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OOOH you Salty Old Dog!

by tiltedreviews.co.uk



8pm on a rainy Thursday night in Northwich and The Salty Dog pub is brimming with music lovers and real ale drinkers alike. It’s a sold-Out and sweaty affair tonight with a crowd hyped for a mid-week dose of live music. Let’s push things forward.


The night kicks off with a solid acoustic set from Liverpool singer/songwriter Alan Triggs. Songs included a pop driven cover of George Harrison's ‘My Sweet Lord’, and the brilliantly honest and original song ‘Algy’ about his Father’s battle with alcoholism. Alan’s lyrics have such a realistic quality and resonate incredibly well with the crowd; don’t miss the chance to see him live if you get the chance.


Next up at the Salty Dog are Atlas Bay, a 3-piece folk outfit with an average age of 16, and WOW…can these kids play! Singer Isaac Radcliffe has such a natural control over his voice and the young lads blow the crowd away with their Banjo/Guitar/Mandolin up-tempo pop hits. Despite their age they appear completely at home performing on stage, and they even get the first encore of the night. An incredible band, cannot recommend them enough and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for them.


The main event of the night comes from Tom Hingley, ex-lead vocalist from Inspiral Carpets who has swapped the backing band for an acoustic guitar. Tom dives head first into a nostalgia trip setlist starting with the incredible Carpet’s tune ‘This is How It Feels’. From the opening line it’s clear that Tom didn’t need any backing singers tonight, the crowd have well and truly got his back. Other Inspiral classics included ‘Joe’, ‘Saturn 5’ and ‘Directing Traffik’. Also peppered over his setlist included a (try not to) sing-a-long cover of James’s “Sit Down” and several blues-influenced acoustic jams. What’s not to like? 


Songs aside Tom has always had a natural charisma in his story telling. Tonight, however he groans pessimistically on the topics of his ex-wife, Alimony payments and his ongoing rivalry with old bandmate Clint Boon. The only true belly-laugh the Northwich crowd awards him is for the tale of when his infamous pal Mark E Smith from The Fall got kicked out of Top of the Pops. It’s a solid musical set from the Manchester Legend, I just think he should work on his storytelling skills if that’s his thing. Having said that he is incredibly humble to the crowd and still seems to get a genuine kick out of playing these songs after all these years.


It’s refreshing to see so many people supporting Northwich’s music scene on a weekday night and both Softlad and The Salty Dog have clearly pulled this one out of the bag. It’s a clear nod to the fact that Rock and Roll is not dead, it was probably just on holiday…

Softlad Promotions all-dayer festival takes place on Saturday 28th July 2018, Tickets available at: https://en-gb.facebook.com/softladpromos/ 

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