Thanks to Andy Swapp for sending along his photographs, and review, from a great night in Oxford.

Gary 'Mantis' Lucas suddenly appeared stalking across stage and to whoops and hollers, he smiled his trademark, thin as a whip smile and was quickly followed by Denny 'Feelers Reebo' Walley, Mark 'Rockette Morton' Boston and drummer Michael Traylor. Straight away plugging in, hitting a string or two they had clearly come to do the stuff and no mistake - these guys meant business - when suddenly John 'Drumbo' French appears and wearing the ubiquitous white trench coat and wide brimmed hat we have come to recognise, lifts the mike and they belt into the opening number - 'Gimme Dat Harp Boy'.

Simply this evening was the most fun and the best gig I have seen in many years, equally importantly for me that without Don 'The Captain' at the helm I had been feeling like a traitor until hearing the Back to Front album which went a heck of long way to assuaging my guilt [!] The thing with this concert without its composer was that it was either better than the Bristol Colston Hall concert or more importantly for me NEARLY as extraordinarily good as their appearance around the time of the release of 'Clear Spot' when they played in Oxford Polytechnic College. [the best concert I have ever been to and stands clearly atop my best musical experience of all time]

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