A welcome return to NFC for the gifted John Richards on Wednesday, this time with the additional bonus of being joined on stage by his old mate and bass player Jim Sutton. For our second evening at our new venue it was good to see a few more returning faces. All tables were fully occupied, with plenty more standing towards the back. Thanks to Richard and The Crew staff there was the further attraction of some warming chilli con carne offered as a treat towards the interval.
With a few sound glitches delaying the start, Nunc finally kicked off events slightly later than usual, with the topical “Twas on an April morning.” I’d been battling a very sore throat all day so was more than happy to hand over the lead vocals to Flossie. She did her usual professional job on “Angel from Montgomery.” Nice to hear the audience joining in the choruses on this one. Accompanied by Paul “I’ll play with anyone” Moore, we finished our launch spot with “Bring it On Home.” and then put the stage into to the capable hands of The J.P.s
Jane Moss and Paul Monk were as good as I’d ever seen and heard them. Jane’s vocals were particularly strong. Perhaps it was a reaction to having a large audience to perform to or perhaps it was the presence of Mum and Dad in the audience but they seemed very focused,especially on the song about the demise of Kellingley Colliery. A good number this,from Jane although it possibly still needs a little editing or trimming down to be totally effective.
As I gave Nigel Ward a glowing introduction, praising his exquisite fiddle playing,I was facing the audience. I had failed to see him unveiling a Cittern from a case.behind me, This was so he could start with “The Reluctant Sailor,” a Ward original I consider to be among his best. I like the words, I like the subject matter and I like Nigel’s delivery. For his finale he chose an instrumental featuring a segue of tunes expertly played. This got feet and tables tapping until,as Nigel’s playing became increasingly fast. It was funny watching them drop out-they simply couldn’t keep up with him,and they all had to give up! Some time ago I got involved in an online debate about the histrionics some of the more flamboyant fiddle players employ when being filmed for television. Nige wisely has no truck with any of this malarkey. He just plays his fiddle-as well as anyone else I know does. No gimmicks, no flailing and leaping and dipping about. (Good man!).
Des Patalong, shorn of his Razors (see what I did there?),then donned his Billy Gibbons shades and mounted the steps for a solo session. The sunglasses were a precaution against glare: Des having done a risk assessment since his visit here last month. A quick grumble about the foldbacks and then he was ready to thunder out three shanties including "South Australia" and "Shallow Brown," both of which got the audience singing enthusiastically.
Gremlins had continued to nibble sporadically here and there and they had clearly taken a chunk out of Dan Gascoigne’s guitar before he began his spot. Dan’s an old hand at NFC however, and showing cool and serenity way beyond his tender years, he battled gamely through his first song as our willing young sound engineers strove unobtrusively to crawl at his feet readjusting DI leads. Dan is a great guitarist so wisely just let technique do the talking. Instead of moaning he delivered a trio of songs up to the usual high standard and ended with a very original take on ”Lord Franklin.” Those who hadn’t heard him previously were suitably impressed.
Dragonhead's John and Anne Harris,have been doing sterling work running another great live music venue in the Town, Tuesday Blues Nights at The Anker Inn. So it was good to see them back at NFC doing their stuff up on the stage. This included a Cajun medley which included "Diggy Diggy Lo ". Ann was looking very sparkly in her red sequinned top, which John announced she was wearing only because,"She got to the wardrobe first.” Nonplussed by Des nicking one of their planned numbers, they repeated "South Australia” but more at a Rock tempo than as a shanty. By now we all knew the words ,so the audience singing was top class.
John And Jim then performed the shorter of the two Feature sets. When you are as prolific and talented a writer as John,it must be a challenge what to include and what to miss out. However many of his fans there had their requests honoured, over the two sets. It’s rumoured John uses Tungsten coated Titanium strings, and his voice projection is legendary,so he certainly gave our sound men a run for their money. Once stabilised, the overall effect was one was somewhere between iconic and outstanding. Jim’s contribution was immense:a great player with a feel for the instrument whether picking plucking or using the bow.
After the interval, Nunc returned with "Down where the Drunkards Roll,” during which my voice went walkabouts again. Fortunately Flossy did a magnificent job on “Guilty” a song which the pair of us regularly scrap over. And then came a very specially moment commemorating the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s cruel assassination. Des joined us on stage as John Kearney led us all in the protest movement's anthem “We Shall Overcome.” At the point where we handed over the vocal to the audience,singing unaccompanied, it became a very emotional and genuinely moving experience. Will we ever overcome,some day? I hope so. But I’m beginning to wonder.
John’s second set was equally as impressive as the first. "Honour and Praise," “Polly,” “The Deserter,” " If you can Sing/Dance" were all in there along with other favourites. He had to finish his encore with the anthemic "Shine On," of course he did. We wouldn’t have let him leave without doing it.The song means a lot to us Nuncsters ( as it does to many) for it has been a comfort through some hard times. John dedicated it to all those who understood and appreciated his music,
” You know who you are,” he grinned. And yes, we do. All of us.
Photographs and Single Malt Islay courtesy of the versatile John B Smith.
