What an amazing seven days. Have you noticed how just a few small things can change the mood of the entire country? Summer has arrived with high temperatures right across the UK, The Lions smash the Aussies on their own turf, Andy Murray gets a 77 year old monkey from the nation's back...and all on top of Justin Rose winning the US Open Golf....incredible! All it needs now is for the Ladies to win the football and our cricketers to take the Ashes and we have a full house!
There
are similarities between the world of British sport and music. The
Sixties gave the world The Beatles, and each decade since has been
dominated by British music. In every town throughout the land budding
singers, guitarists, and keyboard players are playing in front of
audiences at Open Mics, and Newport's own, one of the best around, is
right at the forefront.
A
Scratchouse band rattled through an excellent sound check….. nice
to see Alan Middleton and Roger Clark back on stage, before
fabulous
young talent Remynie Faith, drummer with Vinyl Tap picked up a
borrowed guitar. She soon had the audience in the mood, with first
Jessie J's Pricetag and then a lovely version of 'Hallelujah' ...a
lovely start to the evening.
Anyone
who starts with a Squeeze number will always grab my attention and
next up, Laurence Gale and Rob Bryon did just that with one of my
favourites, 'Up the Junction' another fave, Ronnie Lane's 'How Come?'
completed a great short set.
Steve
and Bry played with a band last time we saw them but this week a
completely different sound with a soft acoustic set that included
'Fortune Teller' a self penned number that deserves to be heard on
the radio, good stuff from this talented duo.
Hair
of the Dog is a brilliant name for a band and their opener 'Born to
be Wild' certainly blew away any cobwebs, Hard to Handle, the Black
Crows version, really rocked the house, and classic 'Smoke on the
Water' finished a superb set. A very high octane performance from the
newcomers.
Nathan
Davies is turning into a very accomplished songwriter....dare I say
very reminiscent of his father? As well as a self penned 'Beaches' he
managed to fit in his own tribute with one of Martyn's best known
songs, 'I Wonder Why', excellent stuff.
Vinyl
Tap, who have played the last few weeks with a variety of stand in
drummers or guitarists, had a full complement this week. A Town
Called Malice was a nice opener, but their second was excellent. Blue
Oyster Cult's 'Don't Fear the Reaper' is a difficult song to master
and they did a very good job indeed, particularly Brad’s harmonies.
Only
a short while ago, I was bemoaning the fact that we didn't seem to
see many bands down at the club these days.....well I must have
touched a nerve, because this week we were inundated with them!
Another scratch band made up of yours truly on vocals, Simon Carswell
on keyboards and master drummer Paul Crewe made a fine job of a set
that included Phil Collins, Del Amitri and Crowded House.
Good
to see Neil Wilday performing again. With a great rhythm section from
Baz Webster and Al Middleton and brilliant lead guitar from Roger
Clark, they lifted the musical bar with Dire Straits and Gerry
Rafferty before a great finale with Thin Lizzy's 'Whisky in the Jar'
How
do you follow that? Bang to Rights had that unenviable task but they
rose to the occasion magnificently. Lead singer Mervyn Williams was
one of the founder members of the club, and it was great to see him
back at the Navy rocking out. If the audience were impressed with the
lead guitar from Mark Langford on opener 'Johnny B Goode', 'Hotel
California' was simply awesome. It’s fair to say that had he joined
the Eagles on stage to play the solo, no-one would have known any
difference, truly superb.
A
new band at the club, Random Times had waited patiently all evening
and finally got the chance to play the night out. Jumpin' Jack Flash
was an appropriate opener given the Stones at Glastonbury and Pump it
Up, which followed stopped anyone from leaving. 20th Century Boy, the
T Rex anthem had the audience shouting for more and they got it with
Deep Purple's Black Night to send everyone home happy.
So
it seems my little dig a few weeks ago ruffled a few feathers....this
week we had more than seven bands and what a fantastic evening of
live music it was. Same time next week, every week....8pm at the
Royal Naval Association Club in Bellmans Yard just off the High Street, the home of Newport's live music scene.
Until next week #winkwink
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