Radio Pensacola Band @ Prohibition Bar, Gateshead - Nov 22

Kevin Eland (trumpet); Django (tenor sax, vocals); Dave Archibold (keyboards); Ron Smith (bass guitar); Mark Hawkins (drums) 

(Review by Russell)

Two gigs in one evening. Possible, but a degree of planning was essential. Curiosity took your correspondent south of the river to Gateshead's Prohibition Bar to check out Teesside's Radio Pensacola Band.  

Straighten Up and Fly Right sang Django. Django? Reinhardt...no, not quite. Spaghetti western Django...no, not exactly. This Django was the zoot-suited frontman of the Radio Pensacola Band. Pensacola, Florida could well have something in common with Teesside but at the time of writing (gone midnight) nothing springs to mind. 

Ain't Misbehavin' sang Django. They weren't...misbehavin' that is. Sharp suits, heat left at the door, these guys were pussycats not mobsters. Big cat Kevin Eland bossed the Pensacola mob although he was content to let Django do the talking...and singing...and play some tenor sax. The rhythm section - pianist Dave Archibold, bass guitarist Ron Smith, Mark Hawkins, drums - did the necessary but it was the affable Woody Allen/Arthur Askey lookalike, aka Django, who stood in the spotlight. 

As the interval beckoned the Radio Pensacola Band went out - and over to the bar - on Fly Me to the Moon followed by a muted Kevin Eland searching for Minnie the Moocher. The interval, it was time to depart and head for a second gig of the evening.       

Russell