17th March and what better way to celebrate St Patrick's Day with live music and a pint or two of the amber nectar at Newport Open Mic at the Royal Naval Association. There perhaps wasn't a sea of green unlike the Chicago River in Illinois which annually is dyed green on this feast day but there was certainly a feast of great live music to be heard.

 

Always great to see Malcolm Purvis from Leeds calling in when work sends him to this neck of the woods. He has high praise for Newport Open Mic and between visits he is obviously busy penning new material and tonight was no exception with new songs  making great use of a harmony pedal and lovely harmonics on the apocalyptic song "Black Sun".

 

Paddy's Night brought a long overdue visit from Harry Woolley bringing tears to our eyes with the Fureys "When You Were Sweet Sixteen". Sporting a green Val Doonican jumper Robert Plant's and Alison Krauss's "Killing the Blues" was followed by his signature song "Diggin' My Potatoes".

 

12 year old Jay Harris was up next with enthusiastic support from family and friends in a crowd of well over 60. He has a wealth of songs under his belt for one of such tender years and tonight, using an effects pedal, he brought us songs from Geenday and The Killers.

 

John Minor has been a loyal supporter of Newport Open over the past few months and  playing guitar peformed 2 songs by his favourite band Oasis. Justin Hayward is currently touring with the Moody Blues so "Nights in White Satin", his final song, went own really well.

 

STASH was the next name on the board and featured Steve Davis and Alex Ash and comprising 3/5of Vinyl Tap with the addition of Jude and Remynie  "Mustang Sally" raised the volume both on and off he stage. Steve was the left solo to go back to the Irish theme with a beautiful version of Christie Moore's "Ride On".

 

18 year old Mitch Brooks from Lilleshall hushed the crowded room with a beautiful interpretation of Nirvana's "Come As You Are". Tom Petty's "Free Fallin" had been done by STASH in the preceding set but Mitch delighted us with his own version segued with Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud". The Stereophonics "Dakota" was the perfect finish to an excellent set from this talented young man and ensured that a large crowd stayed for the finale of the evening.

 

And so the finale to end the evening was an hour long set from Eddie and the Shamrocks (for one night only at the Navy). Of course this was our very own Ed Conway with his Unlawful Men followed by Lost The Plot. A wealth of Irish songs had the audience clapping, stamping their feet and joining in the choruses. Ant Kitchen on bodhran and Jon Thompson on bass alongside Simon Carswell on piano and together with Ed take traditional songs and deliver them in their own unique style. "Black Velvet Band" is probably best known by The Dubliners and lesser known by winger Tommy Bowe who sang his own version of it to a triumphant crowd on the Ireland rugby team's homecoming in Dublin following their Grand Slam win in 2009. I have to say The Unlawful Men's version was superb. A change in the line up saw Paul Crewe on drums and Simon Mann on bass and Lost the Plot materialised on stage. Fun and frolics ensued with goldfish bowls, buckets of cold water and a wet puppy dog flying across the room with the accompanying strains or "Belle of Belfast City", "The Irish Rover" and Steve Earle's "Galway Girl". The classic banjo picking scene from the 1972 film Deliverance has become a well known tune but never before have I heard it played on bouzouki and bass. A triumph indeed!!

 

Perhaps not many Irish in the crowd apart from one person who hailed from County Oakengates, but nonetheless a great night with a predominantly Irish theme with great music, all things green, corned beef and cabbage all washed down with a pint of Guinness.

And who knows........a chance for Ireland to win the Six Nation's Championship?........and so they did!!

 

One thing for certain however, there will be live music at the Royal Naval Association next Tuesday so come along and support us.

 

KEEP MUSIC AND OUR MUSIC VENUES LIVE!

