Rockers Reunion 2010

The 27th Annual Rockers Reunion at Reading was a cracker. I missed the Lonesome Valley Boys but was lucky enough to witness Porky's Hot Rockin'. Porky is a tidy singer with good stage presence but you do get the feeling that having the legendary guitarist Mark Harman in your band is a bit like cheating. It's like doing a two man relay against your mates and having Usain Bolt as your partner. They do a few Johnny Burnette covers and the wonderful version of the King's Angel. Highlights of the set for me were Eddie Cochran's My Way, Dale Hawkins' Little Pig (ideal for a guy called Porky!) and Restless' neo-classic, Ice Cold. I've waited about thirty years to see Mark Harman so to watch him burn up the guitar on Ice Cold was a magic moment.

Johnny Fox and the Hunters were next up and they did a really fine set with a couple of Cavan covers and a well worked out version of Deano's Little Ole Wine Drinker Me. I've seen the Jets loads of times and I love them to bits but I was slightly disappointed this time with their set list. I like things like Razor Alley but because I was with doo-wop lover Steve Walker I was hoping they would do a load of the doo-wop strollers they're so good at.

The headliner was Gene Summers and he's been a regular over here for over thirty years. He still looks good for his age and has a friendly, confident stage presence which helped him win the crowd over straight away. With a set list that included Alabama Shake (twice), School Of Rock 'n' Roll and the opener , Twixteen, he couldn't go wrong. I was surprised not to hear Nervous but he made amends with fine covers of Wine Wine Wine and The Rebel Johnny Yuma. Rockin' Daddy was a meaty slab of rockabilly and his reappearance for the encore decked in a Confederate flag was iconic.

The show closed with Crazy Cavan and the Rhythm Rockers. They are simply amazing. How some fans give them the cold shoulder I can't understand. They rock like crazy and have all the menace and boy bad antics that rockabilly was supposed to be about. Drinking whiskey from the bottle to bopping with dozens of fans on-stage, these boys are what I imagine olds school 1970's Ted shows were all about. A brilliant performance to round of a great night. It was great to see the Shakin' All Over crowd there, including regulars Kevin Carey, John Howard and Tony Wilkinson, newcomers Steve Walker and Colin Kilgour, plus non-shakers Bunter and my mate Tony Fry. I look forward to next year - only 363 days to go.

PORKYS HOT ROCKIN' - WE'VE GOT THE CURE FOR THOSE SUMMERTIME BLUES

PORKYS HOT ROCKIN' - WE'VE GOT THE CURE FOR THOSE SUMMERTIME BLUES
Foot Tapping Records FT088

Track listing: SUMMERTIME BLUES / DON'T ASK ME WHY / JUKEBOX JESSIE / I AIN'T WAITING / SWEETHEARTS OR STRANGERS / TRAIN KEPT A ROLLIN' / MY WAY / YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL / ALL THE TIME / LONESOME LOVE STORY / PROUD MARY / CAROLINE

The new Porky’s Hot Rockin’ line-up sees Porky backed by legendary Restless brothers Mark and Paul Harman and his own brother John. Porky Coates has been one of my favourite acts of the last two years and Mark Harman has been a hero of mine for twenty odd years, so this much be a sure-fire hit record. Well, no actually, it isn’t the no-brainer you’d expect. In fact I’d have to say I found it a bit disappointing. I think the problem is that the rockers are too familiar and quite often his voice sounds a bit flat.

For me, the stand-out track is the pepped-up version of Elvis’ Don’t Ask Me Why. As with his brilliant cover of the King’s Angel, he’s taken an okay ballad, notched it up as gear and in the process made the song his own. He’s tried the same on the Jailhouse Rock ballad, Young And Beautiful, but it seems more forced and doesn’t worth half as well.

I’m not sure we need another version of Eddie’s Summertime Blues, but it’s a bit different in that Harman plays some jumpsuit era James Burton. They give Status Quo’s Caroline a good kick in the ass with Mark Harman playing some wicked guitar.

On the originals front we get Harman’s rocker Jukebox Jessie where Porky’s sounds like he eats Wurlitzers for breakfast. Porky’s own Lonesome Love Song is okay but I liked the western styled I Ain’t Waiting despite the lapses into Bananaramaville.

We visit a couple of Memphis’ best in Carl Perkins (Sweethearts or Strangers) and Johnny Burnette (Train Kept A Rollin’) as well as another nod to Eddie Cochran with My Way which again sees Harman in fine form. Sleepy’s All The Time is pretty poor and CCR’s Proud Mary is worse. On a positive note, I thought the album title was funny.