Thursday 2nd June 05 - Baggott and Baz's Jam Night at Staks Bar Beverley Rd By Chu Nin Photo Gallery By Meso Orney

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The night kicks of in fine form, with Baz lead guitar with the Dirty Dreamers and lead singer Paul Baggot from Turismo covering a few Kinks, Stones and Oasis numbers. As more people arrive, Matt Addison and Danny Tonkin from The Johnsons take the floor and play acoustic versions of the popular Oh No, the crowd pleaser Misfortunate Love and other Johnsons' songs. The two work incredibly well acoustically and bring their unique style and musical quality to the fore.

I fancy when they play in this acoustic way they perhaps should be called The Demi-Johns (work it out). Baggott returns, this time playing solo, and effortlessly takes over charming the crowd. Never mind Japan, this boy deserves the world. At this point my review gets hi-jacked by a few musicians having a thoroughly good evening. The Johnsons rule! and Michelle will take over the world and maybe Mars! We love you Mich etc...etc...P.B.W. for Baggott.

A very special treat follows as Ash and Baz take us through a few Dreamers numbers. Overload and Three Lines result in rapturous applause. This is a night for lovers of quality music played by some of the finest musicians that Hull has seen in a long time. In keeping with the night Time for Heroes by the Libertines is given a fresh take by Danny and Matt.

Tonight is a great chance to learn all the lyrics to your favourite songs. You never quite catch them on the CD but here, every word is clear as if reading from a book; an educational and seat moving experience. All through the night the cream of Hull's musical fraternity get up and mix up original songs with some well-known covers. I managed to catch a few words about the ethos behind the night from Paul in-between songs. Anyone is welcome to get up from beginners to experienced musicians. Whether they are already in bands or not is not important this is a chance to promote themselves.

We wanted to create something new down here; a friendly alternative to all the Dance and Karaoke usually offered on Beverley Rd. And now a few from Baz relaxing with friends in the cool night air.

The best bit is when everyone has had a few drinks and you get many members of different bands on stage at one time. We love doing My Generation in this way, the crowd is buzzing and joining in. It's just a good mix of chilled out people coming together creating an open and relaxed atmosphere. There is no attitude or arrogance going on, it's all very real and humble. Another highlight is when a photographer comes down and takes pictures of us all.

Talking of highlights, one of the moments that stood out for me was Danny's attention-grabbing rendition of The Beatles classic, I Saw Her Standing There. Once more, Paul takes to the stage and regales us with stories that delight and amuse. A grand Turismo mega mix, incorporating some of their well-known songs, and less familiar ones about farmers and tractors results in whoops and yells from a gently oiled audience.

He sits there unassuming, the complete entertainer, and it's all free: what more could you want?

The service is top notch and the drinks reasonably cheap; with Carlsberg at 99p you can't complain. The loos are very clean and all the cubicles come with loo roll, a very important consideration I might add. And you don't look unattractive in the mirrors like you can do in other venues. Stax, it's a first-class place, with first-class clientele, to go on a Thursday evening for a relaxed environment with quality entertainment.

Check the thisisUll.com Gallery Photographs courtesy and Copyright ©  Meso Orney 2005

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