One of my absolute favourite programmes of the 70’s and 80’s was the Old Grey Whistle Test. It was commissioned by David Attenborough in 1971 and focused on more ‘serious’ rock music. According to presenter, ‘Whispering’ Bob Harris, the name came from a Tin Pan Alley phrase from many moons ago, when newly pressed records would be played to the old doormen at the building, the grey suits….or greys. If they could remember and whistle the tune after hearing it only once or twice, that passed the Old Grey Whistle Test. At the weekly Newport Open Mic, I hear lots of self-penned songs, but it is extremely rare if I can hum or whistle the tune…..maybe that’s just my age!

Good to see Stacey Rich from Market Drayton back at the club. She made her first, quite nervous, appearance a few months ago, but there were no nerves on display tonight. A lovely opening set featured a couple of little heard numbers including The Foals ‘Spanish Sahara’…..a great start to a busy evening.

Remynie Faith is our resident musical all-rounder. She plays keyboards, drums, and guitar, and in addition is blessed with a gorgeous voice. Accompanied by boyfriend Gaz Giles on guitar, she wowed the sizeable audience particularly with her final song….a reworking of Cher’s ‘Bang Bang’. Believe me if this version was released as a single it would be massive.

A new band next on stage. Sam Scott and Tom Bond have recently made a few appearances at the club but tonight joined by Mick Hucknall lookalike Dave Minor, they took it to a new level. Although all very competent guitarists, with three instruments it can be very easy to ‘mash’ together, but they gave each other space and the overall sound was very good.  Remynie joined them onstage for a first live outing of Ed Sheeran’s ‘I See Fire’ and the end result was simply an outstanding example of close harmony singing.

We often have musicians from Stafford, Wolverhampton and Stoke but the ones who travel the furthest have to be brothers Gary and Darren Nettleton who drive all the way from Manchester. They run their own Top Dog Open Mic in the city and were introduced to Newport by a regular at both venues, Steve Davis. Steve joined them onstage for their set and they soon had feet tapping with their versions of songs from The Jam and Peter Sarstedt. Their final number was yet another example of fine harmonising, ‘Nowhere Man’ by the world’s best band ever…The Beatles since you as. Not an easy song to do, but they were note perfect….a very good set indeed.

It was proving to be a very busy night as next up, local band Vinyl Tap launched into ‘Time is Tight’ the Booker T classic.  Remynie, now behind the drum kit, held a great rhythm with bassist Jude Paton and the crowd enjoyed joining in, particularly with their parting anthem ‘Mustang Sally’ The band have a few local gigs coming up soon….look out for them at Moreton Millennium centre in a couple of weeks.

Olly Flavell made a video in Hey Jude’s at the week-end……check it out on You Tube… and this week he gave us more songs from his own pen including new number ‘What’s Your Name?’ His performance was somewhat ‘stripped down’, no effects or processors, just a guitar and a great voice….do you really need anything else?

Steve Davis next up, and Gary Nettleton repaid the earlier favour by joining him onstage for a cracking set. Steve has an amazing vocal range and can sing falsetto without it sounding ridiculous. ‘Old Man’ is probably my all-time favourite song by Neil Young, and he did a terrific job, particularly at that time of night when the crowd is a little noisier and it is sometimes difficult to hear a soft voice above the conversation. 

Graveyard shift tonight for resident lensman Laurence Gale, who was without his usual musical collaborator Rob Bryon. Lol decided to leave his camera at home this week and concentrate on his performance instead……a  performance I have to say, that is steadily growing in confidence. One thing about Laurence is that he is never afraid to try something difficult…..  ‘Is it Like Today?’ by World Party is particularly tricky, but he never shies away from taking on something so challenging.

So another brilliant evening of live music at the Newport Open Mic, with more than fifteen guitarists, singers, keyboard players and drummers providing more than four hours of superb entertainment. If you have ever had the urge to get up and sing or play, why not come down on a Tuesday and have a look? We are also always on the lookout  for helpers, whether it is just humping the equipment around or helping to publicise the event.

Maybe you fancy writing an article like this? Come and give it a try! Till next time, thanks for your support and keep it live!

