A New Dawn for NFC

Wednesday 7th March 2018

Most of the Folk and Roots music venues I regularly visit serve a dual purpose. That is :to continue to promote quality "live" music and to offer a platform for the considerable local talent available in the area. It is clear that as far as the NFC relaunch on Wednesday is concerned, The Queen's Hall at The Crew is going to continue to enhance this process even further. With the The Crown having closed its doors to us, Richard Burlingham and his staff welcomed us with open arms. They pulled out all the stops to ensure that our swift and unexpected relocation went smoothly. Indeed, "Welcome" does not begin to describe how we were made to feel. From the publicity beforehand to the help with clearing the room afterwards. Magnificent. 

         Enough has been written about the previous venue,so rather than wallow in nostalgia or faded memories this first account of the new setting will concentrate on the positives. The (many!) things people praised,and the overall ground swell of joy at having found something broken now swiftly repaired. This is important,especially for those reading this,who felt for one reason or another, that they were unable to attend this first session. See what you missed! Photographs kindly made available by John B. Smith,Steve Bentley, Paul Moore, John Neal,John Kearney and a few are mine. Loads more on the NFC Facebook page-plus a couple of videos of Paper Circus and Alkevan. Even with the numbers down a little on last month for Phil Hare, there were sixty or more assembled as we started, as the photographs will show. 

A tiny Des Patalong helps put the size of the hall into perspective

             Plus,(and this is significant) there were new faces present also. Alkevan,our first featured Guests in our new home added to this sense of occasion with two sets of innovative songwriting and remarkable musical dexterity. They had an invidious task on paper. It was not only a new experience for them,it was for most assembled in the Hall, a new sensory experience,in a new environment. With a new Sound Crew. That everyone rose to this task admirably is a tribute to their professionalism and expertise.In this they were ably assisted by our usual high quality of floor spots.

Alkevan

      Here,compiled from audience/performer feedback (and my own observations) were the key positives in this new venue. It is an impressive list. 

1. The sheer quality of the Sound. All "In House," now so for Mr. Smart and I there will be no more (it seems).humping gear up and down stairs and spending hours assembling it and then clearing the stage/taking it away afterwards. This for me will make Tuesday Wednesday lunchtime and Thursday mornings very much more enjoyable. Manning a deck which looked as if it came from SS Enterprise were young Tom,(yup-another Tom!),Dave Smart and James,riding shotgun, did a brilliant job. Everybody said so. Thank you,Guys!

2.   The food. (Yes,The Food!)  Whole Platters of sandwiches  snacks and nibbles left on the bar counter for us to enjoy. Pork pies, cocktail sausages,the works:fresh,tasty and lovingly prepared by the staff. (Thank you,Ladies!) And thank you Richard. One of many nice touches. 

3.. The furnishings. Nice clean tables. Nice comfy chairs. Plenty of them, with even  more fetched out as more guests arrived. They filled the Hall and we filled them. Lots of room to spread out and not a drink spilled. .

4 The bar. Like the Folk Clubs I used to go to in Coventry and Brum, we had our own bar. Staffed by two delightful ladies. On draught were -Hobgoblin.Abbot and IPA. On tap-several lagers and a couple of Craft Ales for those seeking the hop. Plenty of other stuff available as well. No trekking downstairs and back up,  so the audience were able to see a lot more of the entertainment without leaving the hall. (Absolutely NO problem with sound,btw). 

5.  The facilities. There are stairs-but they are broad and wide and well lit,and broken up by a landing. Technically they only need to be negotiated on arrival and departure-so very much easier for those who sometimes find stairs a challenge. Clean toilets adjacent with hot water and working air blowers. They is no  need for a half mile walk there and back into the cold. The Queen's Hall has a separate street entrance or visitors can enter via the bar downstairs and view the rock memorabilia. The Hall also has separate loading access for bands and their equipment,handily placed right next to the stage.. 

6.   The ambience. Subdued lighting in the auditorium and on stage. Subtly controlled by the desk staff. No light burns for performers. No ants. No moths. Everyone was warm enough, and a few reckless souls (most of us) were able to take our coats off. Luxury indeed! 

