First Footings at The Crown

      Well not quite-although it felt a bit like it on January the 4th and with a Bank Holiday just gone!  Some of us it felt unseasonably early to be rocking in the New Year with the first Nuneaton Folk Club session of 2017. But our audience seemed up for it and  enjoyed good music whilst  sharing a monster tin of toffees and chocolates between them. Keith Kondakor ate so many he got chair crazy and did a spectacular tumble off his stool. Hope he's fully recovered now. If not-don't send him sweets as a "Get Well" gesture. 

    Following breathlessly on the heels of Monday night's first "Anker Folk" programme of the New Year, and after an earlier singaround at The Larder that same Wednesday afternoon in Atherstone, it all meant a busy 72 hours! Yet on a frosty night, with many counter attractions, we still had another bumper crowd turn up. 

Ray Buckler did sterling work at the back of the room,helping me conjure up extra seating from behind those curtains. A remarkable storage space,this. You could hide Lord Lucan and Shergar in there-it's like a Tardis. Once we had run out of chairs and tables though, it was literally standing room only for any latecomers. 

       Our guest was that seasoned old Warhorse (he'll love me calling him that) Geoff Higginbottom. He was undoubtedly one of the attractions, bringing a few extras in, but we also had four other artistes making their debut (as was Geoff). Of which,more later.

Geoff Higginbottom. From Stockport. Or Manchester. 

   John Kearney and Flossy did "Ae Fond Kiss," (it being Burns Month?),  before Nunc added "Weather With You" and " Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy" to warm the audience up.

    Unfortunately, Maria Barham (who had been on all our posters) got taken out beforehand by The Lurgy. ( Never mind-she's our guest next month so NFC audiences can enjoy a whole catalogue of songs from the Coleshill Nightingale then). 

      Peter McParland gamely stepped up as a late replacement,and became the first of several talented support acts to take us forward. Pete had already sung himself to a standstill at The Larder that afternoon and had also loaned his guitar to a Mystery musician there , so I'm grateful to him for coming in at short notice.  

Pete doesn't want to talk about it-how you broke his heart.

           Tricaorach followed Pete.( This translates from Gaelic as Three Sheep-or is that stating the bleating obvious?) Not strictly new to us,as we had seen guitarist Michael Luntley and Double Bass virtuoso Keith Nickless at NFC in previous guises. Supplemented by a fiddle player they kept Matt Mallen Allen occupied, as they worked busily through three songs. It's true to say we got a real buzz from them. 

Tricaorach. ( That's easy for you to say!)

             Next up,and all the way from Oxfordshire, was a genuine debutante. The delectable Dolly Mavies. I had played one of her tracks on Anker Folk in December, so I knew  she was quality, and she did not disappoint.  She demonstrated a remarkable vocal range.  A  very original arrangement of Joni Mitchell's "River" was sandwiched between two other songs including one of her own. 

Dolly Mavies. (The Anker is next door but you cant sail away on that).

               And then came another debut. Three excellent musicians who are collectively Paper Circus. Nunc had played on the same bill as them at The Twisted Barrel. Fronted by the gorgeous voice of Jennian King, they brought the house down,as I expected they would.  Their effective combination of guitar cello and Jennian's vocals is simply stunning. They opened with "She Moves Through The Fair" and just captivated everyone in the room. They had a few followers in the room-(PaperClips? Ringmistresses? Paper Doyleys? Circus Animals?) They lowered the average age present considerably! Excellent stuff. Hope to get them back soon. 

Paper Circus. They are no cardboard cutouts.

        By contrast, and with another (kind of) debut, a right parcel of rogues followed, Blues Monkey's harpist Jon Harrington has played harmonica with both Mac Awe On Tour and Black Parrot Seaside,previously, so we know him well. Paul Moore has appeared at NFC solo and with Simon Veasey Paul had jetted in from Austria which sounds impressive,but in fairness, he had been on holiday there. Dennis, who clattered away on an assortment of percussive instruments behind these two, I think was joining us for the first time. Good banter and good time music from these cheeky chappies

Bluesmonkey, going ape. 

         After the Monkeys got us all swinging,it was time for Geoff Higginbottom's first guest spot. Geoff is a seasoned professional,popular on the club and festival circuit.  He has a powerful voice, uses several different instruments and employs a dancing mannequin. (Someone said it was his agent, but I'm not so sure about that). 

Geoff Higginbottom slapping his plank

               I know that for some delicate souls, the sight of a man with a pony tail ,violently slapping away at a plank lodged between his legs can be disturbing. ( Although probably not in Nuneaton). But it is an essential part of Geoff's version of a Scouse tradition of Dancing dolls. "The Ballad of Seth Davey"  aka " Whiskey on A Sunday" got the whole audience singing,whilst concentrating fully on whether or not (as promised) one of the dancing dolly's limbs would suddenly fly off. (They didn't). 

     During the interval we sold raffle tickets and copies of Folk Monthly,and the tin of sweets travelled round once again. John Goodman continued his winning streak,collecting more shatterproof mugs as prizes, before Nuncington got us under way again. 

Nuncington- Bringing it On Home

     Jon Harrington joined them for "Bring It On Home" and a bit of Hillbilly for "All Gotta Die Some Day." Then it was time to hand the stage back to Mr. Higginbottom. Roasting beneath the lights, Geoff took us on a tour of his considerable back catalogue of songs. Requiring en route, a little help from Gill Gilsenan. I am told that, in  this incriminating photograph below, she is simply "helping him to change his batteries." There are more explicit shots but we simply cannot show them. Having seen Geoff's act before, I can only say that he does seem to have a lot of problems with them

Gill is giving some attention to Geoff's instrument.

     So powerful is his voice projection, it was a wonder that Geoff's vocals on his version of "Copperhead Road" didn't take some windows out. Those new batteries certainly seemed to doing the trick,too. By the time he'd got to the end, with a poetic and moving encore,he was picking up Police radio on them. 

Let it go now, Higgo!