Another Bandfest at the Navy. Words: Dave Whiteman, Pictures: Laurence Gale

What seems like just a couple of weeks ago, I was writing my regular music column for The Advertiser, which happened to be a review of 2014….in effect a ‘compilation’ of all the Open Mics of the last year. It was quite a difficult job as it turned out, having to sift through around 500….yes, five hundred different acts and highlighting just a couple of dozen. What was very apparent was the number of bands that turn up on a regular basis. Many Open Mics have a couple of microphones, a small PA and a very small space, but at the Navy we are blessed with a huge stage and plenty of equipment to fill it. Well, here we are almost a quarter ways through the year and I am pleased to say our popularity with bands shows no sign of abating.

Good job this week as no fewer than FIVE groups competed for time on stage, giving us a very busy evening at the Newport Open Mic.

First up though, brilliant singer/songwriter Sam Scott who captured the audience within seconds as he sang Ed Sheeran’s ‘Wayfarin Stranger’ a Capella, just using a loop to multi track his amazing vocal range. I think we knew we were in for a great evening at that moment.

Jay Harris is still our youngest regular performer and I look forward to around ten years’ time when he will be a 22 year old ‘veteran’ and probably running this Open Mic. Supported by Mum, Dad and extended family, Jay didn't disappoint with a great set from Catfish & The Botttlemen.

Yet more new numbers from regulars Vinyl Tap, who have clearly been polishing their skills. The Carole King musical ‘Beautiful’ is running in the west End, and VT performed one of my favourite tracks from the show, ‘Up on the Roof’ which has been covered by everyone from the Drifters to James Taylor. A great performance from this hard working group.

Cath Butler then left her keyboard available for John Minor to entertain during a short break with a couple of piano instrumentals, before our first newcomer of the evening, 

Louie Davies from Wellington, took to the stage. He admitted to me that he had a few nerves about performing after seeing the talent on display, but there was nothing to worry about. Where did such a slight figure get such a deep fantastic voice? His tribute to Johnny Cash was excellent, particularly when he enlisted the help of Jon Newton on drums and Andy Clark on bass for a rousing finale of ‘Folsom Prison Blues’  You are welcome anytime Louie.

Black Country boy himself Dave Sanford can always raise a good Scratch House Band and with the aforementioned Andy C, he recruited Baz Webster on drums and superb harp player Ed Sullivan for a cracking set with Dave and Ed swapping solos in a blistering blues performance.

Steve Davis may have started on stage alone with a lovely number from Scottish rockers Runrig, but it wasn’t long before he too, succumbed to the band temptation, with Jude Paton providing the bass for another great Scratch House Band. JJ Cale’s ‘They Call Me the Breeze’ a fitting finale for this first time five piece.

I commented a few weeks ago about the ‘electrification’ of Perton’s Mike Collins new band and it is good to see he is not resting on his laurels. A complete new set managed to mix Jimi Hendrix AND Blur…no easy task, and son Mikey, this week on acoustic bass held a great rhythm with drummer Nigel Tidy. If you ever go back to just an acoustic set Mike, it is going to feel a little bit flat after this!

Big man Steve Reynolds had waited patiently all evening for an opportunity to perform, but so full was the board this week he had to wait for the ‘graveyard’ shift before getting a chance to play. Boy was it worth it, and you could see some of the audience who were thinking of slipping away soon sat down again. His lovely guitar style segued effortlessly between Crowded House, Adele and even Eric Clapton, but the delighted crowd was in no mood to let him leave. A lovely soft and original version of ‘Sweet Child of Mine’ brought the house down and sent the punters home happy.

I am often amazed at the sheer depth of talent at the Newport Open Mic. Singer songwriters bare their soul, acoustic players quieten the room and individuals form first performance bands and all for the love of live music….they certainly don’t do it for the money. No-one gets paid…your £1 admission pays for the raffle and goes some way towards maintaining and replacing the equipment. 

Many thanks to those who turned up at 7pm to help set up and those who stayed till 11.30 to put the kit away…you help to make the Newport open Mic what it is. 

