The Hoovers 22 November 1996
Michael who’s blog Something Old Something New has been saving me the trouble of converting some of my old local vinyl to mp3, let it slip that he use to play in the Hoovers, so here are a few photos of the Hoovers in action at the Depot aka the Harbourside on the 22nd November 1996.
January 15th, 2006 at 8:52 pm
hey Nick
thanks very much for posting these pictures
i found a text copy (on an old floppy disk) of your review from this gig:-
The Hoovers
The Depot Bar
Friday 22 November 1996
Review and photos by Nick Cowie
What happens when you take away the hat and boots from a Walton and the make up from a Feend and give them Hawaiian shirts and a saz player? You get a fun five piece surf guitar garage band with a penchant for instrumentals. Who play a mix of originals and covers, mainly from the 6Ts.
A quiet night at the Depot was not the best place to see them play. With the rather thin crowd who just seemed to wander in and out, do nothing for a band’s confidence. It was no wonder the Hoovers sounded a little flat. Given a different situation, a party or the Congo Club with a 150 people, like last week, the Hoovers would be a totally different band, feeding of a crowd this band would be interesting. Given the tiny crowd, and lack of
response, they did a pretty good job, but they are a party band that needs that atmosphere.
Any band that finishes their set with a cover of The Sonic “Boss Hoss” gets a gold star in my book.
The highlight of the evening, however came after they band finished early running out of songs to play. Craig Weighell (John Boy, the singing drummer from the Waltons, guitarist from the Dayturas and drummer with half a dozen other bands), traded in his Fender Strat copy for an acoustic guitar and treated the audience to an impromptu short solo set. A thoroughly enjoyable experience, from the pop side of R ‘n’ B, with the harmonica accompanied ‘Slip, Slip’, to the rather Nic Dalton like “Do You Remember School Discos’ to the finally number where he was joined by Mike on Sax. I was not they only one surprised/impressed by his performance, so were some other members of the Hoovers. An underrated singer/songwriter, who produce some quality work.
Overall if you want to have a good time, get a few friends, a few beers and go see the Hoovers. However, if you like music a little more personal, keep and eye/ear open for Craig Weighell.
Nick
thanks again for posting these pictures Nick!
great memories indeed
cheers
Michael
[edited by Nick — took out my old work email address from the byline]