Mem Shannon -- Spectrum Blues Club

House band Blues Breakdown opened Friday's show in their usual way with a couple of rousing up-beat songs.

They now have a much broader range of material to perform, including a great arrangement of Midnight Hour.

Slide guitarist, Alan Greenwood, did a superb job covering for Wayne Marshall.

New Orleans based Mem Shannon & The Membership stormed into a brilliant funk-driven two hour show consisting of 99% self-penned songs from his various CDs.

With a voice like BB King, chopping jazz, guitar a la Wilton Felder and biting social comment lyrics, this guy has it all, and a trio of musicians behind him. Robert 'Rhock' Dabon on jazz keyboards, Ian Michael on funk bass, all driven along by a funky young drummer

Garry Chatburn

The School for Scandal -- Northern Broadsides

Richard Sheridan's Restoration comedy is the latest vehicle for Northern Broadside's current line in devilishly good theatre.

Showing how the upper-classes are the kind of gossips and moral bankrupts that could put a Jerry Springer show to shame -- high-class fishwives such as the deliciously-christened Lady Sneerwell spread their malicious whispers.

Sir Peter Teazle (Barrie Rutter) is the forerunner of all Grumpy Old Men as the brow-beaten older husband of the excellent Sally Carman's Lady Teazle -- a country girl turned shopaholic socialite who drives him to despair.

Their bickering is truly hilarious and there are cutting lines aplenty as this show maintains Broadsides' ludicrously high standards.

l Mart Theatre, Skipton, Monday/Tuesday.

Stuart Roberts