Are you a Pointless fan? My wife and I are regular watchers of this popular TV quiz programme, and the other week, I actually got a
‘Pointless’ answer…..Alex Coomber. No wiser? What about Janice Rankin, Fiona MacDonald, Debbie Knox or Rhona Martin? All of these except the last one were pointless when the question was “Name a British Winter Sports Medallist”…..Rhona having captained the GB Ladies Curling team to Gold in Salt Lake City in 2002. Sadly no-one recalled her team mates, or Alexandria (Alex) Coomber who won a bronze in the Skeleton at the same games, so they were all pointless answers. So file away Jennifer Jones and Lizzy Yarnold….they may well win you a quiz in years to come! It might also be worth remembering some of Newport’s young musical talent. Who knows, a lucky break and a hit record and you may be able to say “I knew them when they used to play Open Mic down at the Navy”
A veritable army of supporters helped to set up in record time, so it was all systems go by 8pm with yet another full board of performers to get through in a busy night of live music. Dave Blue assembled a nice Scratchouse band with Steve Davis, Olly Flavell and Andy Clarke and their short but lively blues set had soundman Adam Brown nodding his approval and the crowd of seventy or so showing loud appreciation.
Telford duo, Ricochet have now become a trio with the addition of new
energetic drummer Cameron Pierce. Sand Kumar on vocals and guitar and
bassist Scott Carson always entertain with their ‘thrash, metal punk’
but with the steady solid beat behind them, they have added a new
dimension to their act.How do we get three into four? Guitarist Steve Hammond from Shrewsbury turned up looking for other musicians to play with and another visiting guitarist, Steve Lock from Peterborough was after the same. Fortunately, drummer Matt Miles was in the audience and also looking for musical collaboration, so it seemed the right thing to partner them up with Ben Garrott on saxophone to form our second Scratch House band of the evening. A lovely version of ‘Moondance’ by Van Morrison started their performance and showcased Ben’s brilliant alto sax . No room for two lead guitars, so both Steves switched lead and bass halfway through to give each other the chance to shine. A polished version of ‘Sultans of Swing’ by Dire Straits brought a superb set to a close.
Throw down a guitar challenge and Dave Sandford, AKA Dave Blue will
be first to pick up the gauntlet. Keeping the same rhythm section and
adding Olly on guitar, he ticked all the right boxes with classic
numbers from JJ Cale, Eric Clapton and Hendrix…. a blistering
performance.
Of all the acts I saw last year, the one who impressed me most was 16
years old Zac Christie, so great to see him back at the club. His laid
back guitar style and soulful voice are quite superb and within seconds
he had the audience in the palm of his hand once again. A lovely version
of ‘No Surprises’ from Radiohead’s 1997 album OK Computer was
outstanding and no surprise when the audience wanted more. He obliged
with a new self-penned song, ‘Love You So’ confirming my first thoughts
about Zac….he will go far.
Club regulars Gaz & the Tones up next, with their polished
acoustic rock that never fails to please. I understand they are now
actively looking for gigs in the area, so if you haven’t seen them make
sure you do. Favourites ‘Sweet Lorenzo Harmony’ and ‘Maybe it’s Me’
sound tighter than ever and both were included in a fine set.
Local tennis coach Darcy Crawford has been very busy at work and has
had little time for performing. Half term break gave him the opportunity
to visit, ‘just to have a listen’ but a little bit of arm twisting had
him returning home for his guitar to bring the evening to a close. A
heavily looped ‘Wayfaring Stranger’ is complicated, fun and enjoyable,
but for me he is at his best when just using his superb voice and great
guitar. Songs from Paulo Nutini and The Script showed that he hasn’t
lost his touch and a rip roaring ‘500 miles’ from The Proclaimers, had
the audience enthusiastically singing along and was the perfect way to
finish off a fabulous evening of live music.So make a mental note of a few of these names. Some of us, myself included, are far too old to trouble the music world, but I suspect some of our younger ones may well win you a future quiz!
See you next week, until then Keep it Live.
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