Harder than it Looks?

Wednesday November 7th      
      To a casual visitor or someone dropping in for the first time (as at least half a dozen new faces did for November's NFC night), it probably all looked so easy. But trying to get that show into some semblance of order beforehand was like herding cats. It was an ambitious line up, with some innovative musical collaborations planned between our Headline Act Moses and The Ref and local musicians Paul Moore and Nigel Ward.  Plus the debut of Whale,a lively band from Leicestershire   preceding the first set fromMoses and The Ref. The prospect of a five piece Drunc Monkey finally  playing together for the first time since September 8th and the return of the exceptional Adam Wilson was also one to savour. But it took some piecing together.  
        What a relief it was to see ace photographer John B Smith walking in before we started. All these photos are his. Bless you,John B. Your dedication to local Folk music does you great credit. Here's his picture of a few of the mighty machines on stage, awaiting the starting pistol. 

           It was good to get most of Nunc/Drunk Monkey back together to start us off and we used the opportunity to run through some of the material planned for our support slot when Tir Na Nog visit the Queen's Hall. Things didn't go exactly to plan initially. The start was  delayed by sound checks, I couldn't get the double doors downstairs open and late trains had held some people up. We began "Find The Cost of Freedom/Ohio" as Nunc-the original three piece. And very enjoyable it was, too. Followed by a Richard Thompson song to the same format. Paul Moore had set up his dobro by this time and  Jon Harrington arrived so we rejigged the running order to put "Vigilante Man" on first half.

           No pressure then for Adam Wilson, who followed us by opening with a unique interpretation of "Man of Constant Sorrow." He added  two more songs including his magnificent interpretation of the Neil Young classic "Old Man." No sound check, he just got up and played. I had always enjoyed watching new audiences experiencing Paper Circus,Tom Young or Izzie Derry  at NFC for the first time. And there was the same buzz seeing their expressions as Adam made the seamless vocal  transition to the higher register this song requires and back again.   He writes his own stuff too-I've heard it. 

            Nigel Ward was scheduled to follow Adam and that heralded  another treat. Not that we don't always enjoy listening to Nigel solo, but he had also brought his mate Gerry Bailey along with him too. The duo are a popular draw around Coventry venues, and Gerry added to the overall enjoyment as the pair of them delivered a very enjoyable trio of songs. 

         We were all looking forward to seeing how the guitar pyrotechnics of Glyn Finch would react to the heady Queen's Hall atmosphere. But we'll have to wait,as one of the NFC gremlins had nailed him beforehand. Instead,we had a ready, willing and able replacement in the mighty presence of Des Patalong. The thinking man's Billy Gibbons donned some sunglasses and started a two part Remembrance theme with a very distinctive version of "Hanging On The Old Barbed Wire." He then rumbled out Eric Bogle's long and utterly depressing (but poignant) homage to the fallen at  Gallipoli ,"Waltzing Matilda." With few eyes left dry, he finished with an early sort of Christmas song,"The Pudding Hunt."  ( Listen,if  the supermarkets are into the second week of Christmas advertising by October then Des can do a Christmas song with our blessing).   A hunt of this kind sounds macabre but as Des assured us, "no Puddings were hurt in the delivery of this song." 

         And finally before Moses and The Ref came up on stage to close the first half, we had the NFC debut of Whale. Bob,Dave and Ian, bouncing around like schoolkids and unable to disguise their obvious excitement and an adrenaline rush. The lights and the smoke seemed to inspire them. Sometimes such special effects can put people off, but not this powerful trio!,they romped away through four energetic and boisterous songs, even managing a "this is the band" routine before, (reluctantly it has to be said!), handing the stage back to the rest of us after a deserved ovation. 
      To their very great credit they temporarily drowned out the increasing noise levels thundering up from downstairs,where the volume seemed to grow louder with each song. I'm tempted to say they had a Whale of a time but I bet they are sick and tired of that sort of comment. 

