Local talent on display at The Navy        Words & Pictures by Dave Whiteman



I managed to save over £980 pounds last week and in these austere times that’s quite a tidy sum. So how did I do that? Well, when I say I SAVED what I really mean is that I didn’t spend it. If you’ve seen the news, you may have noticed that our longest running rock band, The Rolling Stones celebrated 50 years in the music business by playing to sell out crowds at the O2 where tickets cost up to £1000….yes, I’ll say that again £1000! Nice to see that with a combined age of almost 275 yrs they can still pack them in.

I on the other hand went to the Robin 2 in Bilston to see the Counterfeit Stones, a brilliant tribute band, and do you know what? Not only do I think that I got the best deal, but I reckon that some of our younger musicians will have the same longevity.


Melissa Severn, Mellissa Walford, Olly Flavell & Jake Fosteroj between them are younger than one Stone and are all regular performers at the Open Mic, held in the Royal Navy Club every Tuesday.

First up this week, a couple of regulars from the Lion open Mic, Grahame Weir and Jon Lloyd on guitar and mandolin.  A very nice set included ‘The Cave’ from Mumford and Sons and ‘Big Girl Now’ from Dylan before a sing-along ‘Dirty old Town’. You can catch them at the Lion in Edgmond every Thurs evening.

Mick Collins is a relative newcomer to the club and his relaxed style and Black Country humour soon won the crowd over, with songs from The Clash and The Stereophonics. Time now for a bit of the aforementioned youth, with 14 year’s old Melissa Severn.

Melissa always gives a solid performance with her thoughtful, self penned songs and this was no different. ‘If you knew I existed’ and her final song ‘Is Nashville what they Say’ showed off an exceptional talent.


We haven’t seen Dave Blu in the Navy for a while, but after assembling a rhythm section of Andy Clarke and Remynie Faith on bass & drums he soon blew the cobwebs away. Warming up with ‘Wipe Out’ by The Safaris, he then blasted through ‘All along the Watchtower’ and guitar classic ‘Crossroads’ to delight the enthusiastic crowd.

Our second Mellissa, Walford, is never afraid to try something different, and a couple of new songs from the Foo Fighters and Kate Nash was followed by a quite superb self penned song, ‘Take me Away’….. another great young talent.

Our very own tribute act next, when Dave Whiteman returning after holiday assembled Remynie and Jake, on bass and drums and the guitar wizard Dave Blu to rock through a couple of Stones classics.


Back to the youth, as Jake remained on stage to be joined by his regular playing partner, Olly. ‘Ain’t no Sunshine’ and an excellent self penned ‘So in love with you’ quietened the audience, but John Mayer’s ‘Gravity’ was quite superb.

A couple of popular songs from Nick Whitby, ‘Scarborough Fair’ and ‘Wish you were Here’ showcased a lovely guitar style, before a couple of old favourites took to the stage for the final act.


Ade Morris and Ed Young, who used to play together in Airbag performed an excellent acoustic set that managed to include Jose Feliciano, Jason Mraz, Take That and Crowded House….quite a combination, and it’s a pity so many people had drifted off and missed it.



So another lively and entertaining night of locally produced music at the Navy and if you consider that the cost of the Stones gig would pay your entrance to the club for the next 20 years or more, it’s great value for money!

Why not come on down next Tues and every Tues at the Royal Naval Association in Bellman’s Yard from 8pm.


Dates for your diary, on the 7th of December, Friday next, local rockers Bang to Rights  will be playing some classic rock and blues at what may turn out to be the very last "Live Band Friday Evening", the band will be supported by the excellent Jack Green. Let's show the promoters our support, in an effort to try and change their minds.

Tuesday the 18th of December is the Open Mic Annual Christmas Party…come along and see off the year in style.

Take care until next week. 

20th November 2012

Another night of musical excellence.

This Tuesday saw one of the quietest open mic nights in a long time down at Bellman’s Yard, with only about 35 guests. In fact, at 8.00pm it could have been a scene from A Fistful of Dollars; eager musicians, eyeing each other silently from across the saloon, each wondering who would be first to fire. Thankfully this didn’t last long, as the anticipation was broken by Jon Davis, who we suspect may be taking part in Movemeber and so was suitably 'tached for the part of a Spaghetti Western character, strode up to stage and belted out a handful of songs accompanied by a series of skilful guitar licks. 

He then rallied up the talented Remynie-Kiah on drums, Andy Clarke on bass and Rich T on vocals for a plugged, meaty, 12-bar-blues-rock-and-roll, jam-fest. They covered some classics, including Johnny Be Good, Shake Rattle and Roll and of course we had a bit of Rock Around the Clock. Does anyone know the key to Lucille? I'd bet it's in A!

