Dos Guitars Trio/Nomade Swing @ Billy Bootleggers, Newcastle - July 27

Luca Allievi (guitar); Alessandro Brizio (guitar); Mariano Gallizio (guitar) + second set ? (cajon)

Billy Bootleggers, an American-themed bar down in the Ouseburn, is known for its rockabilly and rhythm and blues acts. Apple Pie Moonshine, Picklebacks and the like, save for a Guinness it's a real beer drinker's nightmare. We were there to check out an unknown quantity. Low key publicity suggested a Saturday afternoon appearance by 'Dos Guitars', all the way from Italy, no less. Earlier in the week Dos Guitars and the Nomade Swing Trio were gigging up in Northumberland. It all sounded too good to be true...

Shortly after the advertised two o'clock start, without fanfare, the trio opened with All of Me. Two heavily amplified acoustic guitars and a bass guitar with pedal boards on the floor. All very strange, why the wattage? As anticipated, Django featured, the musicianship of the highest order, the volume inexplicable. And then...Stevie Wonder's Isn't She Lovely? Brilliantly played, but...

It was Oasis' Wonderwall when the penny dropped. I Just Called to Say I Love You...brilliantly played but we were kind of at the wrong gig! The trio, joined by a cajon player, departed further from the script...Proud Mary, Hotel California (we were definitely at the wrong gig), Sweet Child O' Mine (brilliantly played), Another Brick in the Wall and the show-stopper, Stairway to Heaven. Another penny dropped, the 'double bill' comprising Dos Guitars Trio and Nomade Swing were, seemingly, one and the same. Oh, well. Russell   

Link to John Taylor comment.