The Lad (left): Adam Hastings (gtr), Peter Lee (kbds), Sam Vickery (bs), Ali Mack (dms).
HCW: John Hirst (dms), Edd Carr (gtr), Christos Worsley (bs pictured below right.)
A double-header at The Side Café tonight in the form of HCW, who played a fine set here last November and "The Lad" - guitar wiz Adam Hastings' groove combo. 
On their last appearance, HCW - no prizes for working out where the name came from - had a distinct blues feeling to their music which was missing this time around. Instead, they played some well thought out originals that managed to escape the (sometimes) restrictive 12 bar format. Drummer Hirst's powerful technique, Edd Carr's exploratory solos and Christos Worsley's sensitive bass lines made for a tight unit.
The 12 bar format holds no restrictions for Adam and nor does any other format from what I've heard. The mood here was George Benson and 'The Lad' was respectful towards his hero without being imitative.
Peter Lee - no relation to the town or the old cabaret duo (Peters & Lee) - indicated that his soul mate was Billy Preston and he had some wild moments when in "Hammond" mode. Sam Vickery on bass and Ali Mack, drums, kept the engine powered for a set that had a few surprises.
"Eleanor Rigby", despite Adam's professed love of the Beatles bore little resemblance to the original, I'm pleased to say, instead it had some guts to it. "Lately" was worthy of the composer (Stevie Wonder) and at times was quite delicate. However, for old boppers like myself, "Bouncing With Bud" was the highlight of an excellent set that simply "whizzed" by.
The result? A score draw.
Lance
On their last appearance, HCW - no prizes for working out where the name came from - had a distinct blues feeling to their music which was missing this time around. Instead, they played some well thought out originals that managed to escape the (sometimes) restrictive 12 bar format. Drummer Hirst's powerful technique, Edd Carr's exploratory solos and Christos Worsley's sensitive bass lines made for a tight unit.
The 12 bar format holds no restrictions for Adam and nor does any other format from what I've heard. The mood here was George Benson and 'The Lad' was respectful towards his hero without being imitative.
Peter Lee - no relation to the town or the old cabaret duo (Peters & Lee) - indicated that his soul mate was Billy Preston and he had some wild moments when in "Hammond" mode. Sam Vickery on bass and Ali Mack, drums, kept the engine powered for a set that had a few surprises.
"Eleanor Rigby", despite Adam's professed love of the Beatles bore little resemblance to the original, I'm pleased to say, instead it had some guts to it. "Lately" was worthy of the composer (Stevie Wonder) and at times was quite delicate. However, for old boppers like myself, "Bouncing With Bud" was the highlight of an excellent set that simply "whizzed" by.
The result? A score draw.
Lance
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