What: Live Show
Venue: The Labour Club
Town: Northampton UK
Date: Friday, 7^th of January 2005

The Players

Joe Woolley and the Moon Children, Mrs. Pilgrimm, Big Tim Sansom

Notes

People of Earth-

The first Masters of Budvar night of the new year falls this Friday 7th January 2005 at our regular venue, the Labour Club, Charles Street, Northampton NN1. As usual, entry is free, the prices are reasonable, the artists talented, the speeches short. Three wildly disparate acts from Northampton Town this month.

Joe Woolley and the Moon Children (onstage 10:15pm)

What do they like to call it? Soulful punk folk with a psychedelic edge? I bet I've got that wrong. Whatever, Joe's freewheeling electric band certainly does cover a lot of ground in a colourful, good-natured set. Skewed funk rhythms, sweet vocals and soulful electric guitar are on offer to warm your January night. And William Hill are open for business on where The One might be found in their version of "Money".

Mrs. Pilgrimm (onstage 9:40pm)

We are thrilled to snag this guest appearance by the deeply wonderful Mrs. P. This extraordinary artist surely needs no introduction or explanation. If you've really been away for a while, there's a young woman, a cello and a chair...

Check out more at http://www.mrspilgrimm.de

Big Tim Sansom (onstage 9:00pm)

Again, there is very little that one can say about the illustrious Big Tim, one of our town's very finest songwriters. His last set at Masters of Budvar was chock full of his best-loved hits, delivered with a growing confidence and charm. The word is that he has been recording with Mark Refoy again. It's good to see him back at the coalface, and it will be good to see him in the Labour Club too, so do get down good and early to catch him.

That's all at the Labour Club, this Friday 7th January 2005.

You have found yourself on the Masters of Budvar mailing list, an essentially well-intentioned information service relating to monthly knees-up events at Northampton Labour Club and occasional other counter-cultural bunfights. Should you at any point tire of receiving these bulletins from beneath the stairs, please reply to this e-mail with the phrase "Avast there, ye scurvy knaves, I'll have none of your drivel" in the subject field. Thank you.

A truly surprising turn-out for the January MOB night. I had anticipated something of a post-festive slowdown, but instead the place was absolutely packed.Perhaps they had all heard Big Tim's new recording on the BBC Weekender. We listened to it huddled together in Big Tim's car outside the club, and it came across truly magnificent. Mark Refoy's production magic clearly in evidence on the brilliant new waxing "A Prayer For Thee" - God, it sounds like Roy Orbison!

As usual, Big Tim had to be restrained with steel hawsers before taking the stage before everyone was in the house. Eventually we let him go up there. As the dulcet tones of "I'm Batman" by The Marble Tea gently faded out, Big Tim picked up the chords, strummed along and piled straight into the intro to one of his own tunes, an inspired beginning. Standing four-square in front of the swelling crowd, Tim was on fire, barely stopping for breath between one hit and another. A great set.

Minimal fuss as Mrs. Pilgrimm installed herself onstage and tore off into her set. Once again, absolutely inspired. It's not easy to write about Mrs. P's music, because it is so unique. There's just a torrent of mad, mutated and very beautiful cello music, all running at different speeds - indeed, things often go BACKWARDS - with catchy, teasing vocals delivered in a disarmingly direct and intimate fashion. If you want to know more, go to www.mrspilgrimm.de and order her fabulous "Alone Queen" album. Thank you.

Despite a few pre-gig concerns, Joe Woolley and his band turned in a wonderful set. Robert was magnificent on the drums, Luke warm and solid on electric bass, leaving acres of space for Joe's amped-up, heavily verbed acoustic guitar to spin out soulful psychedelic phrases across the top. Add in the Moonettes with their chorus of back-up vocals and you get a fabulous little late sixties West Coast beat happening, yea even unto the point of an Eight Miles High style feedback wig-out at the end. An encore was demanded and delivered. On went the "Nouvelle Vague" version of Guns of Brixton and there you have it for another month.

Thanks to all the artists and all the people who came to see them, thanks to the Labour Club and thanks to the guys at Weekender for their continuing and much-valued support in all this. Next month is our first anniversary and we shall be celebrating with the Jesse Morningstar Soul Revue, featuring Jesse, his band and a full supporting bill from the cream of Bristol's acoustic music scene - not to be missed.