ORNITHOLOGISTS are besides themselves with apoplectic glee following the news that there is a more than strong chance of a sighting of one of the rarest specimens round these parts.

And twitchers across the region will be buffing up their binoculars in attempt to catch a glimpse of a Gothic Chicken.

Famed and highly admired for its exotic plumage and rather distressing mating call, the Gothic Chicken was once a familiar experience in south and west Dorset.

Sadly appearances have been rarer than, well, hen’s teeth recently although last April’s sighting at the Old Town Hall in Weymouth will live long in the memory of those lucky enough to have been there.

Yes, lock up your pets and dig out your best flared loons for an all-too-infrequent gig from Gothic Chicken, who will be cranking it up all the way back to 1967 next Saturday, March 18 at the rather swish Boat That Rocks at Portland Marina.

No doubt the awesome foursome of Marco Rossi, Al Strawbridge, Tom Hughes and Luke Adams will be playing tracks from last year’s marvellous all-original album Lift The Cobweb Veil as well as all the assorted 60s psychedelia ephemera and obscurities from Blossom Toes, The Association and The Fleur De Lys and the like which has delighted and bemused punters in equal measures down the years.

One not to miss, I’d say...

Moving on, and it’s a hearty avast ye and shiver me timbers to the remarkable Dolmen who this week picked up not one but TWO awards. They were voted best international live act and also picked up the prize for best new album at the prestigious Bastaaard Awards held in Holland.

(It probably means something else in Dutch, okay?) The band’s relentless touring in Europe, particularly in Germany and the Netherlands where they are HUGE, has really paid off and you can catch them tomorrow, Saturday, March 11 at Weymouth Angling Club as part of the Crabchurch Conspiracy weekend (tickets are £7 from thedolmen.com) and next Friday, March 17 at The Rock in Weymouth.

And it’s a woop woop woop to Amy Mayes who wowed the well-heeled punters at the famous Pizza Express jazz club in London’s West End this week.

I, along with no doubt several scores of other fans, watched online as Amy and her band of Andy Grant, Ady Milward, Steven Smith and Simon Rushbrook, were streamed live over the www.

Proud moments for both The Dolmen and Amy, both of whom, along with Gothic Chicken, of course, learned their chops round the live music scene in Weymouth’s pubs.

There is nowhere else like it and I’ve lost count of the number of times at gigs when I’ve been told that by visitors to the town who come down especially for the music.

So it’s of great concern that The Boot and The Belvedere pubs, which do so much for live music and the community as a whole, are having their live music licences questioned after less than a handful of complaints from a few blow-ins.

Hopefully, the incredibly supportive response to an instant petition, some 1,200 signatures (mine included) in just 24 hours, will give some indication of how popular these pubs are, and how vital live music is to the town’s economy, and that common sense will prevail on all sides.

Right, that’s it for this week. I’m off to buy a house outside Heathrow Airport and then start complaining about the noise jumbo jets make.

Till next time…

GIG GUIDE

TONIGHT (10)

Paul Lamb and the King Snakes (Electric Palace, Bridport)

Peacock Suit (Finns, Weymouth)

The Headhunters (Black Dog, Weymouth)

Side Door Project (Ayya, Weymouth) and later…

Side Door Project (Lazy Lizard, Weymouth)

Amy Brown (Belvedere, Weymouth)

Darren H (Edinburgh House of Sounds, Weymouth)

Kathy Boorman (Park, Weymouth)

Billy Solo (Wellington, Weymouth)

Emma C (Weymouth Working Mens Club)

JD Acoustic (Gloucester, Weymouth)

Sea Bass and the Fellas (The Rock, Weymouth)

Zoe Schwarz Blue Commotion (Royal Portland Arms, Portland)

Acoustic Rooster (Ropemakers, Bridport)

Soft Option (Wyke Smugglers, Weymouth) Fundraiser for Sean Entwistle’s Happy Days.

