Quite hard to believe, but only three weeks after our Christmas party we now find ourselves in the middle of dreary January. It’s official….the first month is also the worst month of the year, at least according to the Daily Mail. Having spent up over Christmas, lack of cash and short dark days coupled with miserable weather, lead lots of couples to take it out on their partner, arguing on average for over eight minutes per day. Lots of these disagreements will probably be over ownership of the TV remote, but I have a simple solution to save all those relationships out there……..forget those New Year’s Resolutions, ditch the 5-2 diet and get yourselves down to the Navy for a post-Christmas remedial dose of live music!
More than sixty people decided not to argue and welcomed first act of 2014 to the Navy stage, local duo Knockout. It's always nice to see something a little different, and with Phil Jervis on bass, Martin Woodhall introduced us to classic rock played on overdriven, distorted ukulele...a very interesting start to the evening!
Good to see Trench based Richochet back at the club. Guitarist Sand Kumar and bassist Scott Thompson recruited resident drummer Andy Conway to hammer through a set of self-penned songs, which included ‘King for the Day’ and ‘Underage, Underpaid’. A great version of Green Days ‘King for the Day’ finished a nice set. How do you describe their music? Thrash, Punk or a mixture of both? Either way, very enjoyable, welcome back lads.
We always try to get Jay Harris a fairly early slot….at just ten years old he needs his sleep! Watched and supported by his parents, Jay delighted the audience with songs from Tom Odell and former Haircut 100 front man, Nik Heyward. This was the first time I have heard Jay playing guitar and harmonica together, no easy task, but he did it in his own laid back accomplished style. One for the future!
Nathan Davis has matured enormously over the last year; his many appearances at the club have given him a lot more confidence and stage presence. A nice change of direction with his material included a favourite of mine, ‘Altogether Now’ from Liverpool band The Farm.
We started off with something a little different and next act Thom James, carried on the trend. With just his Gibson guitar for company he rattled through ‘River Deep Mountain High’ and then gave us a song I have never heard played at the club before….Kate Bush’s ‘Wuthering Heights’….entertaining stuff.
Speaking of entertainers, our next performer is exactly that. He has polished his act over the years playing many gigs around Shropshire, but I am pleased to say he hasn’t forgotten his roots. Richie Evans is a one man band with his homemade Guitar/Banjo appropriately named Amy Winebox and his drum machine….an old bio hazard rubbish bin, and he delighted the audience with sing-alongs such as ‘Galway Girl’ and ‘Ho Hey’ the popular Lumineers song from last year.
Dave Blue had the difficult task of following, but he came up to the mark with his assembled ‘Scratch House’ band of Olly Flavell and Andy Clark, on guitar and bass with the busy Andy Conway on drums. Just like the advert, he does exactly what it says on the tin……Black Country Blues, including a couple of self-penned songs…..great stuff.
Gaz & the Tones played a great set at the Christmas party and they have been busy writing new material since. ‘Resigned’ ‘Changes’ and ‘Maybe it’s Me’ were showcased, and I am sure will become as ‘hummable’ as their previous offerings. Have to say how much tighter the band now seems with the rock solid rhythm of Andy Clegg on drums.
Just time for guitar/ vocalist Pippin Henderson, bassist Rob McDonald and busy drummer Andy Conway to bring the first Open Mic of 2014 to a close with a high octane and high volume offering. Their hard rock medley, which segued between Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, a bit of improvisation and back to Led Zep to finish, may not have been light on the ears, but it was perfectly executed and sent the crowd home happy.
Post-Christmas events are sometimes quite cold and flat, and often have low attendances, so Tuesday’s large crowd was a pleasant surprise. Many town centre establishments would be quite delighted to have an audience of this size on a Saturday night, let alone a cold wet weekday, so we must be doing something right at The Navy! Our continued thanks to all the live music supporters in the town; let’s try to make 2014 even better than last year. Till next time,
Happy New Year and keep it live!!
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