The Ferry is actually a boat even if it is in little danger of sinking in a storm. It is, however, just the floating venue for the Sunday afternoon blues.
Hooking into Guinness radio early – play that tune in black, white and blue - isn’t usually a good plan but Ed the producer, slumming it from his usual home at Stealth Studios is on hand to show that a Google Nexus can stop a perfectly good conversation whilst recording 16 tracks in digital perfection.
Fortunately, there is an onstage diversion and the Deadly Viper Guitar Squad are happy to provide evidence that there is life in the old blues dog yet. Sneakily hiding in the normality of all twelve bars until near the end of their set, they then, without warning, unleashed Elmo the secret weapon and, with the aid of a £59 Chinese Theremin, headed right off into left field. Roll the dice and there’s that double six you were looking for.
Whitburn boys Dixie Fried were on next and, rocking the blues rock thing like it was 1974, they went two up on the riffs and drums. It’s a simple thing if you have your hand upon the bible of keeping it real and they rocked da house like a fire engine on its way to the Miner’s Welfare Club. The sweet smell of success came from their new instrumental songs and their set, duly lifted, ended with a bang.
Time for another bar. She even told me which one.