SATURDAY (11)

Beverley Craven (Corn Exchange, Dorchester)

Mama Feelgood (Sailors Return, Weymouth)

The Shakespearos (Finns, Weymouth)

Dr Robert (George, Portland)

The Dolmen (Weymouth Angling Club)

Identikit (Belvedere, Weymouth)

Haze (Edinburgh House of Sounds, Weymouth)

Cabaret Night (Weymouth Working Mens Club)

All Funked Up (Gloucester, Weymouth)

Chill (The Rock, Weymouth)

Karen Kay (Black Dog, Weymouth)

Zoe Schwarz Blue Commotion (Tom Browns, Dorchester)

Under the Carousel (RBL Club, Portland)

Charlie (Conservative Club, Weymouth)

The Hurricanes (Wyke Regis Working Mens Club, Weymouth)

Jack Scrumpy and the Moonshiners (Drax Arms, Bere Regis)

Mandown (Victoria, Dorchester)

Nite Lite (Centenary Club, Weymouth)

Diane (Bridge Inn, Preston, Weymouth)

JD Acoustic (Kimberlin Club, Portland)

Davey Malone and the Longtails (Ropemakers, Bridport)

19 Crimes (Wyke Smugglers, Weymouth)

The Remedy (Boot, Weymouth)

Chloe, Tom and Jack on the box (New Star, Portland)

SUNDAY (12)

Amy Hopwood (Belvedere, Weymouth)

Sheryl Lee (Edinburgh House of Sounds, Weymouth)

Lo Numbers (Park, Weymouth) 5pm.

Roger’s Singalong (Gloucester, Weymouth)

Replay (Wyke Smugglers, Weymouth)

The Busketeers (The Rock, Weymouth)

Ricky Solo (Sailor’s Return, St Nicholas St, Weymouth) From 3pm.

Sheryl Lee’s Sunday Club (Edinburgh House of Sounds, Weymouth) 7pm.

Stacey Lou (Black Dog, Weymouth) 3-5pm.

Side Door Project (Globe, Weymouth) 3-6pm.

Graham James (Westers cellar bar, Weymouth) 12-3pm.

Minor Fret (Royal Portland Arms, Portland)

Du Kane (Kings Arms, Weymouth) 6-9pm.

JD Acoustic (Three Compasses, Charminster)

Dakota (Hope and Anchor, Bridport) 4.30-7pm

Dave Taylor (Wyke Smugglers, Weymouth)

MONDAY (13)

Acoustic session (Belvedere, Weymouth)

TUESDAY (14)

Ricky Solo (Edinburgh House of Sounds, Weymouth)

Dougie Cooper’s Jazz Night (Star, Weymouth)

Stuart’s Acoustic Gathering (The Rock, Weymouth)

WEDNESDAY (15)

Jam Night (Belvedere, Weymouth)

Wessex Folk Night (Sailors Return, Nicholas Street, Weymouth)

Acoustic folk, here every Wednesday.

Open Mic Night (Royal Exchange, Portland)

Open Mic (Bull, Fordington, Dorchester)

THURSDAY (16)

Sainty’s Show (Belvedere, Weymouth)

Leggomen (George, Weymouth)

Ricky Solo (Edinburgh House of Sounds, Weymouth)

Open Mic (George, Dorchester) With Elijah Wolf

Traditional Tune Session (Cove House Inn, ChiswelI, Portland)

Ukulele Sessions (Sailors Return, St Nicholas St, Weymouth)

Strum on down from 8pm.

FRIDAY (17)

Fluke(Finns, Weymouth)

Stealing Whisky (Belvedere, Weymouth)

Side Door Project (Rendezvous, Weymouth) and later…

Side Door Project (Lazy Lizard, Weymouth)

Darren H (Edinburgh House of Sounds, Weymouth)

Strings and Reeds (Park, Weymouth)

Brian Harris (Weymouth Working Mens Club)

The Dolmen (The Rock, Weymouth)

Billy Solo (Wellington, Weymouth)

SAS duo (Wyke Regis Working Mens Club, Weymouth)

Lewis Craven Band (Royal Portland Arms, Portland)

The Stereoironics (Spice Ship, Weymouth)

Tripod (Golden Lion, Weymouth)