Le Club at Doha Mercure né Sofitel

A couple of years ago, I used to feature this place regularly on the Paranormal blog. But that was when Boggs and the Girls were performing nightly. He was a fine guitarist by any standards and all of his girls could really sing, (especially Ringlets). Bands here are contracted for eleven months, from one Ramadan to the next. The band that took over from Boggs, after Ramadan 2010, could only be described as dismal so for a whole year I hardly ever ventured in. Following Ramadan 2011, there was something of a hiatus as this year's band had some visa problems and missed their first few weeks, but they are here now and getting into the swing of things. The news is good and bad though. Philip (who preceded Boggs) is the player, on guitar, keyboards and the inevitable midi laptop. He's good and also sings well. But (there had to be a but) he has come with two new girl singers who- let's give them the benefit of the doubt- haven't quite warmed up yet. In fact, they haven't quite located concert pitch, except occasionally, and that more by luck than technique. Still it's early days yet; they've got all year.