Friday 30 May 2014

And then there were 11; Stanley Dee at The Farmers Boy.


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So anyway group, no one’s perfect – I know I’d been clear 4 months but then I just had to have another fix. I’ve let you all down, I know that but I guess I’m just an…..addict.

You know how it is; you shop, you eat, you look normal, you sound normal but it’s always there somewhere deep inside, eating you away.
Then all it takes is a moment of weakness and it just pulls you back in.

It’s degrading, it’s seedy; will I never escape?

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I’ve let myself down……but I’m only…..human!

So I’m driving under the M25 and it’s completely blocked both ways.

I have to pick up Robyn and then go back and then go all the way round the M25 to St. Albans. Yeah, that’s miles and miles and I’m supposed to be having a rest before – the big trip.

But then it is;

STANLEY DEE

That’s right, the fabulous, the one and only;

STANLEY DEE

The Steely Dan tribute band, the only tribute band I have ever seen and will ever see.

 

Unfortunately, I could only take a picture of 45.46% of them, because The Farmers Boy is only a small pub and this is a 10 piece. No, you’d better  make that an 11 piece band now.

 

That’s right, to reproduce the unique sound of Steely Dan (session musicians, 24 track, stolen Jazz riffs, the full works) there are now 11 of them;

 

Four amazing vocalists, Keyboards, Drums (in another room), a three piece brass section, bass and lead guitars.

There’s another Saxophone (More Saxophones, I must have more saxophones!).

And man, that brass section was tight.

Frankly, for us squeezed on the front row, all we needed was a kazoo and we would have been in the band ourselves.

It was packed. So no photos of half the band – if I’d put my giant telephoto lens out I’d have poked them in the eye.

The sound was terrible, the equipment was protesting, there weren’t any acoustics at all. It was great.

Because although it’s meant to be a tribute, it isn’t really.

The songs are all there, they sound just the same as the real thing but there’s something extra – it’s great fun. There’s dancing. There are smiling musicians. People laugh….quite a lot. And when the mikes packed up everyone sang along anyway.

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I thought I’d got out but they just pulled me back in.
Anyway, if you got the money or if you don't; you have to see this band. After all, there's another 55% you haven't seen.
Click on a picture for a slideshow.

Neil Harris

(a don’t stop till you drop production)
 

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