Words by Fiona Ward

The news this week that the forthcoming Bowie exhibition is the fastest
ever selling exhibition  at London’s V&A Museum, demonstrates just how
important music is to society.

No surprise then that the Open Mic night at the Navy Club in Bellmans Yard Newport Shropshire continues to grow in popularity. With almost 70 people attending this week, the visitors were treated as usual to an excellent line up of musicians and a wide range of music styles.

It was a night of firsts with several of the musicians performing new songs or trying out different styles and sounds. Standing in for Dave Whiteman, former Weezel Diesel frontman Rich Evans provided the essential role of “MC” ensuring that the sound checks and equipment was in order, assisted by Ollie Flavell early on in the sound
check, and then later assisted by Darcy Crawford and Ben Garrott.

Carol Cartwright opened the evening’s music with her calm and melodic style, gently plucking the strings of her acoustic guitar to play Tracy Chapman’s “I Used to be a Sailor” (so apt for a Navy Club!) and an excellent folk version of Blondie’s “Sunday Girl” which worked really well. Carol’s relaxed style is a great start for the night.

Next the club saw a welcome return to Isis Sky.  The 13 year old has only played at the club once before, and we were all very pleased to see her again.  Isis sings from her soul and the feeling is one of captivation and very atmospheric.  Her rendition of Pink’s “Nobody Knows” was spellbinding.  You can hear Isis on her You Tube site by searching “Isis Sky” on YouTube. Well worth a listen.

Vinyl Tap are always well worth watching and their opening number “Don’t Fear the Reaper” (one of my all- time favourites!) by Blue Oyster Cult highlighted the skill of lead guitarist Brad in mastering the intricate melody of the song.  Lead Vocalist Alex excelled himself with all of their songs – “Everybody Hurts” – REM, “Creep” by Radiohead, and his fantastic vocals on “I Want to Break Free” by Queen.  Brad has not long joined the band but has blended so well with the styles of Jude, (Bass), Cathy (Keyboards) and Remynie (drums).  It sounds as though he has been playing with them for years.

The laid back Nathan Davis got everyone chilled with a great acoustic version of “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” an all-time classic that is always good to hear. His set also included songs by the Levellers and James.   While Nathan has been to the club before we would welcome his appearance more often.

Darcy (Unbearded!) Crawford opened his set with “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon, and in Darcy’s usual style (after his previous Proclaimers’ songs) he asked for audience participation in the chorus. Darcy tried something completely different this week by using a foot pedal which enabled him to record his voice as he sang a-cappella and play this
back to accompany himself.  He combined this with “beat box” techniques to sing Ed Sheeran’s “Wayfaring Stranger”. This worked really well and had the crowd captivated.

Open Mic regular Melissa Watford followed Darcy with exceptionally high quality performances of Oasis’s Wonderwall, Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain, and her excellent self-penned song “Dancing in the Stars”. Melissa’s vocal abilities are outstanding and she continues to develop in both confidence and style.

Rich Evans took to the stage to perform the Lumineers’ foot-stomping “Ho Hey” Song. The foot stomping theme continued as Rich asked the crowd to clap and stamp the rhythm for his next number Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”.  This created a fantastic atmosphere as the club were literally providing the percussion for the song.

Multi-talented club Regulars Remynie-Kiah and Ben Garrott performed a
heart rendering version of “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables. Remynie’s vocals are just out of this world– It should be noted that the club fell into complete silence while listening to this …This was followed by Bonnie Tyler’s “I Need a Hero” which showcased Ben’s exceptional keyboard skills.  Remynie and Ben always bring something a little bit different to the stage and are a delight to listen to.

We thought the finale to the evening was coming when Pippin (lead guitar and vocals), Rob (bass) and Andy (drums) played Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” followed by “Voodoo Chile“, Jimi Hendrix.   It was a high quality performance delivered with style and attitude.

However, this was not the finale, as Darcy Crawford took to the stage again to sing “The Bucket” by Kings of Leon and the Kooks’ “Naïve” – again, another great performance from Newport’s Tennis Coach.

