Aces and Eights

ACES AND EIGHTS

Montana, USA

We are always looking for wild west saloon bars with a difference and this does result in a few lost days on tour. It’s an occupational hazard of being on the road in the company we keep. But we do say that we are exhaustive in our research.

We tend to look for one transcending feature in a bar and on this occasion, in the legendary cowboy town of Miles City in eastern Montana, we found a 100-year 18ft tall oak Brunswick back bar. It would not have looked out of place in the smartest dining clubs of the early days of Wall Street.

The owner of the Montana bar was more than open to a film crew coming to his bar on a wintry Sunday, but given Covid restrictions we had to think smart in the execution.

There are many parts to this vignette. All are needed, as I really wanted the room to be full of characters without losing the detail of the bar. After all, that was the reason we were there. The composition therefore needed to be very precise and all the talent had to listen acutely to directions - which in a couple of cases was a big ask.

But we got there in the end I think. Everyone did a grand job, including the four-legged poker player with the killer hand. I think we did justice to the bar, which mattered to me.

- David Yarrow