The Leopard – Review
Yet another first for TTB having never played here before, we’ve been waiting a long time to get down to Tutbury and give ’em a taste of what we have to offer. We all arrived in good time and were soon pondering on how we might fit into the playing area, barely big enough to swing a mouse around, let alone a cat! John having arrived early had already got the backdrop up and his kit more or less in place, leaving just enough room to squeeze Steve and Glen’s amps to his left with a bit of jiggery pokery and over layering , very cosy though, good job Glen brought his short necked SG bass along allowing him to squish into the gap between Steve and the window. Once we had tidied away all the bags and things it wasn’t too bad but still no room for stage struttin’.
It helped that the landlady was putting on a birthday party and there were a lot of younger punters intermixed with the normal regular music lovers. Being a small venue the place was soon wall to wall and we had a good feeling about the place. All were friendly and welcoming and the fact that they were playing most of our set list on the juke box as we set up gave us a good feeling that our stuff would go down well.
Started of with the new start running straight into Don’t Believe a world into Breaking the Law and then Strange Kinda Woman all with seamless links set the scene and was rewarded with enthusiastic clapping and cheering. Which continued for the rest of the first set.
Mark was sporting his latest acquisition, a nice PRS complete with wammy bar, a beautiful machine which delivered a decidedly improved warmer tone for those note perfect lead breaks, a definite improvement in our overall sound.
For the second set we were asked by the landlady to start earlier as there was a pre midnight curfew on noise levels etc, so we all got up and ready to go – only there seemed to be no sign of John, last seen chatting outside the pub there was no sign of him. Even pleas over the PA from Mick did not produce the allusive rhythm section. Feeling a bit like gooseberries, stood on stage and all strapped up ready to go, John is then spotted strolling towards the pub in a relaxed manner. Arriving through the doors to raptures of cheers and arm waving from the crowd, somewhat with head down and a distinct scuttle gait he shimmied onto his stool and we cracked off.
Second set went down a storm and we ended by giving Run To The Hills it’s second airing which went down a storm. All ended on a high with the punters still wanting more but we ran out of time and suitable songs – we will be back at the the Leopard, a welcoming and warm venue which we recommend for anyone wanting a more traditional and friendly pub with music experience.
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