BOOGIE in Beaminster: Ben Waters Band and The Devils Rejects

"Sweet Beaminster" really rocked last night. There was a killer party in the town's main hall. Former Stones guitarist, Mick Taylor, had been advertised as booked to play with Ben, but couldn't make it at the last minute. The initial disappointment didn't last long, because we were given an unadvertised support band, the brilliant group, The Devils Rejects, a kind of swamp Irish/Cajun punk folk-rock band featuring a strong vocalist (and guitarist-songwriter) with a convincing punk attitude (Matthew Williams) and the brilliant Briony Ireland on accordion and violin. Chris Read and Rick Hardy (guitar and bass) and the drummer, Olie Rance, were all equally outstanding musicians. Even if I couldn't catch a lot of the lyrics, the overall sound was tremendous (the opposite of diabolical), with waves of rich, swirling accordion chords and runs giving the group a distinctive and original signature presence, with sufficient visual flair.

They're playing at the Corn Exchange, Dorcester, on March 1st. Don't miss them! In case you want to book them:

Now to the Boogie Woogie man!

Ben Waters really got everyone in party mood, with the rumbling left hand bass figures declaring that it was finally time to boogie. From the first few notes, the joint started jumping. The two sax players (Chris Rand and Ben's talented twelve year old son Tom) helped to raise the rafters with other band members, Rick Hymas on bass and Ady Millward on drums, and some really great guest guitarists (including sixteen year old Tom Alford?name?) and vocalists added to the high spirits, as the band belted out some old rock classics by the likes of Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Ray Charles and Jerry Lee Lewis (Little Queenie, You Never Can Tell, Long Tall Sally, Great Balls of Fire, Jenny Jenny etc). There were moments when I felt the beat and energy reached the level of intensity that I haven't experienced since I first saw Jerry Lee Lewis performing live in the Colston Hall, Bristol, when I was 13!

The happy and excited people strutting their stuff on the dance floor had the best time of all. If I ever thought that Beaminster was a sleepy retirement town, this changed my mind. Bravo Ben. More of this please.I wished I could have sat in on blues mouth-harp.

William Barnes would have picked up his fiddle and joined in too. Be'mi'ster: we need no bigger place, no gayer town!

From an over-the-top teenage schoolboy review of a Jerry Lee Lewis concert in Bristol: