"One More For Dessert"
Review
"One More For Dessert"
Luddington Village Hall
23 November 2024
The excitement and passion around this gig were palpable from the start, and why not? It's not every week that 26 talented artists from across the country join together in common cause for a very special one-off night of great music.
The scene was set earlier in the week with the announcement that the show was a sellout, and despite the ravages of "Storm Bert", the hall filled up well before the start time and it was obvious an unprecedented event was going to happen.
The first half of the show was a celebration featuring the music of the legendary Kris Kristofferson. It started with some of his acoustic numbers played beautifully by the likes of Chessi O'Dowd, Jack Blackman, Jono Wright, Geoff Carr and Jon Benyon. Under the direction of musical directors Jack and Jono, the house band were then joined by a host of artists including Debbie Robinson, Mia Rose and Trisha Gow.
Rock and pop royalty joined in with lead vocals being taken by Nigel Clark (Dodgy), Dan Sealey (formerly OCS) and Steve Steinhaus (Upton Blues Festival).
By the end of the first half, the roof was being raised by music, not by the storm raging outside!
The former Birmingham Poet Laureate, Spoz, performed three "edgy" poems which were lapped up by the audience who couldn't quite believe the hour of total entertainment they had just witnessed!
The focus of the second half was a massive musical "Thankyou" to one of the most influential characters of music promotion and support for musicians in the area, Doug Armstrong.
Katherine Abbott, Tom Forbes and Ellie Kelly opened the set with a stunning acoustic rendition of "Helplessly Hoping" before the band kicked in again. The next hour or so raced through some of the greatest songs in the rock canon delivered faultlessly by some of the most talented musicians an audience could ever see. Drummers Chris Quirk, Bo Davies and Ben Haines, with bassist James Maguire provided a solid rhythm. Guitarists Euan Blackman, Renny Badham, Dom James, Greg Brice, Jono and Jack competed for the greatest riffs and solos and Jen Waghorn added soaring electric violin.
The hall erupted as Nigel Clark backed by the house band performed a stunning version of one of his hits from 1994, "Staying Out for The Summer", which was followed by a spirited rendition of "Fog on The Tyne" led by Geoff Carr and Jon Benyon.
The night drew to a close with Jon Bird leading the house band in the classic song "For What It's Worth". Then the whole ensemble came back on-stage to power through The Band masterpiece, "The Weight" led by Jack and Jono, and seemingly in a flash the show was over!
Aside from the artists, some of the many other heroes of the night were the Luddington Hall Committee who gave of their time, always smiling. George Adams of Canetis Audio, the sound engineer whose decibels superbly filled the hall and Anne Blackman who did a great job on the fund-raising raffle.
The audience reaction was incredible with so much positive feedback including; "Better than Live Aid" and "I feel privileged to have been here!"
In addition to a fantastic night, the total of £1355.00 was raised to be split equally between Macmillan Cancer Support and Crisis.
