Category: Preston

Preston Venue 60 The Ferret – Part 4

The stage in the Preston Ferret is immediately to your right as you enter the building prior to accessing the bar. There are stairs taking you upstairs to the loos and there is a standing capacity of around 200 and you normally have an excellent unrestricted view of the bands from wherever you positioned, even when it is packed. The stage was originally placed to the left before being moved and my personal preference was its first positioning as it felt to me to be a more aesthetically pleasing lay out as it was further from the entrance door, but that is just my humble opinion.

The current stage position. Image Credit blogpreston.co.uk

In June 2015 after a long emotional day at my Uncle Danny’s funeral we sought some musical solace and the first act was a terrific post rock band from Guadalajara called Polar Dream, a lazy journalistic term could be to quantify them as a ‘Mexican Mogwai’, though they additionally incorporate drone, Latin, Indian and Turkish shades into their mix.  The South American theme continued with the intriguing atmospheric guitar shades of Fauno, a forward-thinking band who were a key influencer in the music scene in Brazil.

My final gig visit of 2015 was to see Bobbie Peru again with the other band being Pete Bentham and The Dinner Ladies. The latter are an art punk ‘Kitchencore’ combo with the Dinnerettes (Peggy Bread and Patti Cakes) in their ranks and idiosyncratic song titles such as Sensitive Lorry Drivers, Rude Statues and Goth Postmen. In February 2016 I caught a band called Young Recreation.

Polar Dream. Image Credit gigseekr.com

A couple of months later, I saw Flight of Arrows who are a four piece whose members are split between Preston and Sheffield. They had performed at Kendal Calling and bagged support spots with the Strypes and 1975.

The headline act was Vyrll Society from Liverpool who formed in 2013 and were originally named Dirty Rivers. They were highly touted but from a personal viewpoint they left me a bit cold. A couple of years later they released their anticipated debut album ‘Course of the Satellite’ containing the single ‘Andrei Rublev’ in a cultural nod to the famous Russian painter and not the tennis player with an almost identical name! That coincided with headlining a UK tour culminating in a sold-out hometown gig. It came as a surprise then that shortly after the front man Michael Ellis called it quits citing the old chestnut of ‘creative differences’, it is unclear whether the band is still operational.

Vyrll Society. Image Credit dansendeberen.be

 In June 2016 my next appearance featured the band Jordan Allen, who started out as a solo artist. They had an Arctic Monkeys feel about them and a couple of years later they had the privilege of playing at the historic St Johns Minster in the city alongside the Sherlocks.

Later that year I witnessed a rather good math rock outfit called Chiyoda Ku. The band members initially met at the age of 16 at the Academy of Music and Sound in Exeter and honed their live craft at the Stag and Hounds in Bristol. The venue actively encouraged and provided a platform for the more musically obtuse bands, possibly due to its proximity to the ArcTanGent festival site at Fernhill Farm on the outskirts of the city. My next appearance was three months later where I saw local artists Notes and Donnie Williams.

My forty second and as it stands currently my latest visit was in August 2017, a month before we relocated to Manchester. Appropriately it was a full bill and commenced with The Kut (known as Princess Maha) who is a gritty London based multi-instrumentalist. Her musical career commenced in 2005 and she had a very gradual rise through the ranks starting with appearances at the London Olympic and Paralympic games in 2012.

In November 2020 she had a speculative shot for a Christmas No 1 single with ‘Waiting for Christmas’ in aid of Red Cross, where she eventually reached No 10. The success continued with her second album GRIT which achieved a No 1 position in the Official UK Rock Album chart. 

Next up was Black Mamba, a heavy metal band based in the city. They were followed by Blackpool band Sin Circus, spearheaded by singer Vicky Spencer who subsequently released their debut album VII during the pandemic all based around the theme of the Seven Deadly Sins. The headline act was another local rock combo called Twisted Obsession who were in the Metallica mould.

So, this completes my review of the 60 Preston venues I have visited thus far, until I find some new ones to frequent!

Preston Venue 60 The Ferret – Part 3

If you walk to the back of the Preston Ferret there is a well utilised beer garden, where you can seek some quiet solace and grab some air in the gaps between bands. In a spot just before you head outside there was for a spell the traditional cramped pub pool table.