Olly Flavell took it down a notch with his soulful sounds. It's been a while since I last heard Olly sing here, and I think he might have got even better. And his voice was certainly on top form this evening with his solo rendition of Warwick Avenue. I'd listen to this over Duffy any day. Robbie Pilgrim joined him for a couple of guitar-duets including Olly's own song, Gravity. They make a stylish pair.

I was also very pleased to hear Melissa Walford and her fabulous voice again. She started off with the likes of Skinny Love, The Kooks’ Naïve, and when we wouldn’t let her leave the stage she finished off with some Ed Sheeran. You've got the love, Melissa!

 Next we were reminded how the crystal clear voice of Sharn Hodgkinson is perfect for (but certainly not limited to!) country classics. She started of with Jolene, which was brilliant, and also of note was her version of Streets of london. Accompanying her was Alan Lane on guitar, who did a professional job.
 
 The night would not be the same without performances by a few of the Navy club regulars, including smooth crooner Alan Turner, who played another lovely set, and rocker Rich T who gave a feel-good performance of Abba’s Take a Chance on Me and – now there's a distinct country and western theme emerging – Steve Earle’s Devil’s Right Hand. I am not ashamed to admit I was happily slapping my knee.

 The night ended with a blast: Essex’s own Chris ‘Fender’ Black and Rosie Buttocks were back for a fun, lively rock-and-roll set. Chris is a true performer, who knows how to work the stage. The pair jammed with a couple of the ‘in-house’ young musicians: Remynie was on drums again, and German graphic artist and musician Ben Garrott, who we suspect is not necessarily taking part in Movember, was on fire on the tenor sax in the last couple of songs.

So altogether another cracking evening. Why don’t you come down and join in at the next one? They’re every Tuesday, 8pm, at the Navy Club in Bellman’s Yard, Newport.


Don't forget to keep Friday the 7th December free. We have the wonderful classic rock & blues band "Bang To Right" playing, with support from the great voice and musical talent that is Jack Green. 

Make it the beginning of the Christmas Party season, C'mon people it's a FRIDAY !!. See you there.

Tuesday 13th !!

Tuesday 13th November!!.. proved to be a lucky night for music lovers at Newport Open Mic at The Navy Club in Bellman's Yard Newport with the players board full by 8.15 and a crowd of over 60 people about to be treated to live music of the highest calibre.

Paul and Adele Parker carrying baby Parker (due in 3 weeks) had arrived to do a recce of the Navy Club venue prior to their eagerly awaited gig butwere more than happy to treat us to a 25 minute opening acoustic set.
Classics from Amy McDonald, Eagles, Fleetwood Mac and a song from the soundtrack Easy Rider, The Weight by The Band transported me back to 1969 and my love affair with Peter Fonda.  Superb harmonies and a great set gave the audience a taste of what to expect from Paul Parker and All the
Right Friends on Friday.

14 year old Melissa Severn again stirred the audience with her own unique style of self penned songs from the heart including Walk in my Shoes (about people who are horrible to you for no apparent reason), Crowded Dreams, Lovestruck (about a cute boy in the maths class) and Paralysed.
Relaxed and now full of confidence Melissa is fast becoming a familiar favourite at the Navy Club. She tells me she has written over 70 songs to date so we are sure to hear a lot more new material in the coming weeks.



Peter Blythe, yet another newcomer to Open Mic, played his very first live performance with cool confidence and some interesting new songs not heard before at the Navy including Liquid Confidence by You Me at Six and If It Means a Lot to You by A Day to Remember.  Enthusiastic applause meant that I am sure we shall see a lot more of him.


Multi-instrumentalist Remynie-Kiah this week played guitar and stole the show with her startling vocals, singing haunting ballads from The Script, Bright Eyes, Priscilla Ahn and  finishing with Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah which left us spellbound.

Melissa Walford gave another strong performance and included one of her own songs You and I and Kings of Leon Use Somebody in an excellent set.



Singer/songwriter Malcolm Purvis from Leeds made a welcomed return to Newport Open Mic always making the effort to come and play when working
the area. This week we were treated to Girl on Line 14, In Time, Candle and Alive. Great lyrics, songs about life and songs from the heart.

Olly (guitar and vocals) and Jake (bass) and only 15 and 16 respectively now play regularly at the Navy and at Jaspers in Shifnal and delighted us this week with Duffy’s Warwick Avenue, a splendid bluesy soul version of Bill Wither’s Ain’t no Sunshine and a favourite of mine, Gravity by John Mayer.




