Although I was heading to the Midlands for the Jameson Raid reunion the next night, I thought an advance trip to the seaside in Norfolk might be a nice diversion. Besides DSTH gigs have always been stunning and it would be a pleasure to see them on home turf and show some support.

I arrived to find Mark and his brother, Paul, hard at work hanging the magnificent backdrop you can see in the photos before the rest of the band arrived and an impressive array of vintage amplifiers, pedal boards and instruments were set up. This band take their sound very seriously.

There is a great sense of bonhomie between Mark, Brian, Barry and John and, despite the power tripping out, a continuous alarm needing to be fixed and Brian’s pedalboard deciding to have an off day, the setup was more like a friendly meeting than a job of work. Despite the fact that they gig infrequently, I think that reflected later in how they played.

It not being present at the last Convention in Brixton, I have to say I was delighted when Brian brought out the giant ‘Rust’ microphone and put that together at the front of the stage. All set then and just time for a trip back to Mark’s for a delicious bowl of pasta before the gig and for Mark to put on his white outfit with braces to complete the ‘Rust’ image.

By the time the band started there were around 90 people in the room, mostly seated at tables or standing at the back by the bar. That didn’t last long though and after opening with Out On the Weekend then charging into Powderfinger followed by Mr Soul and The Loner at least half of the audience was on its feet with a good number hitting the dancefloor in front of the stage.

As ever, the band sounded excellent (not least through Marks’ meticulous attention to detail in the setup of the soundboard) and there was little concession to local by-laws on volume. John and Barry laid down a firm foundation for Brian’s Telecaster and Mark’s LP to both crank out the riffs and take off on extended solos but it was never less than tight as an overall sound.

After a high octane opening, the band changed down a gear for an acoustic set of Harvest Moon, Four Strong Winds (introduced with an awful ‘cover of a cover’ joke), Through My Sails and Needle and the Damage Done. Through My Sails deserves particular mention – played with just the acoustic guitars and some minimalist brushed drums it was mesmerising and stopped to dancers in their tracks to listen.

Back to the electrics and they pulled out a real surprise with Goin’ Home. Barry seemed to have fun starting it off with that tribal drumbeat and the guitars spat out some seriously dirty riffing. The band was now bouncing up and down as well as the audience and they finished the first set with a fine Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere.

Heart Of Gold gave a gentler start to the second set and was followed by another surprise in See the Sky About To Rain. Mark turned to his ‘gitjo’ (six string banjo) and Brian the lap steel as Mark introduced it with ‘This one frightens the life out of me (to play)’. That tension clearly worked and it was a beautiful version followed closely by a further rarity with Boxcar being played in the same formation.

The challenge behind them, the band launched into an exemplary strinboxcarg of Neil’s Seventies classics to take us through the bulk of the second set. A grooving When You Dance segueing into a burning version of Southern Man followed by a twin -guitar intro for Winterlong – featuring Mark and Brian duelling either side of that big microphone. Then Cortez (with a lovely funky bass from John) and Cinnamon Girl with the Norwegian Wood melody in the extended outro. DSTH were beginning to rust in front of our eyes and the dancefloor was packed. Hurricane followed in quick succession and it seemed the whole of Blakeney was on its feet and having a ball. More people had come in during the gig and I was really surprised at how many people knew the words and were singing along. The image of Neil in the top corner of the backdrop looked down on proceedings and I thought I could see him nodding his approval.

The crowd was certainly appreciative (in fact that’s all I can see on my video as the band is almost totally obscured by the dancing) and there was a mass singlaong on Rockin’ In The Free World, the last song of the set. The band fed off that and kept it going with an extended jam in the middle and a couple of false endings.

Clearly they were not to be let go without an encore though and we have John to thank for being persistent in ensuring it was included in the setlist. It was a case of ‘best ‘til last’ as Don’t Spook cranked out a superb version. Mark’s face was split into either a grin or a rictus throughout but whichever it was he and the band were certainly enjoying themselves. My ears picked the familiar melody of Freebird in the jam, but hey, Neil was a friend of Skynyrd’s and if it kept them playing longer we’d all have been happy for them to put the whole song in there.