The Ferret beer garden. Image Credit visitpreston.com

In November 2012 after seeing an underwhelming Eddie and the Hot Rods gig at the Continental I witnessed Bobbie Peru for whom the driving force is Bert Genovese. He originated from Connecticut but is now based in Manchester. Next on the list was False Flag who supported Piatcions. The main band were from Domodossola in Italy and originally named Thee Piatcions, they provided some enjoyable psych infused shoegaze but sadly only ever produced one single EP.

In March 2013 I attended my mate Jez Catlow’s 50th birthday shindig where he played sets from his three bands in Strettles next door. During breaks in those sets we wandered the 20 yards to the Ferret and saw local bands The Escobars and Binary. The same month after a Nine Black Alps gig at Preston Blitz I witnessed the bruising punk of Beard of Wolves, a two-piece from Wolverhampton who wore pig masks on stage. They memorably described their sound ‘as getting beaten by a meth addled Scarlet Johansen’ and unsurprisingly imploded for ever in 2014.

Beard of Wolves. Image Credit thrashhits.com

In May 2013 I saw Dave Clark and the Stones who proceeded Orphan Boy from Grimsby. The latter combo split in 2015 but reformed in 2022 and seem to be still active on the gig circuit. The following week I saw again The Chapman Family alongside Rook and the Ravens who feature the Fay brothers in their lineup. Also on that bill were Brassic and The Laze who evolved from a sludge outfit called Doom Cow. For a three-year period, The Laze had their own Valhalla club night at Liverpool Zanzibar’s club and their sound was heavily influenced by Frank Zappa.In August 2013, I saw the Escobars for a second time alongside the Locals.

A couple of months later I saw Deadwood Dog’s first headline set across the road at 53 Degrees. After the Dog’s show I sallied over to the Ferret and continued the canine theme by catching the scuzzy grunge sounds of Cat Called Dog. They must surely or at least subconsciously derive their name from Cat Deeley’s character Cat the Dog from SMTV Live which used to salve my hangover on Saturday mornings in the late 1990’s!

My first appearance of 2014 involved local combo The Kausters who were supported by Local Girls. Also on the bill was Matthew Cogley who performed solo but also doubled as the guitarist and singer with Chorley band Failsafe. His band once appeared on an episode in the third series of the successful Inbetweeners TV series and appeared at the famous South by Southwest festival in 2010. There is however a desperately sad postscript in that he subsequently died whilst on a trip to Belfast on New Years Day 2015 at the tender age of 30.

Later that month I saw the quirky four-piece Hello Bamboo. Soon after I saw an absolute belter of a show when Massive Wagons who are a rock band from Lancaster hit the stage. They reminded me of the Darkness in a good way and were terrific fun and incited a febrile audience reaction. Since that gig they have had a steady but exponential rise with support slots with Status Quo and Ugly Kid Joe prior to two individual headline tours and a top ten UK position with their ‘House of Noise’ album released during the pandemic.

Massive Wagons. Image Credit planetradio.co.uk

Next up was some soulful folk from Bill Orrick followed by some reggae rock crossover vibes from Conscious Collective. In November 2014 it was Moon and the Beams with their self-described slightly-delic rock who supported Mothertongue who provided some prog rock sounds. The final show of 2014 was a four-piece from Leeds called Clay who revolved around the nucleus of the Harvey brothers. The main band that night was Avalanche Party who provided some gritty garage punk and they hailed from the windswept ‘Wuthering Heights’ North Yorkshire moors. 

After my first exposure to the delightful Lovely Eggs at the Continental in March 2015 we decamped to the Ferret to catch some ska punk with Honour Roots and some prog with Jagwar. Next up was Nikki and the Styx (not the Motley Crue bassist) who supported local glam rockers Dragstrip Junkies whose members had the evocative names of Adam Wired, Johnny Rocker and Paul Wasted. A double bill followed with Monster as Humans, who reminded me of Aerogramme, preceding Midas Fall. The main band being a Scottish female duo who had gothic tones.