After
a difficult week, I hinted via a social media Network that I was
losing my mojo a little. Becoming dispirited about Blogging and music
generally. I was uplifted by the response via Private
messages,Stalkbook and emails. Some people do read my
posts and take comfort from the positive things I try to say about
them. For people who cannot get to an event, BIogging them is a window into a world they sometimes cannot reach.
99%
of the Folk I have met in music are supportive,friendly,helpful
people. The odd One Per Cent know exactly how to get to me, how to get under
my skin and wound me. Why they want to do that, I fail to understand.
There is nothing about anything I do to make anyone jealous. They can do one.
So all that said,after an emotional
and challenging few days, I approached Nunc's return spot at The
Twisted Barrel, Fargos, Coventry, with mixed feelings. I love the
beer, I love the venue and the Staff. I have the greatest respect
for Glyn Finch who organises Friday Night sessions there, both as a
fine performer and as a host. Also, I have yet to see a bad act there. Having grown up round the corner, it is great to see this place thriving.
I
speak as one who has played dozens of Coventry's city centre venues. Cov folk on
a night out drinking can be a tough crowd. Most of the punters are
there for the beer, not the music and I have no problem with that.
The Golden Cross, The Colin Campbell, The Dive Bar (now Molly
O'Grady's):The Shakespeare, The Climax: The Smithfield-mostly all gone now. You have to
work hard.
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| Two of Nunc's younger fans ,Alex and Annie, thoroughly enjoying our set |
Not so long ago, with Black Parrot
Seaside, we played The Tuns. Similar set up. You lock and engage, sing loud and do your best, because weaknesses will be exposed. We
weren't on that night until 11pm and the audience was a mixture of regulars,Goths and a few BPS followers. We got three encores so something went right.
Glyn
was poorly on Friday, with a nasty chest infection preventing him
from singing, and limiting his announcing. He sat with a flask of
something beefy at the mixing desk, but he did kick off events with
his unique interpretation of The Pink Panther Theme before
introducing the first turn of the night.
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| Glyn when he's not got a chest infection |
They
were Paper Circus whom we had already met in the car park. They had an impressive sound, doing a mix of covers and their own material. Their
singer Jennian had a good look and an imposing,powerful voice. The instrumentation
was excellent too:-cello and guitar, well played. I liked them. They were different . Maybe
we'll get them over to The Crown. Nice people, with no front and no
Diva scene going on.
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| Paper Circus |
Next
up were Nunc. We had a few minor sound issues initially. We did some
of the songs previously performed at the T.B. but also gave a public
debut to “ Weather With You” and “ Angel From Montgomery.” Considering we had rehearsed them once-they went o.k. After “Down Where The Drunkards Roll” an audience member brought me up a free bottle of my favourite TB Tipple, Sine Qua Non. Excellent! In fact-I didn't have to buy a beer all night. Must have been my t-shirt.
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| Nunc. (Product Placement on my left). |
Stephen Madden and Jimmy Laing were every bit as original and passionate as Paper Circus. Looking deceptively laid back, they seamlessly delivered an uplifting set of powerful songs, with Stephen blasting out vocals of a terrifying intensity. Jimmy's sensitive musical counter points, tastefully interwoven via his saxophone made it an ideal and at times moving combination. Stephen must have iron strings the way he was punishing that guitar. Flossie was delighted to find out afterwards that she and Stephen went to school together. Small world, huh?
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| Stephen and Jimmy giving it some |
Then the impro began. Siraj from Paper Circus and Larry Lam duetted on a couple of numbers. They were clearly having fun and blasted out a couple of noisy tunes with great enthusiasm. Larry was then left to close the evening,and his selection of covers finally got a reluctant audience singing. We had the Beatles. We had The Stones and The Poet Laureate. We had Pink Floyd and John Denver. We had lots of other stuff, too. All bashed out with relentless energy and a permanent, genuine smile. It was almost a shame to drag him off, but the staff had homes to go to and by his own admission, he was running out of voice. I'm not surprised. His ovation was well deserved. A splendid evening. Just what the doctor ordered.
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| Rare shot of Larry not smiling. |
