13/3/2020 Jimmy C & The Blues Dragons @ St Harmonicas Blues Club

A gig on Friday the 13th - what could possibly go wrong? This is my first visit to St Harmonicas Blues Club. It's moved from it's original location near Broomfield Park - a place that has childhood memories for me, and now it's at the nearby Southgate Club. Like much of North London Southgate has lost most of it's pubs as well as it's cinema, and the Police Station has shut. There isn't much to do in the area so I'm interested to check the place out. It's run on traditional 'club' lines instead of being like a pub or normal music venue, so I have to sign up as a member as this is my first visit and am issued with a membership card. The £5 membership lasts for a year so it seems like good value for money if I visit more than once or twice...

Anyway, I'm hear to see Jimmy C & The Blues Dragons - a band I've seen once or twice back in Barnet. I feel a bit out of place - I'm not used to clubs like this. It all feels a bit formal to me - all seated and a very middle aged and upward clientele. Not a rock 'n' roll crowd at all, and unusually there is no one here that I know. But it's the music I'm here for, and it's great. It's blues based rock - some original songs mixed in with a load of blues standards. Jimmy C always looks like he absolutely loves what he's doing - there is always that big trademark smile across his face. He sings well and is a terrific guitarist. The Blues Dragons are a great backing band as well - this is all top quality professional stuff.

I wasn't wild about the club itself - it's just not my sort of place, although I'd certainly go back it there was a band I was interested in seeing. And tonight's entertainment was top notch. Little did I realise that it would be the last gig I would go to for quite a while, and I wouldn't end up up getting good use out of my one year's club membership - in fact I would never get to use my new membership card again....