A magnificent evening of Neil Young songs played a great bunch of guys in a local social club in a small town in Norfolk. Who would have thought it? Well worth the trip and especially so for the chance to spend some further time with Mark, a man who deeply appreciates Neil’s art. Thanks to you all for both the music and the hospitality.

Gig Review Appearing in the Lynn News, by Duncan Hall.
Beachcomber Bar, Hunstanton,

Rockin’ in the free world, anyone?

NEIL Young has to be one of rock’s most idiosyncratic performers. Over his four-decade career his music has embraced ’60s psychedelic pop, rock’n’roll, pastoral acoustics, and even electronic experimentation – all to the bemusement of his millions of fans across the world. Tribute band DON’T SPOOK THE HORSE had its work cut out to even partially cover his career – but in less than 90 minutes they made a good fist of it.

Young’s incendiary guitar performances were brilliantly recreated within a song selection which ranged from well loved classics to slightly lesser-known album tracks. From the start people were up and dancing to songs like Young’s only hit, Heart of Gold, After the Goldrush’s Southern Man, and even Like a Hurricane. Odder songs from Young’s lesser-known albums Comes a Time and On the Beach furrowed a few brows, but added to the fan-like atmosphere.

It’s a shame that Rockin’ in the Free World’s sentiments were not followed by the Golden Lion’s management. Hopefully the experience won’t put the band off from returning to another West Norfolk venue.

Intrigued? The following also appeared in the Lynn News, by Emma Cooney….

Punters irate as Golden Lion pulls plug on Beachcomber gig

Don’t spook the guests!

MANAGEMENT at Hunstanton’s Golden Lion Hotel caused a stir when they pulled to plug during the set of a Neil Young tribute band on Saturday (see review).

The Page received a scathing letter (see below) from a disgruntled customer, upset at the abrupt end to the DON’T SPOOK THE HORSE gig, which was at The Beachcomber venue at the back of the hotel. In reply, Golden Lion manger Josina Buschman said the gig should never have happened in the first place. “I had to finish it, I had no choice,” she told The Page. “People think we’ve broken up their party, but it should never have happened, and it is not going to happen again”.

One member of staff said they were expecting a quiet band, but instead the renditions sounded like “heavy metal.”
The comment must surely bemuse anyone who knows anything about the Canadian rock superstar – known as he is for his long guitar workouts, and who once released an album entirely of feedback!

Guests walked out of the hotel, and guests staying above the beachcomber venue had to be reimbursed £180, the staff member added.Mrs Buschman explained that the venue was never intended for bands, as there were guest rooms directly above it.
She was concerned when told the gig was taking place, but as it had been organised said it had to be finished by 10am.

FUNDRAISER

Gig organiser, Pauline Farncombe, booked the date as a fundraiser to support the community art gallery, which is based at The Beachcomber. Mrs Farncombe is the director of Hunstanton Festival, which manages Hunstanton Partnership for Promation of the Arts, which runs the Beachcomber. She said unfortunately the band started late, and played past the agreed time. When she was told to stop the gig, she told the band it had to be their last song. “Minutes later, the power went,” Mrs Farncombe said, “It’s a shame, because it was a good night and everybody was enjoying it.” She added the hotel were on the whole supportive of the art gallery, and it was an unfortunate misunderstanding.

It was a good night for Hunstanton, the largely middle-aged crowd were well behaved, and it was a pleasant evening with no trouble.
“We’ll endeavour to reach a compromise to put live music on in the future. But if not, we’ll have to find another venue.

The Page has since heard that the hotel had just agreed to let a band use their function room to rehearse (not the Beachcomber). Confused? We are!

Rude way to treat a great band

Letter

CONGRATULATIONS to DON’T SPOOK THE HORSE for a great evening entertainment on Saturday. What a shame it was spoiled by the management at the venue, Hunstanton’s Beachcomber Bar at the Golden Lion Hotel.

The event was billed from 8pm till 11pm on posters and in the local press. However at around 10.45pm, possibly earlier, Management Official No.1 arrives on the scene and tells the band it’s time to wind up.

