Happy 7th Birthday, NFC!

 The odds were truly stacked against us beforehand, (read on!) but against them all we had a great evening. I confess that when I got news third hand (and quite late) that Pilgrims Way were unable to fulfil their booked appearance, I was disappointed.  The October Club night needed to be something special: something with a little extra to compliment the excellent line-up Steve Bentley has secured for The Ragged Bear Festival. It also had to be someone who would not duplicate those up and coming attractions at other nearby venues. My first instinct therefore was to see if Phil Hare was available. 

Fortunately for us all, he was, and his latest appearance on an NFC stage turned out to be a master stroke for all concerned. The petrol crisis/shortage threatened us all leading up to last night, and despite a few deluded souls in Government claiming it was "over" or 'stabilising,' it obviously wasn't. We drove back from Bath to North Warwickshire on the Tuesday. There were no queues at filling stations, but plenty of forecourts were shut! With Phil and Steph facing a return journey to Cambridgeshire, I wouldn't have blamed them for pulling out. But they didn't. And  I'm so glad. 

For House Band Nunc there were additional obstacles beforehand. During the previous week Master Chef John Kearney had mistaken his finger tip for a shallot and after a trip to A.& E. glumly announced that  he would be unable to provide the engine room which helps boost our sound. Besides scuppering our rehearsals, without "Hammerhands" (a nickname of his own choosing), this put a lot of extra musical responsibility onto our other guitarist, Paul Moore. 

 We had to reshape our set list beforehand, online, without seeing each other. We opened the evening with "Down Where The Drunkards Roll." There was a time when this was a staple part of our set list. It's one of the few Folk Songs we still do. It got the audience singing immediately, fuelled I suspect by the copious quantities of Church End's Goats Milk, an award winning ale fresh in from a local brewery. I stumbled over the final verse but I was already on my second pint. JK was still with us on vocals and finger clicks, so Flossy's imperious version of "Angel From Montgomery"  was particularly well harmonised and well sung. Paul Moore took the lead to conclude our opener with his own song "Mr.Moonshine." I'd forgotten just how good that was. 

At NFC we've always tried to bring you variety and quality in the other slots. The floor spots and features which should compliment the Headline Act. Since re-opening we've extended most of the spots and had fewer of them. Each one of last night's back-up performers can (and have!) been top of the bill elsewhere at times. Any one of them can entertain and hold an audience in their own right. We've also tried to always include local interest.  

We have to be careful with local lad Ian Bourne, because he's not been very well and is still getting used to treading the boards again. So he followed Nunc but with a standard 15 minute/three songs set. Ian has given a helping hand to many musicians (and venues) so there was a lot of warmth in the room for him. Even though (at my request),he opened with "Psycho," a brutal song which has one of the best Folk Club choruses I've ever heard. ("You think I'm psycho don't you Momma?/ I didn't mean to break your cup /You think I'm psycho don't you Momma?/You'd better let them lock me up." A jolly refrain that haunts me as an earworm for days after I hear it. Perhaps they need to lock me up too? 

We'd planned on giving JK his own solo feature spot so he could air some of his excellent  compositions. Due to his kitchen adventures with the chopping knife, I had to  draft in a reliable replacement who could entertain and keep the audience singing. Malc Gurnham and Gill Gilsenan provided that, with the usual aplomb and style. Malc seemed to be motoring well on the Goats Milk and uncharacteristically forgot the words a couple of times. Fortunately, the ones he substituted were as good as the originals and a great deal funnier. It was going to be a night of earworms for me, as they finished with Shep Woolley's "Down By The Dockside Wall." Malc went a little off piste with this one too, but one of those special Gill looks straightened him out again. Good stuff that Goats Milk.  

Paper Circus were the final feature slot. They were amazing. I hadn't seen the new(-ish) line-up before. They complied with all my prior requests, doing "Teardrop" and "Time Wears Awa'"  justice. Then they premiered Mazzy Stars "Into Dust" one of my all time playlist favourites. And added in a version of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams," too. Wonderful song choice, superbly delivered. 

Phil could not disguise his glee at being let loose on a big stage again, after such a long lay-off. And how hard he worked it, in both his sets. A shorter one to lead us up to the interval and a longer one after the break to send us home happy.  After a brief break Nunc returned with "After The Goldfish" (as Flossy's Auto Correct described it), "How Long Blues," and "Guilty." 

Then it was time for a reprise from Phil Hare. During the evening we heard all the old favourites. Some funny: some witty: some poignant. " Potato Man,"  "I Got My Country Back," "HedgeFund Shuffle," "Music for a Lost Harmonium," "Will You Marry Me?" "Planxty Byrne," they were all there.   Anyone regularly listening to Anker Folk would have heard all of these. What can you say about the man that hasn't already been said? He has a great voice, he writes great songs, he has a stage presence and his dry humour is very funny. When he does a cover version he puts his own stamp on it vocally and instrumentally. On top of all of which he is an extraordinarily gifted guitar player, with a dizzying array of techniques and styles. Not only the range, the tunings and the harmonics, but the way he weaves snatches of other songs into his instrumentals. Bits of Stairway to Heaven and Anjii surfacing and disappearing again where you don't expect them to be. I do own a guitar. Though I wouldn't ever describe myself as a' player,' I don't believe I heard a wrong note throughout.  I've been replaying all of his albums since:if you haven't bought one you've seriously missed out. Buy one online. 

 A fitting finale was "Everyone's a Hard Man Nahhhhhhhhhhhhh,"  complete with homage to Mrs. Mills.  With the chorus lines belted enthusiastically out full volume, Phil Mitchell style. The clock had moved well beyond 11pm when the audience and Phil reluctantly parted company. 

Various other NFC regulars were unable to attend and even though they all had a credible absence note, it could potentially have thinned the numbers down. But it didn't. And then there's that Pandemic. The one that (again) certain deluded politicians claim is waning when statistics show it really isn't. The Crew's Rich Burlingham could not possibly take more steps to try to reduce risk and restore public confidence. The room  was more socially distanced than any other performance area I have ever seen. New machinery had been added to existing facilities so that the air was fresh, pure and in constant circulation. If any of you reading this still have trepidation about returning to live music venues-ask someone who was there on Wednesday if they felt safe.  I thank each and every one of you for turning out and supporting us. I'm sure you weren't disappointed. My thanks to Max Wright and Malc Gurnham for the photographs. 

Footnote  And I sold all the copies of "The Light Fandango," that I brought along. Wow! Thanks everyone. Even Phil took one!