filling all the tables in the Corn Exchange, including folks who had travelled enormous distances just to be there on the night.  Would it all be worthwhile?  Would the reality live up to the hype of the publicity?

There was no support act (and none was needed to be fair), so we were straight on with the entertainment.  After a clearly emotional introduction from Paul, the Aussies hit the stage.  Although perhaps less well known in Europe than in his native Australia, virtuoso keyboard player Lachy Doley (dubbed the Jimi Hendrix of the Hammond), had a lot to live up to.  He was joined by bassist Joel Burton and drummer Jackie Barnes.  

Playing a mixture of self-penned pieces, with a leavening of classic covers, the band absolutely lit up the stage from the get-go, producing a mounting wave of high-energy numbers.  Lachy himself was an absolute bundle of enthusiasm and commitment, attacking his keyboards with total commitment, from every angle and using every part of his body (it seemed) to produce some astonishing music.  Sitting, kneeling, standing, crouching – it made no difference.  Everything came out to stunning effect.

((Just for the technically-minded, he was playing a 1971 UK spec B3 Hammond with two 122 Leslies, and a vintage Hohner D6 Whammy Clavinet.  The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented in the 1960s, which produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tensioned string, and designed to resemble the Renaissance-era clavichord.  The clavinet was pushed through a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe amp.))  And for the less technically-minded (like me), the upshot of all this clever stuff was a set-up that enabled him to play the keyboard as if it were a guitar.  And it was quite something to both watch and to listen to.  As an early demonstration of just what it could do, the band’s version of Hendrix’s Voodoo Chile a couple of numbers in nearly brought the house down.

He’d  got us – from there on it was all downhill.  Two hours of soul, blues, funk and rock followed, with each number drawing huge applause.  Lachy’s own numbers such as The Only Cure For The Blues Is The Blues, Making It Up As I Go Along, and the storming Frankly My Dear I Don’t Give A Damn were certainly superb, but the biggest applause went to astonishingly good covers of Procul Harum’s Whiter Shade Of Pale, and Chicago’s I’m A Man.  There were set pieces, there was some jazz-like improv, and there were spaces for solos, but the trio was always tight as gnat’s armpit when it mattered.

It’s hard to stay away from superlatives.  My friend described the man as “awesome”.  Another word I heard used by several people was “genius”, and “virtuoso”.  We certainly saw and heard something very special.  The evening ended with an encore, a standing/ stomping/ clapping ovation, and another encore.  Astonishing, great entertainment.

And finally a big shout-out (yet again) to all those who made this possible – stage set-up, the light show, spot-on sound, and general organisation from Longcroft Productions.  All very professional and well presented.  D-Town is indeed lucky to have you guys doing what you do.

REVIEW – Jazz Sabbath @ Corn Exchange, Devizes – Sunday 20th November 2022

You wait for one to come along….

by Andy Fawthrop

After Saturday’s double-header at Long Street Blues Club with the Alex Voysey Trio and Hardwicke Circus, there was hardly time to draw breath on this exciting musical weekend.  A quick shift from the Con Club to The Corn Exchange, and there we were on a rare Sunday night out.  Yesterday evening D-Town hosted Jazz Sabbath as part of their UK tour, a date long in the calendar thanks to the forward thinking of Paul Chandler’s Longcroft Productions.…..

I’m sure Paul had been hoping for a somewhat larger audience to pack out the Corn Exchange, but there were still plenty enough people there to enjoy the club-style layout of dimly-lit tables and a sparsely-lit stage.  And the quality of the music provided was absolutely top-notch.

First up in the Support slot was London-based Billy Watman, who turned out to be an absolute wizz on the guitar.  Having spent his training in classical and flamenco styles, Billy treated us to an absolute master-class in how to get every sound possible out of his instrument.  With the occasional use of loops and pedals, he laid down his own backing tracks before playing some of the most virtuoso acoustic guitar work that I’ve seen or heard in a very long.  Explaining what he was doing as he went along, in modest and understated style, he laid out fingerstyle versions of Back To Black, Boney M’s Rasputin and even Pink Floyd’s Brick In The Wall.  This guy was massively proficient – there’s just no other way to put it.  He had the audience on side right from the get-go.  In fact there was only one thing wrong with his set – it was simply too damned short at only 20 minutes.  I’m pretty sure the audience would have liked a lot more.  Great stuff.

After the interval, and before the main act took the stage, we were treated to….a film!  A short docu-style item, featuring many celebrities, setting up the myth of the band doing their first gigs for 53 years!  (If you go onto their website you can read all the spoof material for yourself).  The joke/ conceit was maintained throughout the evening with further bits of film, and Adam himself pretending to be an 84-year old (he’s actually 48, just be clear).

I don’t know – you wait for years for a Black Sabbath tribute band to play in D-Town, and then two of them come along in a matter of a few weeks (Black Sabbitch played here only a month ago).  And then they were on stage.  Jazz Sabbath featured Adam Wakeman, son of Rick Wakeman, keyboards, Dylan Howe, son of Alan Howe on drums and Jack Tustin (son of his parents I’m sure), on upright bass.

