Preview

A very welcome return for this rocking seven-piece band led by non other than one of popular music's most celebrated artists - Paul Young! But, although his is the best-known name, Paul is not the only luminary in the band. It is a self contained unit, with some of the best musicians in the business teamed up to present the incendiary mix of music that sits somewhere between the Mariachi and Norteño styles of Mexico, and the country/blues of south western America.

Paul formed the band several years ago, while between record labels, mainly for fun and a need to get 'back to basics'. Of course, with this many great players all with a common interest in the music that they were playing, it was only a matter of time before the band took on a life of its own. They now have a critically-acclaimed, self-titled album on release, and are one of the most sought after bands on the international roots circuit. (Perhaps more of our household names should start showing their roots!)

The rest of the star-studded line up is: Drew Barfield: Guitar / Vocals; Melvyn Duffy: Pedal; Steve Greetham: Bass / Vocals; Matt Irving: Keyboards / Accordion / Vocals; Jamie Moses: Guitar / Vocals and Mike Pinder: Drums. Between them they have worked with, among others, Go West, Joe Jackson, Level 42 Jimmy Nail, Leo Sayer, Deana Carter Joan Armatrading, Julia Fordham and Chris De Burgh Lords Of The New Church, Squeeze, Chris Rea, Jools Holland, Roger Waters, Manfred Mann, The Pretenders, Mike And The Mechanics, Chaka Khan, Gary Barlow, Mica Paris, Tony Hadley, Pete Townsend, Karl Wallinger, Paul Rodgers, Curtis Stiegers and Alison Moyet.

We had one helluva night last time these hombres hit town back in 2000 (despite the mid-gig power cut!), including an after gig, late night, tequila fuelled singsong in the back bar! So, saddle up, get your tickets early, and be prepared for Wild West night, Talbot-style!

Review

Three years down the line from their first landmark visit to the Talbot, this stupendous seven-man Tex-Mex outfit has quite rightly shrugged off any novelty value that might derive from the diverse background of its individual members. These occasional-weekend fun supergroups have a habit of taking on a life of their own - our chums Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes are vivid proof of that syndrome - and Los Pacaminos are now in the enviable position of being in huge demand not only because of any luminaries who happen to grace their line-up, but much more importantly for being quite simply one of the most entertaining (in every sense of the word) live acts on the circuit, combining influences that range from the Texas Tornadoes, to Ry Cooder's 'Long Riders' soundtrack, to Roy Orbison, to The Band, to Calexico, all stirred together with a real love and understanding of the original singing cowboys, conjunto, mariachi, spaghetti Westerns, and Texas Swing.

Well, this sure is a hat act! As soon as these seven elegantly be-titfered gringos mounted the stage it was clear that we were in for a dazzling show (and, just for once, one we could all enjoy to the full: Los Pacaminos carry two engineers, whose respective expertise on the mixing-desk and the lights allowed Ron a richly-deserved break from these duties). Now, let's just get one little matter out of the way: in spite of publicizing the facts until we were blue in the face (makes a change from ashen), it's fairly certain that a proportion of the predominantly female contingent who pressed eagerly forward (Be careful. - Ed.) were expecting a certain Mr Paul Young to regale them with his 'hits'. We can only hope they quickly recognized not only that this band is a democracy, one in which his truly excellent work on guitar and bajo (that's a 16-string Mexican axe) is matched by musical equals, but also that his understanding and feel for this style of music is, like his colleagues, faultless. The line-up boasts no less than five wonderful singers; Young apart, guitarist Drew Barfield especially shone, and Jamie Moses delivered some blistering lead guitar. On accordion (shades of the peerless Flaco Jiminez) and keyboards, the ever-droll Matt Irving provided many highlights, while Melvin Duffy's pedal-steel work was both atmospheric and witty. Dave Levy's exemplary bass was complemented by none other than our old friend Jim Russell, whose appearances at the Talbot drumming for a bewildering array of bands are now so frequent that the acquisition of a modest pied-a-terre in the locality could well be an economic necessity.

Your reporter was far too busy enjoying himself to scribble down song titles on the night, but in among the Mexican standards and the fine band originals ('Two Margaritas' stood out), Al Green's 'Belle' hit the spot, as did a brilliant cod-gospel 'Saved', while the closing section, including Sam The Sham's timeless and fabulously meaningless 'Wooly Bully', a sublime 'Save the Last Dance For Me', and a soaring 'La Bamba', could hardly have been bettered. The band clearly loved the Talbot experience as much as we enjoyed hosting them; their not inconsiderable on-stage beverage consumption was judiciously topped up as they mingled with the punters in the back bar, and it was well past 3 a.m. when they finally tottered upstairs, and exchanged Stetsons for jimjams.