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.