I can't quite believe it, but it is the start of the third year that Acoustic Sussex have been running and long may it continue. And it's that time of year again. No, I don't mean the sometimes dreaded 'C' word - that's still four months away - but the annual appearance of some old friends who are, without question, as daft as three brushes: The Ric Sanders Band, featuring Ric Sanders himself, (Fairport Convention's virtuoso violinist), Vo Fletcher on guitar and vocals and Mike Gregory ('Greg' to his friends) on semi drum kit/office furniture and general tea-making facilities. 

Ric Sanders needs no introduction really but not only is he currently doing time with Fairport Convention (and doing a thoroughly splendid job of it); he has previously served  with Stomu Yamashta, jazz pianists Johnny Patrick and Michael Garrick, The Albion Band, Soft Machine, Rick Wakeman, Dave Cousins (The Strawbs), Jethro Tull, Robert Plant, Roy Harper, Gary Brooker (Procol Harum), Pentangle, Gordon Giltrap, Andrew Cronshaw, June Tabor, Martin Simpson, Charlie Landsborough, All About Eve, The Mission, John Etheridge (guitarist with Soft Machine) and Stephane Grapelli. 

Vo has performed with Nigel Kennedy, Touch & Go, Rik Mayall, Dave Swarbrick, Andrew Cronshaw, Martin Simpson, Chris Leslie, Simon Nicol, and Donovan. And finally 'Greg', who can claim the following in his list of associates; the Albion Band, The Maddy Prior Band, The John Kirkpatrick band, Home Service, Martin Simpson and the late John B. Spencer. More recently, he's been in demand for film and theatre work, where he's played with the Royal Shakespeare Company, The National Theatre, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and in West End productions. 

What a curriculum vitae this lot would make - but enough of the history - now for the review! 

If you were here this time last year you will remember Ric's joke about his time machine. Well, it may have been a joke but I strongly suspect that he really does own one and in his travels he found Mike Gregory. I say this because whenever I see Greg on stage, he sits there looking like a man with a face like a bag full of broken chisels, having been plucked out of the ether by Ric using his time machine from a two-up, two-down terraced working class house in Edwardian times at three in the morning, with hair tousled; and in he haste to depart to modern times, has forgotten his collar stud.

But seriously, he puts on this convincing act and never says anything to the audience and adds to the  humour that emanates from the other two. 

The mix of music performed is extremely eclectic and you find yourself listening to songs from yester-millenium juxtaposed with contemporary songs, like Bye, Bye Blackbird and having The Beatles 'Blackbird' neatly stuffed into the middle eight. And there were a lot of (modern) jazz standards together with folk songs. But to be truthful, I enjoyed the lot. My particular favourite was John McLaughlin's Lotus Feet, which was quite exquisite. The whole evening just flew by. I could listen to this band all night long and never get enough. All these songs were delivered with an incredible sense of humour between songs. 

Undeniably, a great evening with an even greater bunch of guys. 

The evening started with Andy Whittle.  Andy is from Nottingham. He sings and plays acoustic guitar; a very personable guy without any airs and graces, and he gave us a fine set of songs written from his own experiences. He did a couple on his own and then called upon the lovely Rebecca Dawson (who incidentally plays bass and sings in his band) to provide some delicate vocal harmony. I acquired his album - A Songmaker's Tale - which when first played sounded nice but didn't quite leap onto my cerebral playlists immediately. But as time passed,  I found myself being hooked into the music unexpectedly, with such an impact that I've found myself thinking "Who the hell is that? … That is brilliant!" And then the penny drops and I remember that I've left A Songmaker Tale in the car's CD player. The strength of the music becomes more apparent with each play and I am sure it will become one of my more permanent favourites.

Review courtesy of 'Maximum' Bob