Blimey little did I know this was going to be an ace night given I’d never heard of the support acts or indeed Ray Coen – but being an ardent Waterboys fan and a lover of the Irish fiddle Steve Wickham was a no brainer. It ended up as a weird and wonderful surprise plus I’ve no got 2 new bands to check out.  Quick summary: Sarah Vista are a mix between a Mexican mariachi band and an Ennio Morricone spaghetti western soundtrack.  Heathen Apostles are Tennessee bluegrass with a gothic country twist aptly named ‘bloodgrass’ by their singer.

The 100 club was say 50% full with tables/chairs set out around the venue, as opposed to just the wings as normal.  A lot of the seats were taken by punters associated with the support acts, and promptly left to go to the bar before Stere and Ray came on.  I found this distasteful and unrespectful given that there was such a cacophony of chatter at the bar that it was hard to hear and concentrate on Steve/Ray’s quiet set for the first 20 mins.  I nearly stood up to tell them to “shut the fuck up!”, but thankfully they left and things improved.

Sarah Vista

The band were a 6 piece led by a blonde cowgirl dressed all in black.  Great C&W look and I liked all the songs I heard, especially the up-tempo ones.  I can imagine them playing a saloon bar, in the old west, waiting for the inevitable shoot out to happen!  Couldn’t really catch the lyrics so I don’t know what the songs were about, but given some of the titles I think death features heavily 😊.  They certainly got my foot stomping and they were very entertaining to watch.

On an unrelated note Alex Cox, the director, has Sarah in his upcoming film ‘Dead Souls’.

Her setlist included these songs:

• Killing Fever
• Dead on Arrival
• Hour of the Gun
• Lonely are the ..
• Tall in the Saddle
• Sugar Colt
• County Jail
• Dig Yourself a Hole
• I Wish You Hell

Heathen Apostles

The Heathen Apostles definitely have a dark western image – hat, hair styles, beards/sideburns – it could easily be 1873 in Tennessee.  To me they looked like a cross between Jason and the Scorchers and Aimish undertakers, and the attractive lead singer was the antithesis of Stevie Nicks..  So after  a bit of investigation it turns out Chopper was with the Cramps for a while – great education 😊.

The band are: Mather Louth (vocals/guitar/ bodhrán); Chopper Franklin (guitar/mandolin);  Thomas Lorioux (Upright Bass), Luis Mascaro (violin). 

Being a small gig the band have to do their own humping – thankfully they don’t have much gear.  Dressed all in black and wearing hats they looked mean and ready to kick ass.  Mather, dressed like the wicked witch of the west, immediately commands attention and her screeching eerie voice blends perfectly with the dark nature of many of their songs, even the up tempo ones.

Obviously I don’t know any of the songs but did manage to video them in action singing Death’s Head a rather wonderful tune. There was plenty gothic foot stomping rhythms that would go down well at any hoedown!  I really enjoyed there set and will check them out for future gigs.

The “fuck Trump” comment was unnecessary – there are way too many people need fucking!

PS – Alex Cox, the director, is using the band’s ‘Careful What You Pray For’ in his upcoming ‘Dead Souls’ film.

Steve Wickham & Ray Coen

And onto the main reason I came, to see Steve Wickham (I’m an ardent Waterboys fan) and love the extra depth of sound that Steve gives to the band with his fiddle. I also loved all the Celtic songs from the ‘Fishermans Blues’ period and hoped I’d get the feeling of being in a small country pub on the west coast of Ireland, drinking Guinness and soaking in the traditional sounds of the area.  Plus a couple of  Waterboys tunes wouldn’t go amiss 😊..  Ray on the other hand I’d never heard of but it turns out he’s a very accomplished guitarist/fiddle player, and singer-songwriter from Sligo. 

Again I’m not familiar with their set list but a few songs I knew such as ‘Fearful Man’, ‘Dunfords Fancy’ and I managed to video The Hare and a seriously slowed down and mellow rendition of  Fisherman’s Blues.

They used the 100 Club PA system which on this occasion simply wasn’t loud enough to drown out the persistent noise from the bar area for the first half of the set.  Steve spoke between songs, either introducing them like ‘Fearful Man’ or just talking about the fact that it rains most of the year in County Sligo where they both live.  Amusing anecdotes that added to the overall beauty of the evening.  Steve played fiddle mostly and some acoustic guitar and Ray provided the rhythm guitar and a few acoustic solos. They are both extremely talented musicians, and I think they quite like playing these little venues – they smiled a lot and gave each other knowing glances.

So a mix of their own solo songs interspersed with some Waterboys tunes for a paltry £25 – what’s not to like.  You simply can’t beat a small gig atmosphere, you can keep your Wembley stadium gigs – this is way better and personal.

Marko [5 Oct 2025] yes a very late post 😊