One
might have expected August to be a quiet month in terms of AFC. One
would be wrong. Although some regular performers were away or indisposed,
that did not affect the quantity of acts on show at
Church End Brewery Tap on Wednesday. Nor the quality, judging by the
audience response. ( I would say that though wouldn't I, as Black
Parrot Seaside, having booked their spot ages ago, were honoured by
being given the privilege of rounding off an excellent night?)
Phil
Benson and Steve Beeson kicked off both halves, and the room was
full. It remained so throughout. Steve was looking and sounding
distinctly woozy, due to the onset of what he described as Man Flu'
and the absence of his partner (and FITJ band member), Anne. The
spectacle of Steve singing as Phil rushed to and from
the Mixing desk during choruses (or was it vice-versa?), so he could
adjust the sound settings, was spectacular.
Our
first AFC Virgins of the night were Ben Donnelly and James Ross.
Members of “Finnegan's Wake” but without their third instrumentalist,
they still managed to give us a lively and vibrant display of
traditional Celtic-based tunes which belied their obviously tender
years. No dropping off when these boys are on. (Steve!) They are
relatively local, and looking to recruit, so hopefully we'll see more
of them in months to come as the network local venues. One little tip
chaps: I hugely enjoyed your enthusiasm-but stick to the allocated
timings. It will make you even more popular!
 |
| Ben and James |
The
thoroughly likeable Mark John put in another accomplished set. I
think it might have been his debut here too, so he seemed
particularly self-deprecating to start with. No need to be-for once
he has that guitar in his hand, he always sings and plays well. I
will forgive him nicking “Between The Wars.” We hope to entice
him out to Nuneaton during the remainder of 2014 to give us a few
songs. But not that one if I'm there. It's mine.
 |
| Mark will have his eye out with that guitar! |
Dragonhead were as tight and
professional as ever. They swung us through Traditional and Cajun
music and added some Country. I've not paid sufficient tribute to
Dragonhead for trying to keep acoustic music alive in Nuneaton with
their Beacon Folk Club. Hopefully we'll fill the niche left when the club folded-and succeed in bringing good Folk music back
into Town. We'll have to get them in at The Crown some time to
acknowledge that contribution properly.
Comharsa
were deceptive. As a band setting up, they just kept on coming onto
stage, and Phil looked ever so slightly harassed temporarily as he
began to run out of leads and mikes. Vocals, fiddle, banjo, whistle,
percussion, accordion and guitar. (Think I've covered it all?). They
literally filled the performance area. Both with bodies and sound. I
loved their opener which began deceptively slowly and built up
progressively into a full blooded Craic. They gave us a sequence of
good honest over the water tunes including "I'll tell me Ma " "Leaving of Liverpool " and "The
Irish Rover. " I've
played venues (which shall remain nameless) where big format
Irish-sounding bands on the same bill as us turned up, brought their own
audience, played, whipped the few indigenous punters up and then
left, taking their own faction with them. Comharsa did not do that, and I
respect them immensely for staying to the end and joining in with our
songs as enthusiastically as we all did with theirs. Very professional, that. Cheers
guys-good luck to you
 |
| Comharsa |
The indoor temperature shot up noticeably during that powerful first half and I began thinking during the interval “Blimey-that was good-it's gonna be tough keeping this crowd going after all that!” So
we came to the raffle and then it was a three piece Parrot-Dave Parr,
Arnie and myself-left to wind things up. I need not have worried. We
started as we always do now with “All Over Now” and this audience
eclipsed the boisterous singing we heard at Bedworth last week. They
insisted on singing not just the choruses, but the verses too. What a
good start!
And
it continued. Despite having a fair percentage in who hadn't seen
us previously, the chorus singing in “The Odeon ,“ “Down Our
Street”and “Albert Balls” was spectacular. Their were audience members copying the Auntie Hazel actions too-that's a first! We added in “Need
Your Love So Bad,” for a bit of balance and to quieten things down
a little, before finishing with “What a Folking Liberty.” Well
their faces were a picture. Even the bar staff came round. All picked up that gauntlet and ran with it. With enthusiastic calls
for an encore, we felt confident enough to run our gorgeous Beyonce
tribute, “If I were a Goat” by them They tackled that with
great enthusiasm too. Their chorus bleating must have startled Ridge
Lane sheep for miles around.
A
cracking night overall, a diverse and rich tapestry of entertainment
for a big audience, very enjoyable for us and lots of positive
feedback on our set afterwards. Good promo too for Nuneaton Folk
Club (did I mention that?) and our Launch Night on October 1st.