The whole idea was to produce jazz interpretations of Black Sabbath classics.  Sounds mad, but it wasn’t.  Adam has cut his teeth working for many years both with Black Sabbath, and with Ozzy Osborne’s Band, so he’s pretty familiar with the heavy metal basic material.  However his arrangements were an almost unrecognisable world away, and lots of the material was Adam’s own contemporary compositions.  This was very little Sabbath, and very much Jazz.

The two sets, apart from the spoof interruptions, were confident, laid-back, melodic and highly enjoyable.  Adam himself, taking the lead on piano, did all the talking.  It was uncanny to see him sitting in exactly the same place as his father Rick had done almost four years ago when he played the same stage with his KGB band. The audience, who were soon into both the music and the comedic wrap-around, were attentive and appreciative.  There was a richly deserved encore, and the crowd hit the streets happy, having been royally entertained.

And just time for a general shout out to all those who worked so hard behind the scenes to make this gig happen, and to transform the barn of the Corn Exchange into a warm welcoming club atmosphere – from the sound guys, the stage setting/ lighting, the table lay-outs – a perfect backdrop for some great music.  This is the sort of gig that helps to put D-Town on the UK musical map, and further proof that the town can punch above its weight in terms of musical quality.  The gig was a bit of a (financial) risk, and whilst it might not have entirely paid off, it was nevertheless (musically at least) an absolute triumph.  Maybe the tickets were a bit expensive?  Maybe folks don’t like going out on Sunday nights?  Who knows?  But this sort of gig needs all our support.

And there’s a chance to do just that in a couple of weeks’ time when virtuoso keyboard player Lachy Doley (dubbed the Jimi Hendrix of the Hammond) plays his only UK date in D-Town on Friday 9th December.  Get out and get those tickets – this is going to be a real one-off!

Trending….

REVIEW – Black Sabbitch@ LSBC, Corn Exchange, Devizes – Friday 14th October 2022

Awesome!

Andy Fawthrop

The Long Street Blues Club season is now in full swing, giving us a second gig within a week, and with several more to come before Crimbo.  Last night was a switch of nights to Friday from the usual Saturday, and of venue from the usual Con Club to the more intimate surroundings of downstairs at The Corn Exchange in The Bin.

Our treat for the night was Los Angeles-based all-female tribute band Black Sabbitch.  They’re now coming towards the end of their Autumn UK tour, and so they were already at full tilt as they hit D-Town.  They served up a stonking two-hour, one set performance that was brim-full of energy, enthusiasm (and volume) as they ploughed through all things Black Sabbath.

There was no support act, nor was any needed.  It would have been a thankless task for anyone to do the warm-up for a band like this.

Right from the outset we had that trademark loud and grinding rhythm section, provided by Angie Scarpa on drums and Melanie Makaiwi on bass.  To be honest, you couldn’t so much hear the bass as feel it, with every deep note seeming to seep right out of the floor.  Good vibrations – oops, wrong band, but you get the point!  Lead guitar featured Emily Burton, and the line-up was completed by Alice Austin on vocals and (occasional) keys.  What followed was a master-class in paying homage to a very British band by four very talented and committed musicians.  The Sabbath fans were there in numbers, cheering every intro and mouthing the words to every song.

Picking up some of the doom-laden back-catalogue, they managed to lift the old material and make it shine somehow brighter.  I wouldn’t necessarily count myself as the country’s greatest Sabbath super-fan, but I couldn’t help but be impressed by how the band managed to nail every number.

It was a rousing set, capped by two well-deserved encores, finished out by (what else?) “Paranoid”.  The only thing wrong with it was that it didn’t last longer!

Another great night – an awesome gig.

Future Long Street Blues Club gigs:

Saturday 5th November 2022                     Robbie McIntosh Band

Friday 11th November 2022                        Beaux Gris Gris & The Apocalypse (Corn Exchange, Devizes)

Saturday 19th November 2022                   Hardwicke Circus and The Alex Voysey Trio

Friday 23rd December 2022                         Gee Baby I Love You

Trending….

Rowdefest 26 Lineup Reveal!

Drizzly Sunday…again. I’ve just finished designing the poster, so allow me to reveal the lineup for Rowdefest this coming May, might cheer us up a…

Agricultural Appropriation with Monkey Bizzle

There’s no sophomore slump for Monkey Bizzle; prolific in their art, these rural chav-choppers return with a second album, Agricultural Appropriation, only five years and…

Doctor Faustus Sells His Soul…. in Devizes!

Featured Image:@jenimeadephotography Just another rainy Saturday afternoon in Devizes, whereby I watched a profound fellow dramatically sacrifice himself to the devil, then popped to Morrisons…

Chandra Finds Heaven on Earth

Usually I just write what I think, but if I had a point-scoring system this new single from Bristol-based indie-pop outfit Chandra would tick every…