                       Moses and The Ref-Christine and Steve-worked very hard as they always do. They ended the first half with a collection of songs including the infamous wine song. Difficult to describe this performance in print,but it is expertly delivered in a clever music hall,addressing the audience style sort of way. It involved some pointing, as you can see. Either that or Steve is telling them downstairs to tone it down. 

             Thanks to the generosity of our NFC punters we were able to get the pair at least as far as the M6/A444 interchange before sending them back Down Sarf. As it happens they lodged overnight nearby with some friends but I'm sure the little collection we had bought them a coffee at Watford Gap the next morning. And I happen to know they shifted a few of their CDs too. 

             As promised, as the culmination of their second set and as an encore, they called Nigel Ward and Paul Moore back up to join them on the last two numbers. It is a tribute to the professionalism of all four musicians that this went so well-they had not rehearsed it together at all before that night! You can see Paul in the shot below:Nigels is fiddling away in the smoke on the left. 

           Our hard core of loyal regulars turn out as often as they can. Most have jobs to go to early next morning and all kinds of other commitments but still they come. Good also to see Pete McParland, Wes Hall  and George Van Wristell among the local musicians in the audience. Not playing, but just there, supporting Live music. Well done chaps. 

           This  venue is so much better than our last one. We don't have to go back downstairs for a widdle or a pint any more. We have our own separate entrance. There is free parking adjacent. Three hours of music for free.Folk. Blues,Roots,Country,Americana all skillfully mixed  Our Guest List for 2019 will be our best ever. Tom and Harvey do a magnificent job on the Sound Desk and you could not find a better attitude from Bar staff like young Aaron, who looks after us all on First Wednesdays. The room,the Sound Crew and Equipment are provided free of charge by Rich Burlingham. Sadly, we cannot build on, or even emulate The Crown turnout. 

            

Coventry Singer Songwriter Competition 2018

      This fun competition,organised by Jon Harrington,lasted over possibly more months than originally intended. It finally came to a heady conclusion last Friday night when the winners were announced and all those who took part were awarded prizes. All of which had (a very tenuous) nautical or maritime theme. 

CSS spiritual leader Jon Harrington

    Coming a close second only to Eurovision in terms of tension,expense and excitement, the Awards Ceremony took part at John Neal's sumptuous Manor House in Nuneaton. Things had  got particularly exciting even before we started, as I appeared to scrape my car all along the gateway turning in to the long winding drive leading up to Neal Towers. Although it sounded as if I had run over an armoured rhinoceros, I was greatly relieved to find out later that all the scratches were only crushed Privet. Or Box. Or whatever. Anyway-they all rubbed off with a bit of T-Cut afterwards. 

The Higham Lane Nightingale,John Neal.

      Myself and Malc Gurnham (Bedworth Folk Club) had been invited to judge and help present prizes. Though we were honoured,by this accolade it proved to be a challenging task. We assessed the full entry (15 songs) independently at first,then shared each others' results before aggregating our separate scores to one total, putting the songs in sequence. We were both delighted and relieved to find that,when we compared notes we had independently both put what we thought were the top 5 in identical order. 

       As a songwriter myself with (ahem!) a dozen or so published, I know fully the care and attention which goes into writing a song. Any song. Especially so when they are written to order-(or to a theme,anyway). Some entrants stuck to the theme very literally, others tinkered with things a little and Bill Bates just blatantly cheated by writing an anthem of praise aimed specifically at the two judges. One or two entrants went into full Phil Spector production mode, whilst a few others appeared to have stripped things right down to basics and recorded their entry on a Nokia mobile in their lavatory. 

       On the night,once the girls in feather boas had finished their dance routines and the orchestra had settled down, as the audience nibbled a shortcake, the awards began. Having spent an awful lot of time combing the Charity Shops and Pound Shops of Nuneaton for appropriate prizes, I was disappointed to discover that not everyone had taken this seriously enough to turn up. Nonetheless,  we announced the results (uniquely) by starting with the Top Five.

Not John's Lounge. But Malc and Geoff duetting elsewhere.

