ARQ @ Sage Gateshead - June 18

Alison Rayner (bass/bass guitar); Diane McLoughlin (tenor/sop sax); Deirdre Cartwright (guitar); Steve Lodder (piano); Buster Birch (drums).

The competition at Sage Gateshead was fierce. In Sage One Opera North were unleashing five hours of Wagner's Parsifal "a story of suffering, compassion, and, ultimately, redemption, centred on the community of knights who guard the Holy Grail" - not your typical Saturday night out in Gateshead.

True, the Wagnerians pulled in more punters than ARQ did in Sage Two but, percentage-wise, I'd gamble that fewer people, if any, fell asleep in the smaller Hall - Wagner does tend to go on a bit.

Pardon my levity - my opera loving mother would be turning in her grave at such sacrilegious comments although, in fairness, she did herself prefer Verdi. 

She may even have enjoyed ARQ as we, the audience, most certainly did. Five incredible musicians playing meaningful originals from three albums, A Magic Life and two which have been reviewed here: August and Short Stories.

When a band is as tight as this individuals usually come secondary to the whole but, when the said individuals are of the calibre of ARQ then individuality does tend to shine through.

Leader Rayner, apart from composing most of the pieces, is steadfast and strong on upright bass whilst on electric she funks it up with the best. 

On piano - how nice it is to have had two consecutive gigs with a real live grand - Lodder impressed with his dexterity. A pianist who ranks with best. 

At the other end of the stage Cartwright dazzled and delighted mixing swing with rock riffs and occasional pedalboard excursions. 

Birch drove from the back setting the mood and occasionally tearing it up with a solo such as on his feature Buster Breaks a Beat. 

McLoughlin on tenor and soprano has long been a favorite of mine ever since I first heard her sitting in with Cartwright and Rayner at a bar in Stoke Newington almost 10 years ago and she's never disappointed since.

I didn't take notes - an impossibility in the Stygian gloom of the hall - so the set list is taken from memories past and present and is probably incomplete and maybe even incorrect (what's new?) Lance

Musicophilia; There is a Crack in Everything; Buster Breaks a Beat; A Braw Boy; Mayday; Seeing Around Corners; Queer Bird.