Newport Open Mic Review of 2014 Words: Dave Whiteman, 

Pictures: Laurence Gale, Matt Thomas & Dave Whiteman

What a marvellous year this has been for Newport Open Mic. Every Tuesday, whatever the weather audience and performers have made their way to the Royal Naval Association in Bellman’s Yard for a weekly fix of local live music. With just a brief look back at some of the highlights, it has not been possible to mention every one of the hundreds of acts….but you know who you are and we could not do it without you!

January: Happy New Year and back to business at Newport Open Mic as Malcolm Purvis from Leeds got the club off to a lively start with his songs of love and angst. A crowd of around 60 was a good indication of what was to come for most of the year. A young five piece band from Newport, The Revenue, with a combined age of around 60, played at the club for the first time and had the audience rocking with classics from Oasis and Arctic Monkeys.

February: Remynie Faith brought her new band Feorh, to play at the Navy for their first live performance. Their name translates from Old English as ‘live principles of soul spirit for eternity’ and nervous glances were seen around the room as the first heavy metal chords belted out. No need to worry as a couple of lively self-penned songs, ‘52 Hertz’ and ‘Widow’ preceded a very lively Black Sabbath classic, ‘Paranoid’. Ozzy would have been very pleased!   Another new band, Click, made their debut with Mick Skinner on guitar and Clive Roberts on bass. A good crowd of around seventy heard a great set from these experienced musicians.

March:  A real treat for our Open Mic audience as Wolverhampton duo Jade & JP made a very welcome return. Experienced guitarists in the audience were shaking their heads in wonderment as JP made one guitar sound like two and Jade's super vocals filled the room. Something different was provided by Alex Hislop, who played his own folky compositions accompanied by his eight stringed instrument that looked like a cross between a bouzouki and a mandolin.

April:  Great to see half of Telford band Coaltrain back at the club. Their unique mixture of rock, funk and blues featured guitars, harmonicas, bongos maracas and a bodhran. Crowd pleasers ‘Valerie’ and ‘Brass in Pocket’ finished a very lively set.  Our youngest performers of the year Liam Ainslow and Jay Harris, both aged just 11 years made their debut as Late Addition. Proudly watched by parents and friends their superb set included songs from Guns N' Roses and Eric Clapton…songs that were released long before these young lads were born!

May: A little gentle arm twisting brought a debut a cappella performance from Jim Paton, no relation to Open Mic stalwart Jude! An unusual song about Mountjoy Prison was based on a piece of prose by James Joyce but a beautiful lullaby, ‘The Parting Glass’, almost brought the house down. Speaking of stalwarts, Dave Blu, AKA Dave Sandford, turned 60 this month and this amazing blues' guitarist celebrated in fine style with a Scratch House Band that included Steve Black and a grinning Andy Clark on bass.

June: One of the club's founder members Mervyn Williams made one of his all too rare appearances with his band Bang to Rights and lifted the room temperature with some high octane rock. There is a saying that ‘you cannot please everyone’ but with their energy and enthusiasm as well as a really varied programme, I think they did just that. Nice this month to recognise the contribution of one of our most enthusiastic live music supporters, Jude Paton.Whatever is happening in our town whether it is playing, booking live bands or helping to organise Newfest, Jude is involved in all things musical.
The look on her face was priceless when she realised that the Newport Open Mic had been hijacked to provide a wonderful surprise birthday party and say a big thank you for all her great work.

July: A bit of cross pollination this month as Andy Appleby and Martin Jacks, regular players on Thursday night at the Navigation Inn, brought their band Dream Ticket to the club for the first time. With stand-up bassist Neil Wells and multi-instrumentalist Ben Garrott, the band is packed with talented experienced musicians and although the name sounds a bit too American presidential for me, the music is first class.  Another debut band was one of the winners from this year’s Bandslam, The Kooz. Guitarist Josh Sole and percussionist Jason Latham delivered a superb original mix of music that had the audience shouting out for more. With just acoustic guitar and cajon, they fill this sound with great vocal harmonies and terrific arrangements…..a real talent.

August: The Etta James blues classic ‘I Would Rather Go Blind’ was the fantastic opener from Wellington singer guitarist Kim Smith, returning to the club for the third time. A lovely cover of an Amy Winehouse song preceded a couple of her own compositions….clearly she can write and not just sing.  A real treat this month had a rare appearance by local pianist and singer, Chris del Manso who treated us to a fantastic medley of popular covers before giving us a preview of ‘A Taste of Chris del Manso’ his latest EP.

September: I always like to see musical collaborations and one of the best I have seen this year was when ‘Dave the Barge’ otherwise known as Dave White, got up on stage with Ed Conway and his band. It was difficult to believe that they had never played together as they performed the Waterboy’s classic, ‘Fisherman’s Blues’ to a packed audience of around sixty. Another newcomer to the club was Chris Ruddock, who had never before played in front of a live audience, but supported by seasoned performer Sam Brizuela, he played a solid set of covers from, amongst others, Michael Buble.

October: 76 years young Eddie Maiden had been coming to the club for months, without ever giving a hint that he was a seasoned performer. As lead singer with sixties band The Biancos, it was obvious from the first few notes that he knew what he was doing, and a couple of belters  including the Neil Diamond classic ‘Sweet Caroline’ had the crowd singing along. A mere sixty years younger is guitar virtuoso Tom Boddison, from Priorslee. With just his Fender guitar for company he delighted the crowd with an outstanding instrumental set….certainly one to watch for the future. 

November: A first appearance for Stacey Rich from Market Drayton, who was clearly nervous…but not for long. The crowd loved her soft guitar and soaring vocals, and I am sure that with the reaction she received, she will be back. Also playing this month, one of my favourite female performers, Claire Shaw from Telford.  Claire once again gave a master-class in understated guitar and beautiful vocals…keep it simple could be her motto, she does it so well.

Throughout 2014 we have had singer songwriters, guitarists, keyboard players, duos, bands, and all with one thing in common….a love of performing live on stage in front of an audience.

 

Many thanks to everyone who helped throughout the year, lifting equipment down from the loft, selling raffle tickets, repairing instruments and just generally supporting live music here in Newport….without you the club would not exist. And to the band One Nation who played out the year at our annual Christmas Party.

Please note that there will not be an Open Mic between Christmas and New Year, or the first two weeks in January……the next one will be Tuesday 20^th January.   Let’s see if we can make it even better in 2015…..keep it live!