7. The stage.  Well: it's a big 'un. Higher than the other one but we've played on higher,bigger ones, so most of us found it stimulating, rather than intimidating. Really nice to be able to move around without stumbling over spaghetti. Really nice too, to have all instruments stowed safely up there,meaning a much swifter turnaround.           

        It did seem at times as if The Gods were still trying to put obstacles in our way. The copies of Folk Monthly which we like to sell before and during performances never arrived. (Again). Nunc, our Resident House band, had been devastated by ill health and ill fortune. JK who usually needs a truck to stop him performing,had been poleaxed by the return of an illness which has torn him up before. He was dosed up on heavy antibiotics, but you would never have known from his guitar playing and his spirited vocals.

Flossy had already endured a Job Interview and an Ofsted Inspection amongst other things,that day. And I was fighting off a heavy cold accelerated by me ending up marooned in the snow in Nuneaton not once but TWICE the previous week.
      We had drafted in NuncMonkey's  Paul Moore to add some beef to the guitar in case JK fell over,but as Flossy circled the Ringway, desperately trying to seek an entrance to the Abbey Street Car Park,8pm approached, we had to launch the new venue as a trio.

  Frankly, it was a pretty good version of "How Long?" as we searched the back of the Hall wondering exactly that.Halfway through "Knocking On Heavens Door Flossy and Martin did arrive: perplexed by my poor instructions, and there was an emotional onstage reunion,with Flossy  joining in the final verses.

 .      Our final opener, Randy Newman's "Guilty" therefore, was bloody great, frankly, with Flossy pumping all the rigours of the day into the lead vocal. You go girl! 

         Jak and Jackie were as good as I had ever seen or heard them. More local talent, they have evidently been working hard on material and an onstage  rapport is gradually growing between them. I liked  the juxtaposition of banjo and accordion with the guitar. d guitar. They tried a chorus song and did it well, but I think the audience were still perhaps acclimatising:  in awe of the occasion and taking in the improved surroundings,so their joining in was a little more tentative than I would have liked.

         Nuneaton resident John Neal was very much on home turf,and he got the audience really opening up a little with "It's a Long way from Clare to here." A versatile chap,John. A good songwriter, you can also see the lovely wooden things he makes on a stall in Nuneaton Market some Saturdays. He's a sign writer too-a good one-and his cycling videos are entertaining and frankly, a little frightening. He runs an informal singaround at The Fox, Attleborough every Monday. Check it out.

        To my surprise, Des Patalong decided to ascend the stairs and use the P.A. I have to say that in doing so he looked very much the Rock star, and quite at home grasping a mike. Indeed he looked the part as he sang three songs with the usual gusto and aplomb and was received very well. 

          KC Jones wisely opened with "Ivory Battle" and followed it with "Sonny"-both crowd pleasers and both with good choruses. Sandwiched somewhere in between was a ballad mirroring their softer,more tender sadder side. This fitted Karen's voice perfectly. 

            The penultimate floor spot before Alkevan's first set was by Paper Circus. Brilliant as always. They did one of their own and stopped any newcomers in their tracks with their stunning arrangements. With  Suraj travelling in from Brum and Jim coming over from Leicester, we are lucky to have them. It was great to welcome them-and to hear Jennian's soaring vocals fill that big hall. We managed to squeeze an extra song from them. The video of "Wild Mountain Thyme is on the NFC Facebook page I believe,courtesy of Paul Moore. Album coming from them (at last!) in 2018,and we are thrilled to announce that The Circus and Nunc(with friends)  will do a set each as our December 2018 Guests. What a night that will be.

                                                                     Paper Circus. 
          And so back to Alkevan. I had seen them before, and so had a few more present, but for most, their two sets was a new experience. Bravely setting forth from South Warwickshire, they were the ideal match for a new night when everyone was getting to know each other. Alan, Kevan and Ann put together an entertaining package of songs. We had cello (again!) flute,guitar and percussion,all seamlessly woven into the songs,along with very nicely arranged harmonies. They concluded our first half, and also rounded the evening off superbly. And still managed to get home before the gates across the A46 closed.