Last NFC of 2018

       It  seemed that all the conditions were going to be just right last night. A subdued room downstairs meant no “bleed” drowning out the music in the Queen's Hall. There was a lovely friendly vibe as all three North Warwickshire Folk Club Resident Acts took turns in singing and bantering. (Anyone new to the three of us might have been shocked by the waspish level of the banter being exchanged ,but we are all “Family” really, all mates. Families, when they are together,give and take and wind each other up. So there was little holding back).

      Those lovable scamps Tom and Harvey were in mischievous mood. Corralled up inside their Sound Desk enclosure with the doors shut, they are at times overwhelmed with a sense of power.It looks a bit like the Flight Deck of the Starship Enterprise in there). Harvey loves the Smoke machine dearly and until restrained he likes to have the stage set looking like a World War One battlefield. As artistes peered through the fug desperately trying to see the audience it took the more sensible input of ex-NFC Sound Man Dave Smart to convince them to turn the air conditioning off and introduce a bit of warmth into proceedings instead. (Young Folk eh? They just don't feel the cold!) Bless 'em, they  coped admirably with a failure of the lighting rig during the second half. (This got one of the biggest cheers of the night). Most importantly of all they kept the ship sailing.

          With a bigger than usual crowd in it was Santa's Law that some things would go wrong anyway. For instance, it's rare that John Kearney breaks a string during performance, but Paul Moore's look of horror during a number in Nunc's set as John left him solo, deprived of his metronomic rhythm guitar was a picture.Here is John just before the momentous event.

       Paper Circus and Nunc shared the guests spots. We had agreed mutually months ago that any proceeds from the evening would be divided amongst local charities,and so instead of Nunc doing their usual opening sequence I opened up proceedings with some shambolic Open Mike.( Comedy is probably a little strong-although some members of the audience were laughing,more at me than with me) After singing Happy Birthday to Kath Peretti we (I) sang a few tastelessly amended Christmas songs to the backing of tumbleweed drifting down a deserted Mid West street.

    Extracts then followed from my infamous “Answers To The Christmas Quiz” and “Christmas Announcements.” They too went down like a blowlamp in an Ice Palace (which the room resembled at that time). The proceedings were at least lent had some class and dignity by my able accompanist and Straight Woman,Sue Sanders, (see above) who added tasteful festive fill-ins between lines,whilst old jokes lay gasping for breath on the proscenium. Sue continued to play from her seat down in the auditorium and here's the proof.

        Rumours of a a Polar bear being spotted climbing the stairs proved to be false,as Pete McParland took to the stage to kick the floor spots off. He decided to get into the Festive mood by singing a song about how often it does (or doesn't ) rain in California. Perhaps he was trying to stop the sound of teeth chattering? Pete is Old School. He is a regular at many local venues,has a nice voice and plays good guitar, I've shared a mike with him at The Anker and The Coniston whilst jamming Blues and Pop Covers. He is the consummate professional and he will have no truck with that modern habit of having your words in front of you malarkey.

        Which was great until he came unstuck during Peter Sardstedt's Epic "Where Do You Go To My Lovely?". A song I've heard him do without error many times before. Pete's confidence began to ebb a little though as he forgot the words,but Paul Moore,aided by an online karaoke page stepped up to feed him the prompts. Comedy Gold. Even without the usual jokes about Pete putting his cycle clips on and pedalling over to Ridge Lane to catch the second half of Open Mic there, .It brought the house down. (For the sake of accuracy,Peter stayed all night.He always does at NFC!).  We lock the doors so he can't escape.

      Finger In The Jar, Atherstone Folk Club's Resident trio followed Pete. Steve and Anne Beeson with Phil Benson. As you can see Phil was one of several present to be getting in the mood by wearing a colourful Christmas shirt.

          He also had a very large drum which he proceeded to pound as FITJ sang a version of “Over The Hills and Far Away.” I was enjoying their work so much that I almost waved them back on to do a fourth before realising that they had already finished their spot. They just finished “You Ain't Going Nowhere” so the gesture was rather apt.

