May Frolics at The Albany

Other than a couple of outings with The Hawkesbury Trawlermen this was my first public appearance in any Folk Venue since I stepped down as compere and organiser at Nuneaton Folk Club in February. I was ring rusty and not a little bit disoriented by the time  I arrived for the Sound Checks. Not helped by dropping and breaking my prescription sunglasses in the Car Park whilst trying to read the totally unfathomable Cov. Rugby Club instructions. Having guessed that a fiver would suit, the machine told me it would buy me only two hours. Daylight Robbery.

The drive in from Outer Warwickshire had been more like entering Colorado than Coventry. My car thermometer registered 27c as I circumnavigated The Ring Road. I'd played The Albany studio before several times in other guises including  appearances there with both Nunc and  The Hawkesburys.  I knew the venue had been given a makeover there, but that does not really cover what I saw on entering. Talk about the WOW! Factor. 

All facilities are now  downstairs and all are on one level. Probably the best facilities I have seen in Coventry, Warwickshire and The Midlands.  The washrooms (US-style euphemism there) would make Tim Martin envious. No more trekking up flights of stairs or stumbling out into a freezing Portakabin to spend a penny. The bar area has been moved, relocated and enlarged, too. The Foyer is bigger than ever and very professional looking. For anyone who remembers the previous layout, The Studio performance area itself is now fully enclosed, with doors some of the staff refer to as "The Air Lock" stopping any noise bleed filtering in from outside. The curtains on the corridor side are now permanently open and all of these improvements definitely make the acoustics better than ever. The staff were all marvellous too. Helpful, courteous and kind. From our Sound Technician to the bar and counter staff, the meeters and greeters and security. Great ambassadors for the theatre. 

I wouldn't say I was subbing for Pete Willow last night, more appearing there as Guest M.C.-a role Pete has trusted me with previously.  In fairness, having seen Pete a few hours before kick off he wasn't going to be stepping out anywhere soon. In his quest to becoming Folk's Bionic man, he was recovering from a recent knee replacement.  Another one, apparently. 

The headline act were Liam Vincent and The Odd Foxes of whom more later. As has happened before at CV Folk I was handed a radio mike to begin with. It worked ok in the Sound check but died on me instantly during my opening sentence at 7,30pm . Hand mikes  don't like me and the feeling is mutual. From then on I relied on voice projection. Good job I can reach the back of a room that size without artificial amplification.  To warm the audience up I began with a shanty from The Hawkesbury's Set list-" Donkey Riding." With a health warning first that this was not the version which some of us had learned learned from BBC Schools Radio, but a much saltier original version. The audience sang along gamely. 

We actually all needed warming up as the air conditioning was set a little too high-or low initially. The  icy air which had already blasted all of Pete's meticulously compiled fliers across the room was a distraction-someone I think must have adjusted it later. I followed up with Woody Guthrie's epic " Vigilante Man" : a song I'd sung with four different bands. Written in 1940, It rails angrily against "The Authorities" persecuting The Homeless, The Poor and displaced persons sleeping  rough. Some politicians today would now call this a life choice. What a shame this kind of bullying still exists 84 years on.  

First up was Jamie Scott. I'd not seen him before. If I had I would have invited him over to Nuneaton Folk Club. Jamie had two guitars-one was a beautiful resonator. I'm a sucker for that sound, be it Dobro, National Steel or a wood bodied one like this. Totally authentic and using a bottleneck to produce an authentic steel effect, Scott played a tidy mix of his own stuff and some covers of blues originals. I loved his version of Robert Johnson's "Dust My Broom." Last week would have seen the ninth birthday of my twin Grandsons Robert and ray. Christened after the great man himself. Like Robert they died too early, so it was a poignant moment for me. 

 I'd sung "If I Had Possession"  another Robert Johnson classic, fronting several bands also. Indeed, I'm so Nerdy I have compiled a playlist of artistes who have had a go at the Elmore James style Dust My Broom riff. Spencer Davis, John Mayall, Clapton, Peter Green, Jeremy Spencer, The Allmans, Canned Heat,Taj Mahal-they've all had a punt. When Jamie began, the drum kit behind was vibrating to the tone of his voice and the steel strings. Kudos to The Foxes drummer who surreptitiously nipped through the curtains and tightened down the snare to stop that. it was that kind of night. Very friendly and lots of mutual support.

Next up were Julie Neal and Robert Small. The last time I'd seen Julie, she had lost her voice completely-and it had looked serious. She was always one of the best ragtime/fingerpicking players on the circuit and latterly she'd been of necessity just playing instrumentals with Robert stepping in and adding a contribution. To my delight Julie not only introduced some of the numbers but actually sang along in some of the choruses. Theirs was an eclectic and entertaining set with material ranging from Freight Train to Elvis Presley. 

Then came the interval, with me trying to persuade people to part with some money to show their appreciation for the show so far and for what was to come. As we commenced the second half I sang "Di Di The Ice Cream Man," which is oft requested. Hopefully I will finally get that song recorded and released along with some others later this year.

That done, I was able to hand the rest of the evening over to Liam and Co. Their set was energetic and absorbing with songs that were by turns intense and thoughtful. There was good interplay and exchange between the lead musicians which included violin, electric and acoustic guitars. The rhythm section set up a good solid platform to mount this on, with some solid electric bass work and powerful drumming reinforced by substantial amplification.  

