Music Review: Just Friends at Bungalow 56

[Written by Dale Butler]

On Sunday, September 11, 2022, at 7:00 pm, memories of Hubie’s Bar, the iconic jazz club that closed in May 2010, flooded in at Bungalow 56, Reed Street, Hamilton, adjacent to the Music Box.pembroke street [north Hamilton area] Directly across from the Rosary Gardens is the Music Wall of Fame, featuring the names of Bermuda’s entertainers and historic nightclubs, including Ecarte, The Forty Thieves, Jungle Room, Unity Patio, and Clayhouse Inn.

Bungalow 56 offers live entertainment in response to listener requests regularly expressed on Bermuda radio talk shows. Listeners are in danger of meeting its demise just as much as they are, so they have to “walk the story” by patronizing the establishment. An entertainer inscribed on the Rosary Garden’s Music Wall of Fame.

Bungalow 56 offered three veterans known as Just Friends for $20. This included his two drinks.If you want to feel Hubie’s spirit, or didn’t know what it was, you have to come hear Toni Burr [who was born with a piano in his hands and exudes every single key by his body language]Earl Reader [a giant of a drummer who never misses a beat, is creative, and has an excellent voice—just perfect for many of the jazz classics in the band’s extensive repertoire]and last but not least, Brian Swan started playing bass as a hobby and evolved to play competently in great bands such as Tempo, Spice and Legacy.

On Sunday, owner Glen Wilks gave us the perfect opportunity to hear Just Friends. Without much fanfare, the band kicked off with:

This Masquerade Ball: Written by Leon Russell in America and made famous by George Benson.
What’s going on: Marvin Gaye. It remains a standard that you cannot get rid of. The leader’s wonderful voice would have impressed Marvin.
bossa nova
12 bar blues
i want to drink muddy water
good morning mr radio
just the two of us
déjà vu, and
Love cannot be hidden. These chartbusting hits captivated audiences.

Each musician was given a solo opportunity and this added to the evocative atmosphere to see them, as we used to say. This became the glued-on moment that most people talk about when they leave.

It takes a while to build a good reputation and see things flourish. Already choosing to stay at home, this club is running out of patrons, so they’ll probably go the same way as Hubie’s club.

The location is perfect and many in New York City’s famous Greenwich Village and Blue Note want to visit this indoor/outdoor venue while listening to the Bermuda Triangle cats. If they can’t find their way, Bungalow56 will be at the top of Rosalie Gardens’ Music Wall of Fame. And while we may hold onto that many nostalgic memories, we can rest assured that we’ll hear the chant, “We want more local music.”

Already here in an exhilarating way with our own music industry veterans. Grab your camera, dress up and get ready to have a great time. The best therapy is with Just Friends. Just Friends will energize you and tell stories of great times spent at Bungalow56.

– Dale Butler is a professor of local music and writes food reviews for Bernews.