14 Cousins, The Grey Horse, Kingston upon Thames, July 18th 2010

There’s no nicer way to waste a Sunday afternoon than by sitting in the Grey Horse in Kingston, sipping beer and listening to some good music. I joined Al the Manc for several pints and a few hours in the company of Peter Bruntnell’s occasional pub band, 14 Cousins, with Andy Winfield on guitar, Mick Clews on drums and Malcolm Hoskins on bass. This is no cheap pick-up band, though – between them, they’ve played with Paul Carrack, Little Sister, Juice On The Loose, Ralph McTell, The Shortlist and many more, so they know their stuff.

We’d seen them in the same place back in March and the setlist was similar, but once they got into the groove, it was a great afternoon (and early evening) of music. Here for our listening pleasure was what we got. And all it cost was a fiver in the jug that was passed round.
First set:
Heart Of Darkness (Sparklehorse)
Albuquerque (Neil Young)
Come Home, Baby (Muddy Waters)
The Heart Of Saturday Night (Tom Waits)
Ohio (Neil Young)
Folsom Prison Blues (Johnny Cash)
Since I Met You Baby (Ivory Joe Hunter)
Goin’ Back (Carole King)
Second set:
Inner City Blues (Marvin Gaye)
You Don’t Know Me (Ray Charles)
Tulsa County (The Byrds)
The Girl Of My Best Friend (Elvis Presley)
The Shape I’m In (The Band)
From a Buick 6 (Bob Dylan)
Cinnamon Girl (Neil Young)
Watching The River Flow (Bob Dylan)
My Back Pages (Bob Dylan)
Third set:
What’s Goin’ On (Marvin Gaye)
Jump, Jive And Wail (Louis Prima)
Standing On Shaky Ground (Delbert McClinton)
Into The Mystic (Van Morrison)
Powderfinger (Neil Young)
That Was Your Mother (Paul Simon)
I’m Not That Cat Anymore (Doug Sahm)
Wichita (The Jayhawks)
Cold Turkey (John Lennon)
Encore: Promised Land (Chuck Berry)

As I suggested before, sitting in a pub listening to fine musicians play great songs is better than sitting in a big pricey venue, surrounded by tatty merch and people taking pictures of each other while talking loudly. Give me the pub any time. In fact, I’m seriously thinking about making my own ‘stand’ concerning live music and the cost of concert tickets. Watch this space…

Here’s a video from last November of Peter and the boys playing My Back Pages. It has dodgy sound and the wrong title, but it gives you a good impression of the boozer – with the bonus of the pissed headbanger in the background.
And here, just because it’s one of my all-time favourite songs, is Dusty Springfield singing her unsurpassable version of Goin’ Back.