Tag: Deadwood Dog

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.

Preston Venue 40 – Victoria Inn

Lostock Hall, a small village three miles south of Preston city centre, has its origins dating way back to 1212 when James de Lostock built the original Lostock’s Hall, the settlement which then subsequently expanded to create the village of today.

It contains its own train station which resides on the Preston to Blackburn line, I have travelled the line many times and embarked at every station. The first stop returning from Blackburn is Mill Hill, which is handy on away football trips as it is within walking distance of Ewood Park, Blackburn’s stadium. The next alighting point is Pleasington, a leafy suburb with a couple of nearby pubs.

Lostock Hall train station pictured in 1965. Image Credit Flickr.

The train then trundles on to Cherrytree, with again a couple of decent boozers very near to the station. I recall one evening residing in one of the establishments where there was a huge group of inebriated young lads waiting for a coach to Manchester Airport for a very late flight to Ibiza, I remember thinking I was glad I wasn’t booked on that aeroplane!  

I remember also on a Christmas night out one year there was a huge carpet on snow deposited from the sky in the afternoon, resulting in the bizarre situation of having a clear snow lit view out of the window when returning on the midnight express.  The train then runs through Lostock Hall and Bamber Bridge, the latter stop I have visited once, and it has a level crossing across the main drag.

My first train foray to Lostock Hall was in 1993 when a huge group of us from work attended our colleague Louise Mariner’s 21st party at the Royal British Legion club on Brownedge Road. We gathered in the back room of the Railway pub in Preston, where I recall watching Colin Jackson break the 110m hurdles world record in the World Athletics championship taking place in Stuttgart.

En arrival in Lostock Hall we visited the Railway pub (long since gone), the Pleasant Retreat (now Lostock Ale), Tardy Gate (rebadged as the Wishing Well), all of which were within easy walking distance of the Legion. After the shindig had finished, we headed over in a fleet of taxis to the Poachers pub and my one and only visit to the Whisper’s nightclub in Bamber Bridge, twas a very good night!

I have visited the Anchor inn down Croston Road and the legendary but very small Sangam Indian restaurant. I also used to play a few frames at the Elite Snooker Club down Coote Lane.  

The village’s musical heritage has incorporated an annual festival called LostFest. The other public house in the district is the Victoria Inn, a large boozer located a handy three-minute walk to the station. The pub was subject to a £250k revamp in 2017 and reopened with a shortened name of the Vic. They have a small stage to the right of the front entrance where bands play.

Victoria Inn. Image Credit media-cdn.tripadvisor.com

As my friend Jez Catlow is a lifelong resident, living five minutes from the Vic, I have visited a couple of times to see him play in a couple of different bands. There were a large group of us who attended to watch the local punk legends Pike on 26/04/14. On that very day local football team Chorley FC were promoted back to Conference level. They played a long set and were still on stage when we had to depart to catch the 00.01 train back into Preston.

A year later another posse headed to the Vic to see his other more soothing alter ego combo Deadwood Dog supported that evening by Maelor Hughes, a folk singer from Accrington.

A topical postscript is that today (12/11/22) I am over in the fair city of Preston to watch the match and then off to the New Continental to watch 999 supported by the aforementioned Pike!