MADDENS BAR,
Great musicians on Saturday 13 April 2024
Excellent musicians. Even a keyboard player with a real strong contribution throughout. Friendly people who had the whole room rocking by the end of the night.
Adrian Howe, Sunday 14th April 2024
THE THREE COMPASSES,
Hornsey high street
London N8
Friday 10th may 2024!
Saw this fantastic band, had a great set of songs, entertained all ages, wonderful atmosphere and feel good group! Must see to appreciate, when they are local, I make sure to keep the date free!
Joanna Harvey, Friday 10th May 2024
THE BUTCHERS ARMS,
Thought you might like to read my review of the fantastic Bear Pit Band after their appearance at the Butchers Arms. If you get a chance do see this band.
Now here's a band who are like a breath of fresh air on the pub and club music circuit.
The Bear Pit Band are four top musicians who got together to play something a little bit different from most other groups, songs they really admire.
So no Brown Eyed Girl, Mustang Sally, Johnny B Goode, I Saw Her Standing There for them. Their setlists are something else.
Instead we have many songs that I have never heard any other pub band play and the Bear Pits even challenge their audiences to guess who recorded the numbers they are playing.
Front man for the band is lead vocalist and bass player Michael Goulding, a veteran on the pub music circuit who has played with numerous bands. Michael has a lovely tone to his voice and great diction.Supporting him on vocals and providing some magnificent keyboard work is Rebecca Turner, a talented singer-songwriter in her own right, who has appeared as top of the bill at many shows.
John Binnie has been playing lead guitar for more years than he cares to remember. He has performed with several heavy rock acts including recording artists Dirty Tricks, John worked also with the legendary Ozzy Osbourne for a short time.
Providing the backing beat throughout the night is talented drummer Jamie Grant.
The Bear Pits kicked off their performance at the Butchers Arms with Ultravox's All Stood Still (an unusual opener by any standards) and followed it with the little-known but highly enjoyable Talking Heads'number And She Was.
Becky took up vocal duties for You're So Vain and managed a very credible impression of the great Carly Simon.
Surprise after surprise followed. How many pub acts have you heard perform the Black Keys' Lonely Boy; one hit wonders Zager and Evans' 1969 musical gem In The Year 2525; or Deacon Blue's catchy Real Gone Kid? But they all featured in the band's first set.
Michael is a great raconteur and keeps his audience thoroughly entertained between songs.
Chris Rea's The Road To Hell started set two and was followed by other fairly unusual tunes -- Christopher Cross's West Coast rocker Ride Like The Wind; Don Henley's rocker Boys Of Summer (with a great guitar solo by John); and the Stranglers' pink classic Hanging Around.
The Bear Pit Band are a highly enjoyable group to watch as you never know what's coming next. Other highlights for me included a magnificent interpretation of Pulp's classic Common People; the highly complex ELO number Mr Blue Sky and the closing song -- the Simple Minds' anthem (Don't You) Forget About Me.
There was a total of 27 songs during the two sets. This was one of the best evenings I've spent listening to a group in a pub. Don't miss the Bear Pit Band if they come to a venue near you.
COLIN FENN, DJ/Freelance Journalist
Colin Fenn, Friday 4th October 2024