Foxes and Folk seem to go together. Mr. Fox were a 1970s electric folk supergroup who produced a seminal album in "The Gypsy." The 13 minute title track was revolutionary for its time and is still well worth a listen. Fleet Foxes have a retro crossover sound featuring layered harmonies. And our own local Urban Fox are making a name for themselves since they formed only a few years back. We've featured all three on "Anker Folk." Signs are that Odd Foxes will be joining them soon. There's actually not much odd about them, although they are very diverse-so in that sense the different component parts give you plenty to look at and listen to. 

Next on at CV Folk at The Albany Theatre are Tu-Kay and Ryan supported by Katherine Abbot and Yonderland on 9th June. Kevin Dempsey is also putting on a guitar workshop there in June. Give the venue a try if you've not been there before. Or go back if you are a previous visitor and check out the vast improvements. 

As for Liam Vincent and the Odd Foxes they are next in Cov at the two day MotoFest on Saturday 1st June. There's a bit of a Vulpine theme that afternoon, with Urban Fox on at 1.20pm and the Odd Variety closing the show, due on stage at 4.05pm. Precinct Stage and free, with me in charge of them again. Check 'em out  

After The Gold Rush: Folk Clubs in Crisis?

           Before  Covid, sometimes (but not always), there was a certain degree of co-operation between venues in pre-planning Concerts, Festivals and Folk Nights. Resulting in some success in avoiding duplicate bookings.  The intention was  that Folk venues in the same area were not always competing with each other. In Warwickshire, a vibrant hub of local talent which also attracted artistes of National and International status, this was only partially successful.

          A few venues remained unwilling to work in partnership or collaboration. Some had access to Arts Council funding  or other sources of revenue so they thought they were above working together and did not need it. If they ran at a loss then so be it- for it was only other peoples’ money they were spending. They booked who they liked when they liked. They could afford to operate without worrying about income streams. They sold tickets or took money on the door. Unlike non-profit making venues which operated free admission and relied on goodwill, audience donations, jug collections and raffles to cover their expenses.

       Another source of division began with Covid and lockdowns. The profusion of online home-recorded concerts, sometimes daily, on public media platforms such as Zoom, Windows, Facebook, You Tube,  FaceTime etc. was a source of revenue for professional musicians. Indeed their only one, other than album sales, during Coronavirus. So it was perfectly understandable. But it encouraged delusions of grandeur in other performers and artistes. Podcasts, house concerts and daily outpourings of sometimes mediocre music suddenly proliferated. The Internet was swamped with them, Audiences had more and more choice and after a sudden impact, public interest soon waned.

       As Covid cases fell, established  Clubs started reopening again. But suddenly people who could broadcast their own material from living rooms and bedsits across the nation ( indeed around the world), had convinced themselves that they were now Folk Royalty.  Without a live audience from which they could gauge reaction, this was an easy trap to fall into. 

     More and more people had convinced themselves it was time to launch their own new initiatives. After all, standing on a “live” stage in a club or theatre had always looked so easy. They’d now done it at home in hallways and kitchens. Armed with newly honed skills acquired via months of practice in isolation and a fondly imagined invisible army of new admirers, scores of new venues suddenly opened. Sometimes in direct competition with each other. There simply was not enough of the pie to go round.  Since the end of Lockdown, Festivals also simultaneously proliferated. Where there were once only a few dozen a year there are now dozens each month. Also competing for the same potential audience. And competing for the same limited income stream. 

     As the  previously well supported clubs fought to re-establish themselves, the understandable anxieties of  potentially vulnerable people meant that initially they stayed away in droves. Some never came back.  The rush of dreamers seeking fame and fortune continued however. As venues reopened their doors to welcome what these performers  hoped would be queues of adoring fans, the Gold Rush just did not happen. What resulted was sometimes just an unsightly turf war.

          Libraries, small independent theatres, Village Halls and Arts Centres were now amongst those up against previously well patronised Folk Clubs and Open Mic sessions. In parallel with Singarounds, Along with Open Mic sessions, busking  and all kinds of communal music activities, the result was that in some small towns one had the ridiculous spectacle of venues  promoting live music of a similar nature sometimes seven days a week. This natural competition might have been healthy in a stronger financial climate, but the spectres Of Post-Covid , Brexit shortages , Climate Change, a Fuel and Energy crisis and a Cost of Living disaster spiralling out of control combined to ensure that audiences declined.  There were exceptions-but this was a discernible trend.     

         Money became tighter and worries exacerbated. However great the attraction, no-one could afford to go out four or five nights a week even if they had the appetite for it.  Whether  it was Eddie Reader or Steeleye Span or just Ted and Carol playing Ralph McTell covers in the local pub, audiences disheartened  by two years of pandemic and the increasingly less well off, had to exercise discretion.  As  2022 then 2023 ploughed towards more austerity, cutbacks and a tanking economy, empty seats increased and bar takings plunged.

      NFC  throughout my tenure there had fantastic support from the management of The Crew after migrating to it from another town centre pub. We had access to a concert room  free of charge. We did not have to pay for the Sound Engineer (using a state of the art mixing desk), or for use of a concert standard stage with lighting, either.  We had our own separate entrances, our own refurbished toilets and our own bar again staffed at no charge to us. We were able to attract high quality acts of the highest status because they simply loved playing the venue. 

         The Queens Hall had air conditioning and specially imported air filters were added  to help assuage the anxieties of returning punters after the pandemic. But still across the area the counter attractions came. Newly opening  or relaunching venues and still all competing for the same demographic. The end result was inevitable. Common sense was needed and it was not always demonstrated. Due to this  frail grip on reality by some speculators and wannabees, everyone suffered.