The 31st October saw The Main Event come to Alderley Edge in aid of the Christie Charitable Fund. There was a great response to the event and the Festival Hall was dressed all in black and dotted with pumpkins as the stage was set alight. The five acts on the bill on the night were, Marshy George, Bridgewater Blues Band, The Lost 37, Butterfly Jam and Purge.
'Marshy George' was the first on stage at a little after 8pm. He stepped towards what was now a sizeable crowd and took his seat in front of the microphone. He opened with a few current pop numbers on his twelve string guitar and this began to entice the crowd into his set.
As he got further into his performance he grew in confidence and started to command the songs he was playing more and more. Undoubtedly the highlight being 'Don't Look Back in Anger' a cover of Oasis' famous track which the crowd greatly appreciated. After about half an hour George descended from the stage to solid applause.
After a small change over in which Howard Newhall thanked the audience and bands for their attendance and enlightened us to the wonderful work of the Christie. The 'Bridgewater Blues Band' emerged from back stage. They consisted of drums, bass, guitar and vocals supplemented throughout by a soulfully played mouth organ.
By the third or fourth song they were really rocking and had many up on their feet dancing as if they had found themselves in a Chicago dive or a delta shack. They were loud brash and gave off a great energy, the lead guitar player even descended into the depths of the audience to dazzle them with his wailing guitar. The highlight here is between Brown Sugar of the Rolling Stones and Boom Boom from John Lee Hooker.
The next band The Lost 37 had taken on Halloween and were wearing full costume as a banana, a batman, a crocodile and a drummer in a poncho took to the stage.
They opened their set with a cover from the Strokes followed by some original material. Here there was a noticeable difference in the audience and it was apparent that some of the growing crowd were ardent The Lost 37 fans. They were up on their feet to watch them and despite some squeaks of feedback they pulled off a good performance and were very well received.
The second to last band were now picking up their instruments. Butterfly Jam, they looked fantastical and pulled of the look to perfection. Each player it seemed was playing a different character which gave off a dizzying visual effect. Made up of drums, bass guitar, keys and a mixture between two, one or even three vocals at a time Butterfly Jam were able to bring out great harmonies. This had the greatest effect on a cover of 'Happy' by Pharrell Williams. This was a highlight of their set which ended to rapturous applause.
The headliners were now upon us and a great surge in the numbers in the crowd marked their arrival. Purge erupted onto stage, the lead singer with a Native American headdress emblazoned across his forehead. They were the definite headliners and their fans knew all about it as they ripped into their set. It was definitely the first time in a long while that the Festival Hall had seen a mosh pit.
The fact that the enormous balloon spider fell in a giant cascade only added to the rock n roll atmosphere in the hall. You could not help but stand up and take notice. After their allotted time was up Purge were forced into one more song by the baying crowd.
Once the encore had finished well past midnight the crowd slowly dispersed and the Main Event drew to a close.
Guest post and photos by Sam Brunt.
