It is no coincidence that the last time I blogged was a month ago, after the previous month's show. In the interim between then and now, Nunc have had gigs at Atherstone and Fargos in Coventry, numerous holidays and several illnesses. Unfortunately, mine coincided with the lead up to last Wednesday night and so I was unable to sing with the band or compere, owing to Bronchitis.To say we were up against it was an understatement. Yet still we triumphed.
On Tuesday ,the night before, Dave Smart and I set the stage and P.A. up, putting in another late night session at The Crown in the hope that come Wednesday I would be able to flick a few switches and get us under way. Dave would be a little delayed before the start,but that preparation paid off, as by 7.30pm I'd got all the mikes working, done a sound check and got a Folky iPod compilation playing through the speakers.
Leading up to that point we'd also had a few logistical problems,with several advertised artistes unavoidably indisposed and having to juggle in late replacements. . As things turned out,improbably. this made for a magnificently balanced programme with something for everyone on the Agenda. An additional bonus was spotting Maria Barham, in the audience and bless her, she was recruited too-after we had started!
John Kearney compered the evening, and then with Flossy it would be Nunc (The Duo) as House Band,with me sidelined due to lack of voice. John did us a nice couple of songs and then he and Flossy did "Ae Fond Kiss" together and " Me Husband's got no courage in him"- a track you'll also find her singing on Pennyroyal's last album.
Maria stepped in and having had a wrestle with John Kearney's guitars straps, started with a lovely version of Joan Osborne's "One of Us." What a talent she is, and how nice it was to see her back up on the NFC stage again! We are all really looking forward to her guest spot in December already.
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| Maria Barham |
Andy Jones had pedalled along the towpath to join us and he added three nicely balanced, unaccompanied numbers to good effect. He also took loads of photographs. And then cycled back home. (Eventually). What a Hero!
Jan & Campbell Perry then gave us three polished numbers,as they can always be relied upon to do,before Glyn Finch,he of the Twisted Barrel Open Mic nights at Fargos, warbled his way moodily through "Hard Times," and then added a couple more including (I suspect?), one of his own? Glyn returns in August, to share the Top Billing with Brian Phillips,as a double-headed guitar treat to compensate for the disappointment of losing Kristy Gallagher's advertised spot.
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| Glyn Finch |
Dr Bennett-that is, Sarah Bennett and Dan Gascoigne-then took the stage to conclude a highly enjoyable first half with an extended set. Great to see talented YOUNG artistes up on our stage when we are told so often that they don't appear in Folk Clubs! They were as good as I have ever heard them They started with "House Carpenter"-a nice version of one of my favourite songs, added a take on Dylan, did some of their own stuff and then finished with their excellent interpretation of "Anjii." We even squeezed in an encore from them.
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| Dr Bennett |
After the interval, Nunc did my favourite song from our current set, "Angel from Montgomery." Vanity then got the better of me and I tried to sing the choruses along with them. There was nothing there vocally from me after the first verse other than mournful grunting.
Time then for our second Featured Guests, Thrup'nny Bits. Like all of the evening's performers, the TB's are good friends to NFC and did not disappoint, with an eclectic set including their cleverly rude "Bold Sir John" one of their many ornithological titles, "The Magpi,e" and even a Christmas Song. Being one of (many!) Election Eves, the poignancy of " Bring Out The Banners " was not lost on the audience who sang the chorus (and others) with the usual spirit and not without some sadness.
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| The Thrup'nny Bits |
