Boogie Woogie Wonderland

Another night of musical reverie, another Italian restaurant, another toe tapping, handclapping experience; that was Jools Holland at Rochester Castle Gardens. The sun may not have been shining but the threatened deluge stayed away and Jools is the perfect host; easy going, light hearted banter set against a stonking musical tour-de-force in the olde worlde setting.

I live so close and yet this is the first time I’ve come along to see Jools - it won’t be the last. Pure entertainment from start to finish. So uplifting, how I’ve missed live gigs. There was a time Hammersmith Odeon charged me rent and there was also the Lyceum, The Venue, Dominion - I was always somewhere uptown at concerts. My New Year’s resolution was to hear more live music and I’m not doing too bad so far, albeit on a more local level.

Jools’s brother Christopher warmed us all up - he sounds so like Jools when he’s talking (I actually thought it was him at first) however, when he sings it’s less gravelly but just as effective - check out this here link to sample some of his tunes. (I liked the little I heard of ‘Love is the Answer' - very soulful sounding, reminded me of Earth, Wind and Fire - scroll down past the picture.) I’ll be looking out for his gigs.

A supreme performance from Ruby Turner as always; Marc Almond hadn’t changed a bit (except for a little bit of tummy). Still sounding good on a big band stylee ‘Say Hello, Wave Goodbye‘ complete with sax break. As you can imagine, ‘Tainted Love’ was well received and quite possibly heard all the way up the A2 to Dartford!

We found the perfect spot for next year; I’m not telling you where though, in case you come along and pinch it! Find your own! There’s a Pimms bar and a creperie if you want to spoil yourself, or you can settle for the usual burger/chips combo. Don Vincenzo’s in the High Street was my stop off point beforehand, I felt quite decadent eating out two nights on the trot. *Note to self: bring a hamper and cushions and get in earlier* Fold up chairs are supplied by the organisers, very thoughtful of them, although some people appeared to have transported the entire contents of their garden, which is why you need to arrive early!

Another practical point is - the tickets aren’t numbered, so you can organise a big group without having to book a pile of tickets all in one go - I’m planning my ‘Big Night Out’ already for next year!