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Pete Christie

Venue: The Bricklayers Arms
Town: Poole
Date: 6th January
Website: www.petechristie.co.uk/

It was a nostalgia ridden first gig of 2012, the first gig in what had been a stalwart venue of the music scene, The Bricklayer's Arms, affectionately known to all, simply, as The Brickies, in some twenty odd years.

Back in the old days, the music used to be held in a hall out of the back. The toilets used to be outside and the smokers were inside. The hall has been demolished, the music now inside the main pub in a refurbished back bar, the toilets are now inside the pubs and the smokers are found outside.

Back then there were three pubs within a stone's throw that did music, now there's none. Tonight is a one off to celebrate the birthday of Harry, one of the bar staff. We do have a new music venue in the area, the wonderful Mr Kyps, but the days of doing a tour of Ashley Cross or even playing all three venues on the one night have long since gone, torpedoed by residents associations and anti-entertainment legislation.

One thing that is consistent is tonight's performer, Pete Christie, he played The Brickies back in the heyday when if you wanted to get a fresh pint and it was raining, you got wet and whilst there was a certain amount of nostalgic longing in the pre-gig chatting, there was also a grudging gratitude for being in a warm and comfortable room, particularly as it was a party and there was food available.

Pete Christie is a singer/songwriter with a common touch, he has a knack for extracting a song from areas where other singer/songwriters fear to tread. It's relatively easy to write songs around emotional events or the big political issues, more difficult to write about the more mundane, more difficult still to write about it in a way that holds the attention of the listener, Pete, has that talent.

He's playing a long set which gives him the opportunity to test out new songs projected to appear on an album that Pete is going to be releasing this year. These are judiciously mixed with more familiar songs from his extensive repertoire, including a number of requests shouted from the audience, some of which are no longer included on his current set list.

Blues and singer/songwriter classics from the likes of early Fleetwood Mac also form part of the set as Pete seems to absorb himself in the music, just him and his guitar, being played in a number of different styles, including, briefly, as a lap guitar. Pete showcases himself not only as a man of words and melodies but also a consummate performer on the old six string.

The room isn't as conducive to music as the old hall was, it's part of a corridor for both the toilets and one of the smoking areas, fortunately Pete's an old trooper when it comes to these sort of distractions and not detract from a highly enjoyable performance.

There was a sense of nostalgia about being back in the Brickies, but that really was eclipsed by the enjoyment of spending the time in the company of and listening to Pete Christie.

words and pictures Neil King