Worrying that we had hauled the drum kit out of the loft for nothing we were relieved to see birthday boy Andy Conway step up on stage with band mates Pippin and Rob to round off the evening with rock classics Voodoo Chile and Whole Lotta Love played in their own pulsating style. A very tight three piece band that never fails to clear out the ear drums at the Navy.

For regulars and newcomers to Newport Open Mic this was, in my opinion, one of the best 3 hours of live music I have had the pleasure of listening to. Mostly acoustic sets this week, with lots of original material and not a song sheet or music stand in sight. Terrific stuff and thanks to those that make it happen each week.

Newport Open Mic is held every Tuesday at the Royal Naval Association in Bellmans Yard just off Newport High Street (Opposite The Nat West Bank) from 8pm. See you next week.

For all you live music lovers don't forget that we have Bang To Rights plus support from Jack Green on Friday the 7th December. This promises to be a great night of live music and partying. Make sure you come early.

6th November (already).

November is here; the nights are beginning to freeze and there's a bitter chill to the air, but one can always come down to the Navy Club in Bellmans Yard just off the Newport High Street, for Newport's premier Open Mic Night, to warm up with a sizzling selection of red hot performances! 
Clearly this was a popular plan this Tuesday, as the seats were full once again. (I feel I should have left this introduction for December, and based my introduction on the eve of President Obama's second victory, but I am so exhausted from the excitement of the evening I've been left speechless.)

 

First up this week was Malcolm, from Leeds, who charmed us with his tales from the North, including Girl on Line 14 - a song about his fellow attractive Polish factory worker who he wants to seduce with wine.

 

Next was Dan Corcoran, who opened with an acoustic version of legendary blues song Stack O'Lee, before surprising the audience by whipping out his Bazooka: the musical kind obviously, no one was harmed during the course of his set.

 

They played a few weeks ago and we happily welcome back on stage youngsters Robbie Pilgrim and Ashleigh Husselbee, for a short, sweet set comprising of a Taylor Swift cover. Always leave them wanting more is what they say - one can tell they're now in the show business.

 

Next up were H'n'K - a newly formed group of musicians on their maiden voyage at the Navy! Howard (H), a guitarist from Whitchurch, answered drummer Keith's (K) ad in the paper for a gig-partner. Bass player Nick (N) just happened to be sitting in the wrong place at the wrong time and hey presto, up they got to confidently deliver a boogie-tinged set of Rock 'n' Roll classics. Let that be a lesson to all you lone musicians - it's easy to get a group together so get out there and get jamming!

 

Then Alan and Keith accompanied the lovely Sharn for a great set, which included a particularly good rendition of '30 Minute Love Affair'. We would love to hear more of Sharn here at the Navy.

 

It is always a pleasure to hear the folky-blues tones of local band Driftwood, who gave a brilliant, sultry performance of the Jessica Rabbit Song amongst others. They will be releasing a new CD in the next few weeks so look out for it - The Lonesome Boatman, available at Hey Jude's and other good record stores.

 

We haven't seen her in a while, but Melissa Severn was back tonight and good as ever, starting off with a cover of 'What Are You Waiting For?'. She told us that she doesn't usually do covers but when they're this enjoyable we'll let you off Melissa! She finished off, true to form, with a new song of hers called 'Lovestruck'. 

 

The Navy Club's other Melissa - Melissa Walford - was not to be seen tonight. She is saving her voice for her gig at the Four Crosses this Saturday night at 8.30pm. Go down for a drink, it will be the price of a pint well spent.

 

 
It's always a good night when a good number of bands play, and this week, Navy Club regulars Rich T and Chicken teamed up with Heather on Sax, Martin on rhythm and Steve on fantastical lead guitar to form The Biznez. Chicken provided spot on vocals for a cover of The Police's 'SOS', before handing back to Rich, this week on drums, for 'Jumping Jack Flash'.

 

The evening wound down with some acoustic sets. First of all Alan took to the stage for classics such as Ground Control to Major Tom, and a really lovely performance of You Do something To Me - nothing better than to hear a good voice singing this beautiful song.

Finally, Rob and Loz saved the best till last: they performed a series guitar duets with Rob on vocals, including Ooh La La by The Faces and Squeeze's Up The Junction.

 

And that's that for another week! Another great night, so thanks to all who came and performed. 

Just a quick heads up to all music lovers that 8.00pm on Friday 16th November, Paul Parker & All The Right Friends are playing live at the Navy Club. You wouldn't want to miss it. It promises to be a fantastic night of excellent covers from the likes of REM, Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, The Who, Springsteen plus many, many more, and again at what may turn out to be the very last "Friday Night Music Presents" evening. BANG TO RIGHTS with support from the very popular Jack Green. Be there for the party of the year.