      In fifth place was a brooding and very original song "Down In The Dark," written and performed by Sally-Ann Veasey. (Only very distantly related and then only by marriage thrice removed). I had looked everywhere in Poundland for a rubber ring because her song was about swimming pools. In the end, Sally-Ann's prize was a set of Pirate Stickers as we thought her song was daylight robbery. Fourth was David Ellis with his big big production which was so Wagnerian we could only award him a practically intact CD of "The Flying Dutchman."   In third place,only because it made us both laugh so much,was Bill Bates and his homage to bribery.  Anyone wanting to hear it, it will be played on "Anker Folk" on Anker Radio on November 5th and again the next day.  His prize was a roll of bin liners because his whole approach was well..rubbish.

Bill was green with envy at being pipped for top spot.

        The Top Two had already been spun on the wireless. Just pipping Katherine Fear (who came second), was Jane Moss. "The Turn of The Tide" was a clever piece of work by Jane, more about life changes than a nautical almanac. Her winner's trophy of a "Mermaid's Have More Fun" -embossed mug was richly deserved. Katherine won a Mermaid-themed drinking cup for her runner-up song,"The Tide Will Turn." This was another polished thoughtful song enhanced by a simple musical arrangement. Certificates and a small trophy presented by Jon Harrington went to the two ladies (women?) (girls?) for their stirring efforts. 

        By this time,having realised that they had not made the Top Five  a few lips around the room were quivering. So by prior arrangement and with the full blessing of Mesdames Neal and Harrington, proceedings were halted and the tension broken,by a performance of one of my oft-covered (once!) songs. Just to show everyone (as it were) how the craft of songwriting is properly executed at a very high professional level,"The Odeon" from the album "Ain't It Grand?" saw the debut of a new North Warwickshire Power duo. And I only forgot the words once. 

        Having recovered from that, we decided wisely to award the rest of the prizes in Reverse alphabetical order only. Bob Wilkinson received a copy of "Notes From The Boat" by Mike Vass. Graham Weston will be sent a dustpan and brush to commemorate the title of his song "Swept Away."  Vivian Richardson's "At The Turning of The Tide" merited a copy of The Beatles "Yellow Submarine" as it gave us that sinking feeling.

       Geraldine Anne Pearson- Greene was commended for having the longest name and also won a bag of E-numbered sweets advertised as "Monster Brains"  Seemed appropriate given that we found the whole competition a bit creepy.   Al Neville was awarded a copy of Keane's "Under The Iron Sea" as we felt that was possibly the best place for his entry. Host John Neal won a teaspoon with a little ship on top as we thought his song was very stirring.  Paul Monks won a copy of an album by The Lighthouse Family for obvious reasons.

        Jon Harrington's interesting mixed gender approach won him two bags of Fishermen's Friends, as with a voice like that Jon, you need all the friends you can get. Cheryl Gibbons's song was an interesting mix so we felt her prize of fun-size bags of Shrimps and Bananas was an odd mix and at least half maritime. Finally, at the reverse end of alphabetical order, Mike Carter Jones was lucky enough to win two prizes:the Soundtrack to Ocean's Eleven and a large can of Sardines. This was no reflection on the quality of his entry-I had simply bought too many prizes. All unclaimed prizes will be handed on to Mr. Harrington who will undoubtedly distribute them at the next meeting of CSS.

       But we were not finished there. Oh dear me no. Malc and I performed a second original song and the Ship's Company sang along with "Di Di The Ice Cream Man." Before all present lapsed into singing their own songs in rotation until John Neal threw us out. Even Rick (who hadn't actually entered the competition) sang a few of his own compositions,emphasising just how wise he had been not to enter. I'm afraid the theme for the next meeting's song title was my fault-"The Charity Shop." I didn't expect anyone to vote for it but the silly bu**ers all did. I look forward to hearing the finished items. 

        The Awards Night ended with the same amount of adrenalin pumping as when we began.Going home,I got lost on the vast St Nicholas Park estate, making several unsuccessful attempts to escape before finally finding a route out of it.