The Doghouse Roses.
The George And Dragon Mill Street Bedford. Sunday 28th June 2015.
I admit it is extremely rare for this reviewer to witness some live local music on a late Sunday evening. Oh dear, work tomorrow! Thankfully a non-working Monday morning means that tonight is one such occasion. I am in a Bedford hostelry called The George And Dragon. It is situated in Mill Street, just off the High Street. Old, but recently refurbished, it used to house some very prestigious gigs in the upstairs function room once upon a time. Who amongst you can remember a gig held there on Saturday 27th July 1985? It featured The June Brides and Age Of Chance and tickets were £2 in advance from Andy's Records.
The limited live music bands on offer now are pitched in the downstairs area which is a large L-shaped room. Tonight they present The Doghouse Roses. It is quiet and I feel that many people are taking advantage of the warm sunny evening or watching Glastonbury. However, there are enough eager supporters in attendance to make this a decent atmospheric gig. Two separate sets give the lads a chance to play a mixture of appropriate country rock covers and their own material. After beginning with "Never look back" frontman Sean Morris admits that all the Dogs are "feeling a bit lethargic" this evening! This is largely due to the fact that the band partied hard after their gig last night in The Bull on London Road. Mention should also be made that the brothers Burke also appeared in St Albans on Thursday at The Horn supporting the legendary John Otway.
Although this is a full band show, drummer Jim Morton scales down and sits astride his cajon. Two of their compositions contrast largely, namely "Waiting on you" and the raucous 'Burkey' shouting on "Sons of liberty". The former, as with most of their material, is written and sung by the Americana coated voice of Mr Morris. A hearing of the self-titled "Doghouse Roses" is always a welcome chance to take a long comfort break. A cracking and respectful cover of Neil Young's "Rockin in the free world" closes the first set. It is a chance to meet and greet and marvel at the rather tasteful decoration in this friendly pub. The second half immediately features a beautifully performed "Change of heart" which is more than matched by "The losing kind". Midway through there is a severe departure from the norm as guitarist James Burke takes to the mic to sing "Swingin the bottle", something that this band like to do quite often. James is resplendent in wearing what I can loosely describe as a Norman Wisdom-esque flat cap. To finish off the proceedings The Doghouse Roses closed with a triple whammy of covers, "Lucky now" (Adams), "Brown eyed girl" (Morrison) and a horrible Oasis one. Needless to say it was the latter that saw most of the lively crowd singing in unison "So Sally can wait" and "Don't look back in anger"! An enjoyable night was had by all with a band who always give it their best efforts and look like they are having huge fun doing it.
Postscript. Not long after this the band actually split up making this evening the last time that they played in Bedford.
Review by Martin Stapleton. www.bedfordalternativemusic.co.uk