Folk is coming Home.

 After the euphoria of such a great turnout at NFC last month, I confess we both had reservations about the July night. Not because of the calibre of the acts booked-we knew they would be great-but because we’d heard about attendances at other clubs dropping again due to Covid being back on the Agenda. Plus there were Festivals on elsewhere, fuel and travel costs are spiralling out of control and we knew that some people were on holiday.Incidentally when I say “we” I mean the Love of my Life to whom I will have been married for 51 years later this month. She has been very poorly and has missed quite a few NFC sessions due to ill health. It was great to see her back there on Wednesday. She is such a help-it’s a real struggle to run the club without her support.

But the turnout of fifty or so was more than acceptable. There was a really good “vibe” in there: you could almost reach out and touch it. I think it was because it was all organic and all home grown-both audience and performers.Nurtured by (not one but TWO barrels of Church End Goats Milk on hand pull. This local award-winning Real Ale is always on when the Folk Club meets, putting some other venues to shame in terms of taste and local provenance. Well done Rich Burlingham. 

The varied nature of material provided by the musicians helped the overall ambience and I admit I intended it to. We’ve always made a point at NFC of “taking risks” i.e. mixing up the traditional with the contemporary. It's not a risk really as it means there is something for everyone, whatever their tastes. You might not like all of it but there's a strong probability that you will go home recalling some of it fondly. 

Take Ian Bourne for example. Nuneaton's not his home town he claims, but he's one of us now whether he likes it or not. ( I think he does). He loves to research out some of the odder, quirkier stuff and when he does write his own material it tends to be in a similar vein. Thus a slightly offbeat outlook matches the mood in the town. My dad and grandad were both born in Nuneaton: I still have friends and relatives living there. "Treacle Town "  has an ironic, sardonic type of humour, quite different to that of its neighbours. Just go on the Nuneaton Borough Fan's Forum and you'll see what I mean.  Ian has been very poorly from time to time but it didn't show as he took the role of the (now vacant) House Band Slot, kicking off both halves. His delivery is first class: a mixture of cabaret, theatre and Comedie Noire. So  the morbid "Psycho,"( my request:  a 1950's song actually based on a true story),  contains just the right amount of furtive eye rolling, eyebrow arching and tortured notes.( Ian is actually a good singer and his voice projection is fantastic). It's all good fun especially watching Folkies trying to get their head round songs about Zombies. ( Zombie Folk? A new genre?). 

Now an NFC regular (indeed as common as the red throated Phalarope nowadays, at most of our local Folk Clubs),it fell to Bob Brooker to follow that. Which he did in his own inimitable style. Looking very dapper he had forsaken his banjo and Bouzouki bringing along instead only a petite little guitar which looked as if he might have taken it from a novelty key ring. The sound it produced however belied its size. He coaxed from it self-penned songs about trawlers, fish and chips  and Whitby (obviously!) before calling up one of his music buddies Craig to accompany him in a stomping finale: a medley of foot-tapping instrumentals. Bob's musicianship is astonishing: it wouldn't surprise me if he turned up one night with a Euphonium around his waist and proceeded to coax a series of traditional songs expertly out of it. 

Karen and Colin Jones (as KC Jones)  were as good as I have ever seen them. A thirty minute slot gave them longer to showcase their talents. Namely harmonies, strong solo singing and clever instrumentation with  thoughtful arrangements. Karen started with a stunning unaccompanied version of "My Laggan Love." They did a few self-penned album songs including "Captive"  " Ivory Battle" and " My Destiny." They finished with " Sonny" -again indulging another one of my requests.  A nicely balanced  set with a mix of covers and original material. They work hard on performance-and the work they put in on rehearsals is evident. They are getting a lot of work at the moment. Richly deserved. 

Our first guest spot was occupied by Kristy Gallacher. She'd been away from the local scene for a few years, what with getting married and becoming a mum. It wasn't apparent as she launched energetically into a quickfire set of her own tunes plus a few covers. One of many things I like about Kristy's live performances is her economy. Her own songs are fast, effective and cleverly constructed. They are all of a similar length: a DJ's dream with no seven minute dirges. Just zippy, punchy  radio-friendly tunes with a brief intro. Because of this, John Goodman and I sat nodding at each other across the table like a pair of wise old gnomes saying "Played this!" or " Great single: that's gone out on Anker Folk a few times." It was good to hear songs like  "Blood," or  "Quicksand." performed live and sounding as tasty as the studio versions.. We also had what was to be the second Gretchen Peters cover of the night. Kristy's stage presence is deceptively simple and clean cut. In Jeans and a leather jacket  she whirled away from the mike during  guitar licks and whipped back to return to the vocal. On top of all of this, her guitar work was as good as ever. We talked briefly afterwards about female guitar players and the credit they don't always get. Three of my favourites are Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi and Joanne Shaw-Taylor. All good singers and great guitarists with styles you could pick out on first hearing. Kristy's style is fast and skilful. Someone told me she was taught by the late Dave Bennett. I'm not surprised. I asked an audience member whom I knew had not seen her before what he thought. "I'm blown away," he said. Job done. She hasn't released an album since 2014-c'mon Kristy-let's have another. It's time. 

            After the interval, a jug collection and another Gretchen Peters song (" Hello Cruel World" this time from Ian Bourne), we handed the rest of the evening over to Craig Sunderland.. 

Again, a deceptively homespun jeans and t-shirt look belied the considerable talent this guy is still building on. His guitar picking is masterful. His choice of songs just gets better and better. His intros, banter and stage patter make him instantly likeable. He's turning into a polished product- and I'm not the only one saying so. I don't think I've heard the Keith Donnelly cover he did before-it was really well done and fitted into the intimate folk tradition easily. I also enjoyed his version of Rufford Park Poachers. He finished with Rod Felton's "Curly"-a beautiful song which has stood the test of time. As an encore he did Nic Jone's "Little Pot Stove." Two lovely, nostalgic  singalong pieces which sent everyone home happy.

Thanks again to Rich for his continuing support, to Ross for his most excellent mixing from up there in the Crow's Nest and to Aaron, back behind the bar. Also thanks to Max Wright. All the pictures here are his. And thanks to Pete Willow who continues to give us help with producing posters (and hopefully-fliers) Get well soon, Pete! 

Next month it's the oft re-arranged debut at NFC of Mike Reinstein, singer-songwriter who is travelling up to the Midlands all the way from Sussex. I hope we can continue our generous turnouts to give him a proper Nuneaton welcome. We first agreed this booking in happier times: Pre-Covid and no ridiculous petrol prices. It'll be a good night . Do please encourage others to come along and join us. Hopefully the link below might direct you to one of my favourite Reinstein compositions. 

Mike Reinstein Live @SEF 19.04.19 - The Gardener of Aleppo. Uploaded with permission - YouTube