It’s been good this week to get back on the Road again in any format, after the long lay off and circumstances which no-one would have wished for. At one stage the whole future of the band hung in the balance, but we seem resolved now to carry on, as long as people will have us.
On Monday, I was at Warwick Folk Club, where Norman Wheatley was the featured act. Norman had asked me to join him and Martin in a song called “We’re Still Angry Now.” Other than a Private Party in January, where three of us had run (shakily!) through some Parrot material, this was the first time I’d performed publicly since Bedworth Folk Festival in November 2008.
Norman played two typically entertaining and varied sets. He certainly mixed things up, with his own material, Tom Lehrer, Beatles, James Taylor and Dylan covers included. And the excellent Jake song "La Di Dah" which Norman does so well. Plenty to sing along to. He sprinkled other guests in with the repertoire too, adding musical accompaniment, vocals or both.
I usually manage to park o.k. at Warwick, quite near the club, but this time I couldn’t. I ended up scratching the car, in a Public Car Park, and skittering through unfamiliar streets to try to get there in time. I won a bottle of Leffe in the raffle, so all was not doom and gloom. And my part in Norman's song added to a rousing performance by the three of us which the audiencel seemed to enjoy.
As always, the other floor spots offered some interesting contrasts, though most concentrated on the one man and his guitar format. This still lead to a pleasing variety of material. In particular, it was good to hear my favourite Billy Bragg song “ Between The Wars” done justice. It seems so apt again, nowadays.
The People at Warwick were genuinely nice. Several asked how Arnold was bearing up since the bereavement, and Dave Fry the compere for the evening asked me on the Club's behalf to pass on everyone’s thoughts to him.
Then on Wednesday night two of us went along to support the Macmillan Nurses Fund raiser at Bedworth Rugby Club. This is basically an extension of Bedworth Folk Club, with Jill and Malc Gurnham hosting. This was to be Arnold’s first public performance since the Folk Festival last November. We’d asked if we could do a couple of numbers, but ended up closing the evening. (Of which more later).
These sessions tend to be a real shop window: a friendly, jolly, relaxed almost “workshop” atmosphere, and a real cross-section of performers. My goodness, I can’t remember all the songs, but we had spirited renditions from many different kinds of performers, of much loved works by artistes as diverse as Donovan, Lonnie Donnegan, Alison Krauss, Eric Bogle and John Martyn. Malc and Jilly were as pleasant to listen to as always, and I also enjoyed the very thoughtful mix of songs put together by the trio “Footnote”.
We were honoured to be invited to close, though without the instrumentalism of Mick and Eddie, both of us struggled to remember what the missing sections sounded like! Arnold fondly unveiled his brand new guitar, and we started off with “The Odeon” -which most people knew and sang along with. We followed that with a second airing of a new song, “Albert Balls.” (Last performed at the Festival) I think by the end of this, the few people who hadn’t seen us before had worked out that our material isn’t always entirely serious.
We then performed “Midlands Lullaby”, which also got a few smiling. Though it would have been punchier with that lovely East European medley we do at the end. We finished off with “ The Bold Pirate.” I had come cutlass-less, but a member of the bar staff fetched me one from another room! ( What do you expect in a Rugby Club?) The surprise ending caught a few out, and I bodged the words up twice, but basically we winged it.
The event had raised a fair old sum for Macmillan Nurses, and at the end of proceedings, Malc very kindly handed it over to Arnold. This will kick-start our “Concert For Judith “ campaign, where we hope to put our heart and souls into raising money to help others to make life comfortable for those who suffered like Judith.