Fair enough. But telling them to do so right in the middle of one of their pieces? Totally unfair. Very rude, actually. But, with good grace, the band announces its next song will be the last for the night, and then begin to play.

Enter, Management Official No.2. Again, in mid-musical flow, she marches up to the lead singer and declares they must finish immediately.

Rude? Is it just me, or can anyone imagine a front-of-house manager approaching someone on stage at any other venue and telling them it’s a time to leave? So the concert ended at 10.50pm. We left feeling sold short, and the abrupt ending put the damper on an otherwise enjoyable night. The Beachcomber was quite happy to take its money from the band for the night for the hire of the room, and in the knowledge that, yes, a band does make noise. If it was the noise factor, and I don’t know for sure, then the venue shouldn’t be holding out it’s hands for money from other bands in the future. And anyway, do musicians really want to be treated in such a discourteous way?

They might, but I won’t see them, because I shan’t be going back to the Beachcomber (name and address supplied).

East coast Music sold me a De-Armond M75, after letting me play all 15 they had in stock, the one I chose was black with a Bigsby style trem and De-Armond pickups, I couldn’t believe the value for money at £175.

The first modifications were purely cosmetic,I made a brass pickguard and control plates,then fitted them with a Les Paul Rhythm Treble switch plate. This guitar was then simply plugged into my existing setup, a Galien Kreuger 250ML amp (providing distortion and feedback only) into a Fender ’63 re-issue Reverb and finally my regular amp, a 1959 Teed Fender Tremolux.

As the shows got bigger, I added an ancient Dod Octave pedal,which is noisy and unreliable, it doesn’t bypass properly and often gets the notes it’s supposed to be octaving wrong! I’m sure “Neil” would love it like I do, I’ve re wired it a couple of times when it’s fallen apart ! Next I added a Boss Flanger, which I always use when I’m playing rhythm on “Like a Hurricane”.

Sometimes my little amp has trouble keeping up with Mark’s Boogie, so I have an A/B/Y box, which splits the signal into a second amp, usually a 1969 Marshall combo, or occasionally my 1972 Hiwatt 100.

After roadtesting the guitar, I decided it sounded a little thin,so I changed the single coil pickups, first the rear one, for a Brandoni Firebird, (incredible quality for £40!). This so impressed me, that I later changed the front pickup for a Brandoni Filtertron. They’ve been in there ever since as they sound great. I later changed the bridge (the original,I thought was too high-tech, with roller saddles, not at all “Neil”), the replacement is a solid cast Bigsby, which seems to add tone, I also changed the trem for an original US Bigsby which, although no better, looks more the part! All the changes cost around £150.

My amp, I later found out, is pretty close to Neils, his being a 1959 Tweed Delux. Some friends and I built copies of it to try and preserve the original; they’re called “Half Breades”!  They sound pretty close but even louder,I often use my old amp for smaller venues though. The main output valves are Westinghouse 6V6 and the pre-amp valves, good old Mullards.

Brian's Reverb and Tremolux clones

I’m constantly fiddling with the setup, I’ve recently built a valve reverb unit, (Mark now has the Fender re-issue).  The output valve is an Adzam 6K6, which I’ve discovered makes a BIG difference. The GK 250ML has now been replaced with a home made pedal board, containing, in this order, the Dod Octaver (for “Hey Hey, My My”), a home made valve pre-amp (on all the time!), a Marshall Guv’nor II, Boss NS2 (needed with all these valves!), Boss Flanger and an Ernie Ball Volume pedal. The reverb is always first in the chain, before the pedals, to get that authentic,”Live Rust” sound. The GK 250ML is always still around as backup, however.

If you ever catch me playing with my other band, Colour Radio, I’ll be playing one of two Telecasters, a Fender ’52 re-issue, or a home made one with a rosewood fingerboard, my first guitar was a Tele, so I keep going back to them.

That’s it so far, the other stuff never changes, a 1972 Matin D18 acoustic, 1917 Savana Banjo mandolin (£5 from a car boot sale, in bits, so I re-built it!), Marine Band harmonicas and Herco Flex50 picks.

BEE.