Back To The Future 80's Night - 31.03.12

The minute I encountered Simon Le Bon closely followed an exhuberant & stylish Adam Ant, I knew the evening was going to be a winner. My ears were already being assailed by the music & DJHeretic was cranking up the heat with the Jam, the Proclaimers & the Clash. 

Out on the dance floor the cocktail tray was doing the rounds, closely followed by shots of every colour, served up by a hot little sweetheart who wove her way between the Kids from Fame, the Boy George lookalikes & the punks. 

A kaleidoscope of colour & the movement of the crowd exploded like a paint ball onto the big screen behind the DJ & the requests just kept coming.

Out in the cafe bar more party goers threw  their shapes in a moving arena whilst Rod Hull & Emu laid traps for the unwary reveller. The live band  kept it coming & we just lapped it up - the good times were never better.

The 80's had hit town like a Christmas cracker & we all wanted a piece of it - with its flamboyant legwarmers to its glitzy black lace to the arrogance of the New Romantics. 

From Tears for Fears to Rick Astley to Ultravox & beyond! - we loved them all - we picked the music & we got what we wanted.

It doesn't get better than this when you turn back the clock & choose the best - one of the things the Drill Hall does well - they know how to throw a mean party! Even the staff were in the mood!

To the moment when we scmaltzed to the Slow-y then ripped it up to the reggae of the Ghost Town - we gave it our best shot.

So c'mon guys - heres to the next one - bring on the 90's night..............!

-Terri Newstead, Front of House

The Unthanks - 07.12.2011

Having only ever seen The Unthanks perform their traditional clog dancy folky main stay I was intrigued to see how they would interpret the works of Antony and the Johnsons and Robert Wyatt.

The answer was a resounding “brilliantly” from everyone who came to see them.

There’s something truly magical about beautiful lyrics sung with a Northumberland accent. It becomes haunting, melodic and moving. Add to that the skill and variety of musicians and musical instruments played during the performance and you have something utterly breath-taking to behold.

On the subject of instruments I’ve heard the saw played many times but never actually seen it. Watching one musician so adeptly switch mid song between violins and saw to create some truly ethereal sounds was captivating.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Antony and the Johnsons, I find Antony himself a remarkable person with a beautiful voice and an incredible talent for song writing. To hear his music so lovingly reimagined by a band that is obviously huge fans as well was more than a match for the original songs.

The second half of the performance focused on the works of Robert Wyatt. Someone who until this point I hadn’t realised I’ve been listening to for years. Their interpretation of “Dondestan” sung by the entire band while Becky and Rachel Unthank clog danced the melody accompanied by a trumpet was mind blowing! While their rendition of “Free Will and Testament” with its tongue twister lyrics was deftly and delicately handled to produce something ethereal and spell binding.

The entire show was punctuated by The Unthanks trademark humour and the whole performance left me moved and talking about it to anyone that would listen for days.

-Andy Farenden, Box Office Assisstant