If you missed the Open Mic night this week, remember you can join in with the atmosphere next Tuesday 26th March from 8pm onwards.

Hope to see you there.

Football !!....What football.

Who needs footie with entertainment like this? 

Words: Dave Whiteman, Pictures : Laurence Gale

It’s always a bit of a worry when football is on mainstream telly during the week. 

We are, if you haven’t noticed, becoming a nation of couch potatoes, and when the weather is cold it is often very tempting to stay in and watch the box with a hot cup of cocoa, especially when there is a big match on. The big match in question this week, was the War of the Roses battle between Lancashire’s Burnley and Yorkshire’s Barnsley, held at Turf Moor. 

There was, I understand another important match held just down the road from there at Old Trafford, where some guy named Ronaldo came back to haunt his previous employers, but neither contest stirred the passions of Newport music fans. More than 60 people turned up to the Royal Naval Association in Bellman’s Yard for the usual musical extravaganza that is the Newport Open Mic.

A big welcome back greeted regular, Dave Blue as he took to the stage with his latest venture, Old Bones Boogie Band, with new drummer Keith Johnson and bassist Paul Cooper. They have been booked for a number of gigs after their last outing at the club and it is not difficult to see why. Strong vocals, searing guitar work and a very tight rhythm section, show that when you put experienced musicians together rehearsals don’t matter too much.

Carol Cartwright is also becoming something of a regular. Her soft voice and melodic guitar suit the earlier part of the evening and her lovely renditions of Catch the Wind and Susanne, by Leonard Cohen were a lovely gentle start to a great night of music.

Olly Flavell’s voice goes from strength to strength as does his confidence, and his set included a couple of self penned songs that were very well received, as was his final number, When you Say Nothing at All, by Ronan Keating.

First scratch band up next, and Roger Clarke, Baz Webster and Dave Whiteman recruited a nervous looking Andy Clarke on bass, for an excellent short set. Crowd pleaser Stand by Me was followed by a couple of rockers, I Saw her Standing There and It’s all Over Now to leave Andy with a big smile on his face.

Ben Garrott and Remynie are guaranteed to please and after playing their favourite, I’m Not a Vampire, launched into an audience request, Freebird. Dave Blue couldn’t resist the temptation and leapt onto the stage for the guitar solo, brilliant rousing stuff.

One of the things that the Open Mic does rather well is to encourage emerging young talent. Jobe Spencer & Robbie Pilgrim, both just 14 years old looked at each other to see who would be singing, but then decided on a guitar instrumental, written by Robbie, to which the audience responded warmly. Robbie stayed on stage to accompany Jordan Clempner who sang for the first time last week, on Tracey Chapman’s Fast Car, not an easy number, but very well done.

Time once again for another Scratch band. Last week first timer Billy Biscuit, real name David White, wowed the crowd and now, with an assembled and quite different crew he did the same again. Roger Clark moved on to bass to accommodate a very busy Dave Blue, and with Baz on drums, they livened up the Navy with a blues infusion. Last song I shot the Sheriff is quite an awkward one to busk but they did a really good job of the Eric Clapton number.

One of the Open Mic’s favourite musicians, Martyn Davis, sadly passed away a while ago and has been sorely missed in the club… I can vividly remember him bringing his then 9 or 10 year old son Nathan onto the Navy stage to the delight of the crowd. What a nice surprise then, to see Nathan and his Mum Louise back in the audience on Tuesday. After a little persuasion, both Mum and son got up to sing Fifteen Years from one of Martyn’s favourite bands, The Levellers, before Nathan, now 16, led the crowd through the Oasis anthem Wonderwall…….your Dad would have been very proud of you, Nathan.

Just enough electricity in the meter for the three Daves, Blue, White and Whiteman along with Roger Clark to play out the evening with a great mix of blues, R & B and a couple of crackers from REM, before the lights came up.

So just when you think it’s going to be a quiet night the music faithful of Newport turn up to surprise you and enjoy a super night of live music at the best venue in town, The Navy. 

Don’t forget, every Tues from 8pm, play sing or just watch…it’s better than football!