A Christmas Grand Finale at the Newport Open Mic

Words:  Dave Whiteman,  Pictures Matt Thomas and Laurence Gale

As the party season gets into full swing, Tuesday night saw the Newport Open Mic reward their loyal followers with a free evening of live music and great food. Every week for the last year, live music fans have been flocking to the Royal Naval Association in Bellmans Yard for what many regard as the finest Open Mic in the area, and the last Tues before Christmas is the day when, traditionally, everyone enters into the party spirit.

A short introduction by Chairman Pete Bunting thanked the Open Mic for their continued support of the RNA and expressed the hope that the long partnership between the Navy Club and the Open mic would continue.

Our opening act of the evening first came to the club in October, nervously strumming their own compositions. Since then, Gareth Attwood, brothers Tony & Andy Callister and Andy Clegg have been delighting the audiences each week with their brand of high octane acoustic rock. It was fitting therefore that the band, collectively known as Gaz and the Tones, should open this year’s musical extravaganza
 

Open Mic regulars are very familiar with their set list and the guys did not disappoint, including all the popular numbers, but a few well-chosen covers lifted them to a new level. Opening with favourites, ‘Sweet Lorenzo Harmony’ and Round the Sun’ the band then surprised everyone with a lively version of ‘Handle me with Care’ by The Travelling Wilburys.
 

The sizeable crowd of around a hundred were definitely in a festive mood and their reaction to this brilliant cover seemed to give the band the confidence to try out some new material before raising the roof to finish with a couple of crackers. Merry Christmas Everybody is the Slade song always played at this time of year, but Gaz & the Tones preferred instead a foot stomping ‘Gudbye 2 Jane’,  before leaving the audience wanting more with a raucous version of ‘Ghostbusters’.  Watch out for this band, they collected a few more fans tonight and I am sure they will be gigging every week, very soon.

Into the break with a fabulous curry supper, courtesy of ex-Navy chef Mark Rowley. This gave our willing helpers time to circulate waving collection tins for Severn Hospice, the Open Mic’s adopted charity, and around £160 was raised. Connections with SH go back a number of years indeed a number of our members have had loved ones cared for by the hospice, so the cause is very dear to us. 

One of the great things about the Open Mic is that every week, a couple of guitarists, a drummer and a singer will get up on stage and just ‘jam’ together; that is busk through a set without rehearsal, sometimes meeting for the first time. 

Our main band tonight, Reworx, was a ‘made up’ group making their very first live appearance….though all the musicians have played with other bands. Steve Smith and Mark Langford are ‘half’ of local rock outfit ‘Bang to Rights’, Dave Whiteman and John Freestone vocalist and drummer with ‘Robbie’s in Rehab’, Yiasmin Freestone a busy solo singer and multi-instrumentalist Ben Garrott a veteran of a number of local bands, despite his tender years!

 After just a couple of rehearsals, Reworx belted through two strong sets of popular rock and pop, from such bands as Texas, Stereophonics, Queen and Fleetwood Mac, but it was a Eurythmics song that stole the show. As soon as Ben Garrott on keyboards played the opening sequence to ‘Sweet Dreams (are made of this)’ there was a real buzz about the room and Yiasmin’s superb vocals brought the house down.

So what a way to end a fantastic year of local live music in Newport. Every Tuesday evening for the last twelve months hundreds of acts both local and from as far afield as Wolverhampton, Stafford and Birmingham have stood on the stage at the Navy Club in front of generous and appreciative audiences. Big thanks to all the people who give their time each week to set up and put away equipment, monitor the sound, sell raffle tickets and generally keep the Newport Open Mic firmly on the live music map.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all…….keep it live!