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.