Sunday 25 November 2012

Bedworth Folk Festival 2012

Three days of Love, Peace and Church End Brewery's  Fallen Angel. As the (soon to be re-named) "Buzzard's Luck", we opened the Friday night session with a set in the FM Lounge at Bedworth Civic Hall.  As always, really enjoyed playing this venue. Really good, attentive Sound Crew , who genuinely really know their stuff.(Thanks, folks!).  And a decent- sized audience, considering how early it was.

For the record (or not!) we squeezed into half an hour:

Over The Hills and Far Away
Naughty
Need Your Love So Bad
Albert Balls
Courting is a Pleasure
If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day
The Odeon

Of which, only "The Odeon" was on the CD which we launched at the same venue and the same event in November 2008! We had intended to do "The Gravy Train" but just ran out of time.

Yesterday, hosted a three hour stint as MC.  Again in the Civic Hall, but this time a relaxed "hour with" format featuring two acts at a time. Introduced Colin Pitts, Tony Portlock, Maria Barham and Carole Palmer,Mike Forsythe, Bill Bates and Duncan Mcfarlane with Ann Brivonese.  Diverse, eclectic, entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable.

Thursday 22 November 2012

A View from The Grit Tray. Bedworth Folk Festival 2012

Tomorrow- Friday 23rd November- sees the launch of this three day event, and potentially, an epoch making role for what remains of Black Parrot Seaside. Whilst they've  been at many of these events in the past, the posters for this year's event do not show the band  as appearing at all. However,  the remaining two of  them who are still prepared to go out and tread the boards will be taking to the stage at 8pm in Bedworth Civic Hall. In the FM Lounge, specifically. It would be nice to see any Festival-goers  who know them, turning up to offer moral support and a sprinkling of applause during their half-hour set.

    The posters and the programmes for this event show only that Geoff Veasey is appearing this year,  as a solo artiste. It would not be the first time this has happened, but tomorrow  fellow ex-Parrot and partner in crime Arnold Chave will be alongside Geoff throughout. Playing, singing and generally mucking about, as these two have done for years. The current problem is settling on a new name. They have  been going out as "Buzzard's Luck"-but have recently discovered that there is another band of the same name in the USA. And a few Club comperes seem to be struggling with it anyway. Actually Geoff and Arnie  spent a year or so as a duo in the 1980's-under the cryptic and tongue-in-cheek  alias of "Flower and Pot." 

A current front-runner for a new name is "The Grit Tray." This retains an ornithological link with the past, and as someone pointed out, a grit tray in the bottom of a parrot's cage, is something that often gets shat upon. A feeling the band have  come to empathise with over the years.

   Actually the chaps  have been a duo for a while now, and have appeared in that format recently at Bedworth and Warwick Folk Clubs and at The Tump Folk Club. Tomorrow, they'll be mixing their material up  as usual, with some blues, some traditional folk, a Charlie Drake cover  and a few original songs. Interestingly,  of the 15 songs originally recorded on the CD  launched at this festival in 2008, only one will still feature in the Set tomorrow-"The Odeon." That's as much a sign as any other that they are moving on.

On Saturday afternoon, Geoff will also be MC for a Festival show featuring other artistes. A new venture for him. Some of the acts he'll introduce are old friends-others are relatively new to him. Should be an interesting experience for all concerned.