Top Orange Bananas....Here to help...
Those of you who worry
about the balance of The Hat's Fragile Mind – or indeed the balance
of his Fragile Body – will be pleased to hear that, after the low
yield nuclear outburst that is the Hebden Bridge Blues Festival, he
is back safe and sound on his chaise longue at Hat Mansions and
making a fuss of the sulking neglected cat Cozy by playing him Mississippi Macdonald's 'Lay My Burden Down'; the full length version of Aynsley Lister's 'Purple Rain' and the slow movement from Bruch's Violin Concerto. He has an eclectic taste does Cozy. You can play your own cat your own favourite music but leave The Hat's alone.
I was musing. If the beloved John Lennon had been around last weekend there is no question that he would have been up on stage at all the Midnight Jam sessions rockin', rollin' and ad-libbing his way Through Till Two. 
We would have taken up the Crash Position as he and - to name but a few - Joey and Layla, Paddy Maguire, Aynsley Lister, Marcus Bonfanti, Paddy Milner, Jo Harman, Paul Lamb, Ron Sayer, Lorna Fothergill and Russ Tippins and and and.. comprehensively sliced and diced the Baptist Chapel. Sadly, he wasn't there of course but it is nice to think that his free and impromptu spirit was around and about. There was definitely Something in The Air. For those of you who missed them, these late night sessions have a special vibe of their own. Because all three this year were so packed with stars jamming their sox off, The Hat did not attempt to include them in his Day Blogs. Inevitably, there are a lot of pictures and Youtube clips but they barely do justice to the excitement and electricity of the occasion.
Watching the super stars of the blues world rubbing shoulders and exchanging chops, riffs, licks and laughs with the less well-known brings a never-to-be-repeated buzz. The quiet back line men and women took fabulous front line solos, guitar-god crew members and singer-star organisers took a bit of centre stage, Headlining Singers let their hair down and Shimmied like Sister Kate - and down on the floor, in the Mad Mosh Pit, the bad boogie and stellar shape-throwers behaved like Dancing Dervishes on Dope. This is how it should be....and Hebden does it better than anyone. Nice Tasty Local Jam this Paddy Jam Brand.
High Profile Organisers Paddy Maguire and Jason Elliott get far too many deserved mentions in The Hat's posts....so I am not going to mention Jason Elliott or Paddy Maguire again....got that Paddy Elliott and Jason Maguire? However, many of those who go to a festival have only a vague awareness of what goes on behind The Music to make sure that there actually is Music. That you don't really notice is a sure sign that it it is working well. This year, the festival crew once again stepped up to the mark and did the job. A catering crisis, sound systems in a bouncy walled chapel, heavy amps, lights, freezing doorway check-ins, sudden hot sun, trip switch trials, magic beer glass clearance and those damn pesky sellers of Grand Draw tickets - Oscar and Jacob - all delivered with quiet efficiency so that the show went on. And then there were the star photographers, particularly the ubiquitous Craig, Darren and Tony who somehow seemed to mysteriously materialise Absolutely Everywhere to ensure it all got pixel-pinned and saved for the future. So here's a flourish from The Hat.
Now. Two Reminders. Go to the Festival website (the Gold Logo on this page). Check the Awards page and vote now in the British Blues Awards - not forgetting Hebden for the Best Festival. And when you've done that, check your calendar for the forthcoming Bushey Blues Festival when Hebden heads south for more fun.
And finally....it was difficult, if not impossible, to avoid those Fluorescent Top Orange Bananas, Christine and Roger. Appointed as 'Ambassadors' for the festival last year (whats? no, I don't know either, but it suited them just fine) they seemed to be there where-ever you looked, filming, snapping, glad-handing, smiling, helpful and knowledgeable. If you wanted to bottle the spirit of the Hebden Bridge Blues Festival; The Hebden Crew and The Hebden Family then this is where you would start....like it or not, Orange Is Cool...so as John would say -"just rattle your jewelry"...
Pip Pip!
The Man in The Hat
Pic thanks to Darren O'Neill for The Sweet Oranges....
Pic thanks to Tony Winfield for The Tasty Jams....