BANGERS AND MASH AT THE BARREL HOUSE

Last weekend, the Barrel House hosted a fantastic night of live music as Andy Hill presented his one-off (probably won’t be though because it was amazing) show, Bangers and Mash, for the music lovers of Totnes.

If you’ve experienced any of Andy Hill’s other offerings such as, F#@k It, Let’s Play the Beatles or Now That’s What I Call A Pub Singalong, then you’ll already know audience participation is mandatory. This is an unwritten rule, of course. Andy doesn’t put you in the spotlight by shoving a microphone into your face with the expectation you’ll complete the chorus to Back In The USSR while slurping on a pint of Mena Dhu.

No.

Andy’s playlist and performance encourages you to forget about your singing ability and enjoy yourself. Enjoy the company. And enjoy the atmosphere with a bunch of like minded pisspots there to sing along to a purposefully curated set of well-known songs, or in this case, “Bangers!”

GUEST PERFORMER: RICH SOWARD

Andy Hill usually flies solo but for Bangers and Mash he was able to gather a group of musicians for the show. Tess O’Connor joined him on vocals, Rowland O’Connor on bass guitar and Mike Hartley played the saxophone. On the drums was a musician you could claim was the inspiration for the whole event – Rich Soward. Not only did he put on a fantastic performance with the rest of the group he started off the whole night with his solo act which I’ll get back to in a minute.

Rich Soward is Andy’s musical brother. Pre-kids but still with great haircuts, they lived, traveled and breathed the world together. And although they have very different musical styles, after watching them during Bangers and Mash, it was clear these two have some kind of well oiled music memory, played together a million times, sober, completely hammered and everything else in-between connection.

There were a few stories shared throughout the night but this is a family space so all I can say is they certainly had a good time. And this was best represented by their original song, Talk to Frank, which was super funky and went down very well amongst the crowd. Most of us who survived the 90’s and early 00’s with at least half of our brain cells intact understood the reference.

But I’m getting ahead of myself!

The night began with a relaxed tone. The Ballroom had chairs and tables scattered throughout which invited people to sit, chat and enjoy the late evening sun as it beamed through the large windows that are usually hidden behind thick curtains.

The audience started off relatively small as Rich entered the stage with nothing more than a cool hat, electric guitar and a loop pedal thingy – really useful as long as you know what you’re doing, of course. And Rich seemed to know his way around it so that was all good.

I don’t know whether having a small audience at the start is helpful or not for a musician but it worked well because as Rich played through his lively set of original and cover songs, the day turned to night and the audience became a crowd. And that crowd was hungry for some Bangers and Mash!

BANGERS AND MASH: THE BEGINNING

There’s something infectious about watching a group of musicians enjoy their craft. The subtle nods to one another as they acknowledge something slick that just occurred – most of us don’t understand the complexity of whatever this is but appreciate it in our own little way. I also love the interaction between musicians and the crowd when they mix up the playlist, suddenly injecting a random song that felt appropriate in the moment.

Bangers and Mash had all of that and more. What else would you expect from Andy Hill and his keen ear for what gets the party started?!

What I didn’t expect was Close To You by Carpenters to be the turning point in the night. In-fact, if you had given me three options, one of them being a toothless geezer playing the spoons on his threadbare cords, an eight year old pigtailed princess playing the recorder or Close to You by Carpenters, I would have guessed the spoon guy all day!

But for the first time since records began, I was wrong.

The introduction of Carpenters came at a poignant moment in the night, probably about a quarter of the way in, as Andy took to the microphone to congratulate his wife Sarah for passing her Oncology Consultant exams.

The crowd went, “Arrrr,” and then the song began. At this moment I considered nipping out for a quick wee but like any true half-drunk amateur photographer /slash/ writer, I stayed because I noticed the energy shift in the room. It was like the crowd woke up to the reality of the situation.

They remembered where they were. This was an Andy Hill gig. People sing. People dance. And it doesn’t matter if you’re particularly good at either of those things!

And that was it after that – the night really took off with a BANG!

THE PLAYLIST: TOTNES DOES SLIM SHADY

I will never again be able to listen to The Real Slim Shady in the same way again. You would never class me as a rhythm and poetry fan, unless we’re talking the Sugar Hill Gang type, but I was there when Enimen came on the scene and even a rap novice like myself chucked out some moves to his songs. But never again will I appreciate The Real Slim Shady in the same way because the Bangers and Mash version was a million times better. And that’s impossible because only 100% makes sense!

Oh and the Bangers didn’t stop there. Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio – now boring in comparison. And one of my wedding tunes that I’ve loved dearly for yonks, Ini Kamoze, Here Comes The Hotstepper, was reinvented and absolutely, without a doubt, got every single person up on their feet dancing as if their life depended on it!

Take a breath.

There were other highlights, too many to note. But how do you finish a night when every single person, young, old and everything in between is shouting for more, more, more?

Queen. Don’t Stop Me Now.

Which sadly, just like it brought Bangers and Mash to its inevitable end, it has for this review! And we were having such a good time!

All images and video by Adam Glennon – Warning – this video features potty-mouth.