         Des Patalong is an NFC and Anker Folk regular. Either solo or with the Thrup'nny Bits, he's become a bit of a fixture,what with that mighty beard, his special sunglasses, that thunderous voice and his Uncle Bulgaria hat. . His “Neo-Liberal” song touched a nerve with many and his intro to “The Wren” was longer than the actual song. Well worth the wait though as this alternative version of an old carol is one of his party pieces. Very similar to Steeleye Span's lesser known Christmas song “Pleased to See The King,” it is really atmospheric. You can hear more of Des and the TB's on the Anker Folk Christmas shows.

          Talking of Old Birds, Malc and Gill were on next. Gill Gilsenan commenced by dismantling various music stands until she found one which matched her own height. This took a while. Even she admitted it was “like watching origami” as she wrestled with, or folded and unfolded various structures until the satisfactory elevation was attained. Having then bemoaned the fact that there was no Road Crew there to help her,and commented on the ambiance of the room temperature, Malc stood alongside patiently until the music began. Gill on form is the Janis Joplin of Folk,the Amy Winehouse of Open Mic. It was hard to believe she was only drinking water as she let fly some quality heckling from the stage and the audience responded spiritedly.They climaxed (if that is the right word) with a rendition of the Yorkshire Carol “Sweet Chiming Bells” It really got the crowd singing.

        Paper Circus were as classy as ever. Jennian's pure voice,Jim's cello and the tasteful guitar work of Suraj, is a lovely sound. It is easy to slip into thinking that The Circus are all about Jennian's flawless pitch and tone,but it is actually the combination of all three instruments that makes them unique. Kind of them to acknowledge that their debut in the heady world of Folk,nay their introduction to Folk Clubs was at via NFC after we'd gigged with them at Twisted Barrel Open Mic. One could be excused for thinking that the purring from the side of the stage was the heating kicking in but it was just Dave Smart. He really loves Paper Circus. We all do. You can catch them locally at Willow and Tool's Music Parlour and at Atherstone Folk Club early in the New Year.I chose this photo because it is the only once I've spotted where Jim can be seen. he was having a few problems with his sheet music. I blame the stand. 

       So then we had a break and after a momentous raffle ,giving away towers of chocolates, biscuits and wine donated by NFC devotees, Nunc took over to complete the evening. The usual procession of Americana followed. Jennian likes to joke about having "only one song not about dead girls," when introducing the Paper Circus repertoire and the Nunc Body Count is also quite high. It rose proportionally as songs about broken relationships,persecuting the homeless, campus massacres,and substance abuse followed.

       Paul took us a bit more upbeat with his solo rendition of “Sitting On Top of The World” Flossy did her usual virtuoso stuff with “Guilty” and “Angel From Montgomery” Paul's Nemesis “Weather with You” actually went rather well. John Kearney woke up those audience members who had dropped off to sleep with his shouting in “Copperhead Road.” It even briefly made the few Old Folkies who had been on their mobile phones all night look up briefly. We finished with “Knocking on Heaven's Door” and our Bob Marley/Wild Rover segue which saw (and heard) the audience roaring out the choruses beautifully. They took a solo verse in each,unaccompanied:a fitting end.

       Besides those performing it was great to see other local Folk and Roots Giants in the audience and supporting “live” music just by being there. Andy Jones,Ian Bourne,Jak Lynch,Max Wright,Wes Hall,Mick Stanley and lots of others. And although it was sad not to have John B. Smith there, Ray Buckler,Sue Sanders,Max,JK and many others supplied some excellent photos, as you can see here and on the NFC Facebook page where there are many more. 

            Next Wednesday it's Bedworth Folk Club's turn at The Newdigate Club. Belzebub will be hosting the BFC Christmas Party. Atherstone Folk Club's last even of the year is at The Rose,Baxterley,on 19th December with guests  The Red Hills featuring Maria Barham. (She'll hate me for billing it like that!). You can see several of last night's guests back in Town on Tuesday next at The Coniston in Nuneaton. Hosted by Dragonhead,it's a fun night with lots of singing and contributions from Steve and Anne,Pete McParland Paul Moore and many others. Give this venue a whirl:it's a good Craic and like all this music we put on for you it's FREE! 
        Nunc are at The Nursery Tavern Coventry on Solstice Night (21^st December).There's a VERY Christmassy feel also to Anker Folk's Christmas Eve programme on Anker Radio. Then we all want some Figgy Pudding for a while I guess.