We are nothing if not democratic at the Newport Open Mic. Since October, the last Tuesday of the month has been a purely acoustic night but attendances have not been as high as the normal club nights. A simple vote was taken on whether to carry on and it was decided to shelve these and just hold normal ‘music for all’ nights. So back to that this week with a full board of performers before 8pm and a crowd of around 60, waiting to welcome them.
Our audience is always generous and very appreciative and first to hear that appreciation was Alex Hislop, performing at the club for the first time. His eight stringed instrument looked like a cross between a mandolin and a bouzouki, and was perfect backing for his self-penned folky set.
Nice to see keyboarder John Minor back on stage. He had a couple of problems with vocals last week, so it was all instrumental this time with a couple of Oasis tunes to delight the crowd.
Regular bluesman Dave Sandford assembled a fine scratch house band to
up the tempo, including Pete Barton and Clive Roberts. A great set
included the quite brilliant ‘Need Your Love So Bad’ before another
fledgling busking band came on stage.Steve Hammond, a superb guitarist from Shrewsbury is always keen to collaborate with others, so keeping Clive on bass, he recruited drummer Tony Callister to play a blistering rock set, finishing off with timeless classic ‘Johnny B Goode’
Richard Thomas next up, and as always, something entertaining and completely different. Jimmy Dean’s song from 1961, ‘Big Bad John’ opened proceedings, but it was his closing number that received most of the attention. I have heard ‘These Boots are Made for Walking’ many times, but never in German…..it made for an interesting chorus when the audience tried to join in!
Gaz and The Tones have hardly missed an Open Mic in months and their
dedication and hard work is clearly paying off. Their original
compositions are always well crafted and played, but there is tightness
to the band now that only comes from playing together regularly. A fine
set included a couple of as yet unnamed songs to add to their
repertoire.Turn the lights down, light an e-cigarette and listen to the fabulous keyboard skills of Ben Garrott, who brought the evening to a close with a couple of his own compositions and a stirring rendition of ‘Sweet Child of Mine’….if there is still a smoky piano bar in Soho, that’s where Ben should be performing.
Where does the time go? It seemed only a couple of hours had passed since Alex had started the evening, but as the clock ticks past 11pm, the equipment is put away for another week.
Join us every Tuesday for a regular dose of local live music, from 8pm at the Navy Club in Bellman’s Yard. Till next time. Keep it live!
No comments:
Post a Comment