How many hangings under the red moon

Friday 18 July – I awoke on Saturday morning with a small platoon of ants spitting formic acid at my lower lip. It flipping well hurt! Then I really woke up. Let that be a lesson to people who think it’s clever to drink four pints of John Smith’s Cask in one evening.

So, it was a pretty good week, not least of all because I was on holiday and basically taking it very easy. Then on Thursday we got the brilliant news that The Duchess in York were granted the variations needed for their licence, so it’s full steam ahead for what looks like an exciting time for York’s music scene.

We were spoilt for choice on Friday; Miracles & Wonders at The Roman Bath, The Station Club at Fibbers, Freespirit at Speakeasy, The Naked Flames at Stone Roses, and The Mothers at The Terrace. Then The Druid discovered that Hazzard County were playing at The Old White Swan. Game on!

I arrived slightly earlier than usual but needn’t have worried as the Hazzards were a long way from starting. They were also playing in a different bar that seemed a lot more cramped then their usual position. On the plus side, the Swan seemed to have a pretty impressive display of beers on tap, although I chickened out and stuck with my usual John Smith’s.

This particular incarnation of the Hazzards was a bit of a surprise, Simon Snaize, NZ Dave (aka Dave Keengan), Country Jon, and the double bass player who was playing a real bass guitar tonight! They were sharing drumming duties on a single snare drum. The reason it was a surprise? Well, NZ Dave was supposed to be playing at The Habit, and Simon was supposed to be on Syntan Barge at Kings Staith as part of the Festival Of The Rivers. Hmm, so much for my contacts.

Of the music. Well there were some old favourites, California Style (can’t remember who did this, notes not available), Hey Jude (Beatles), You Can't Always Get What You Want (Rolling Stones), Shot in the Arm (Wilco), and stuff from Steve Earle (that’s Earle with four e’s), and Robert Johnson (I know him, he’s dead). It was Okay, but they will insist on playing tracks that even our collective heads don’t recognise.

So a fairly enjoyable evening then. Puncuated on the way home by a horrendous downpour with accompanying light show which meant that A and I were forced to take shelter in a shop doorway. Pity The Druid, he was cycling home to Haxby! When we finally made it to the parting of the ways we managed to while away another half an hour discussing the Dwain Chambers ban, finally agreeing to dis-agree. And so I rolled in-doors about a quarter to two in the morning.