Moses,Refs and Flaky Tarts

      The dedications for last night read like a nomination for an Awards ceremony. But as we reach the end of our third calendar year at The Crown, perhaps it is appropriate to pay tribute to those attending last night (and to absent friends) for the effort they regularly put in towards keeping “live” music   music going in the heart of Nuneaton. So many other bits of the town's fabric have been lost, with three Department Stores torn out of its centre, the football club in free fall and the Hospital under threat, that it is heartening to see townspeople rallying together to keep something worthwhile and dynamic alive. Last night we heard Pop, Folk, Blues, Cajun,Traditional,Country, Contemporary,and Acoustic. A little bit of everything for the most eclectic tastes.  

      The odds were stacked against us attendance- wise, as illness had knocked out some of our potential audience beforehand. I sent out Press releases to all local media,( I always do), but only The Nuneaton News (God bless them!) felt able to use them. And also,at the start of the Christmas Social Calendar, school events and Social functions cut into the commitments of some regulars. 

    The stairs at The Crown themselves are also a daunting obstacle for some. As one troubled often by arthritis myself and still recovering from a recent fall, I can tell you that I shared the pain of those finding them a bit of a climb last night. But once at the top,with the wonderful, unflappable Matt Mallen Allen at the Sound desk, and a host of excellent performers on stage, it was worth the effort.

        The inestimable Mr.Kearney, with our Flossy still convalescing, still found time to join me up on stage to kick off proceedings,in our festive rendition of that Geezinlaws  classic, “Lighten Up It's Christmas.” And we carried on that theme with “Here it Is”, an irreverent tilt at Slade's ubiquitous Christmas hit. The man is a true saint. He continues to supply me with outrageous shirts with which to enhance our stage appearances together. He adds finesse and calm to Nunc rehearsals and performances with his guitar work,songwriting and arrangements. He is an exemplary solo artiste and yet still finds time to rehearse,write and collaborate with others. He donates carrier bags full of raffle prizes to NFC,knows all the songs that everyone sings, and keeps smiling even after a very heavy days work. He is the quintessential essence of Folk.

The Christmas shirt Flossy bought me for my birthday

         Both our featured Guests, Flaky Tarts, and Moses and The Ref, were making their NFC debuts. Both traveled from far afield. The Tarts from Staffordshire, and Steve and Christine from Ruislip and St.Albans. I had seen both acts before,at Bedworth Festival and in local clubs. I knew that if I could persuade them both to come along,our Crown audience would enjoy their work. The only way I could squeeze them into our annual programme however, was to lump them together on one night-a set each-which barely did justice to their excellent repertoire.

      Christine and Steve (he is the ref!) finished our First Half. Their performance from start to finish was immaculate, including Steve's impressive stage entry,which he pretended was not part of the act. One he had righted the fallen mike stand, they launched into their hauntingly beautiful interpretation of a Tom waits song, The Briar and The Rose, done acapella. It had the audience spellbound. Two fine voices,excellent arrangements and gifted musicianship. We'll definitely have them back.

Moses and The Ref

The Flaky Tarts finished the evening,with a mixture of self-penned songs and covers.I had seen them previously but not in this three man format. Their cheeky banter and dry Black Country humour forged an immediate bond with the Crown Faithful. I could see that the guys were delighted with the response. Their tender version of Christy Moore's “Ride On” was a highlight for me. Unusually, they perform their whole act perched on stools, which lends an intimate Dave Allen/cabaret feel to the evening but means that our small stage looks like a Pickfords warehouse. Of their own material, I very much liked "Christina" and "Emily Jones"-both had  very catchy choruess-as many of their songs do.

The Flaky Tarts

         Earlier, the audience had been warmed up by some masterful floor singing. David Parr, jocular and full of fun, gave us some saucy songs. The constantly improving Wright Brothers got the audience singing.

David Parr issuing instructions

      Bob Brooker made Herculean efforts to attend last night. His effort to reach the venue in time involved missed buses and uncooperative taxi drivers. It had him puffing up the stairs like those Lincolnshire steam engines he used to love as a nipper. He had the briefest of recovery times before we threw him on stage, where he proceeded to dish out a typical example of Brooker art. Protesting and apologising because he missed a few words, his performance never dropped below excellent. Yet he was mortified, until a few beers, some classic chorus singing and John Kearney winning the CD he had donated cheered him up.

Dragonhead were as raucous, accomplished and fun-loving as always. “Cajun Queen” simply rocked, and their finale, a well known Mavericks song got everyone's feet tapping.

Dragonhead swing their pants

       The Thrup'nny Bits, regular visitors,gave us three songs from their excellent newly released album,”Old Christmas or What You Will.” Including another splendid TB parody, ”Gaudy Tree.”

      My lovely wife Mags was poorly last week, and I was so glad to have her there with me last night. She works so hard on coordinating the Raffle,getting the room ready and tidying up afterwards. Her work towards ensuring NFC goes ahead each month, and into making sure I stay sane cannot be underestimated.