Till next time, keep it live!

A Great Night of Live Music

Looking back over the last 50 years there have been some iconic albums in the charts but who would imagine back then that songs from those albums are still sung and played regularly at Open Mic sessions today.  Paul Weller's album "Stanley Road" released 20 years ago included the song "You Do Something to Me" a favourite 90s ballad for people who "don't do ballads and definitely don't  cry" and from the Modfather himself. 1985 and Dire Straits' "Brothers in Arms" was the first album released on to the CD market selling over 1,000,000 copies in this format. We all remember Mark Knopfler's National style O resonator on the front cover and of course the track "Walk of Life". Skin tingling songs from singer/songwriter Kate Bush too had "Hounds of Love" in the charts in the same year and Kate was the first woman to have a self penned number one hit "Wuthering Heights" seven years earlier at the age of 19. 1980 brought  AC/DC's Back in Black soaring into the charts following the death of Bon Scott to be replaced by Geordie, Brian Johnson. 2015 sees the 40th Anniversary of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" which included the 13 minute long "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" a tribute to Syd Barrett who had left the band following a mental breakdown. The Beatles last album "Let It Be" released in 1970 with "Two Of Us", "Get Back" and of course the title track often heard at Open Mic sessions. Astonishingly a sealed boxed copy of that album sold on ebay in 2009 for just over £6,500!! Might be worth checking if there is a boxed copy in your loft at home. 

 

Tuesday's Open Mic at the Royal Naval Association in Newport promised to be a busy night with a large contingent coming over from Gnosall and Staffordshire, many of whom are heard regularly at The Oak Open Mic on a Thursday night. An early start had the first scratch band of the evening getting us under way with Dave Sanford, Olly Flavell, Andy Clark and Matt Miles delivering a lovely blues set and Dave's self penned "Black Country Boy" which he played superbly with Olly setting the standard for the evening.

 

Matt Miles and Rob Brown are proving ever more popular as an acoustic duo and once again their set list really complimented their beautiful harmonies with Stereophonics, The Beatles, Foo Fighters and Crowded House being an excellent choice and what strong lead vocals from Matt.  

Dream Ticket are a 4 piece band and what a treat we had in store with Andy Appleby on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, Aaron Beardsmore on lead guitar, Nick Wells on upright bass and Martin Jacks on cahon and backing vocals. The Beatles "Come Together" and the line "he come groovin' up slowly" pretty much summed up a terrific chilled, laid back set with the intro to 7 Nation Army perfect for the bass and a wonderful rendition of Adele's Skyfall from the 23rd and most recent James Bond film completing a fine performance from Dream Ticket. I hope they will pay us another visit before too long.

 

 

Soundman Jon Newton is always happy to leave his station to play drums and together with Dave "Blu", Olly and Jude drove the 2nd scratch house band of the evening along with "Crossroads" from the Delta Bluesman Robert Johnson, the laid back boogie feel of JJ Cale's "After Midnight" and classic 12 bar blues with Chuck Berry's "Johnny B Goode. Always great fun for those getting together unrehearsed on stage and likewise for the audience.

 

It's been too long since The Magpies have played at Newport Open Mic so a warm reception awaited Tony Rodberg, who turned 60 at the beginning of the week, and Martin Jacks both on guitars and vocals aided and abetted by Matt Miles and Nick Wells on drums and bass. BB King's "Thrill is Gone" and the R&B standard "Route 66" are always crowd pleasers but The Who's "Substitute" and Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb"  had the audience singing along word for word and demonstrates the staying power of these classic songs for those who remember them first time round and for those who are perhaps hearing them for the first time decades later.

 

Remynie-Kiah  and Gaz Giles have been rehearsing for a few weeks and last Tuesday we finally saw them together on stage  and immediately we knew we were in for something special from this talented young pair. The audience were spellbound from the start and with Jose Gonzalez' "Heartbeat" as their opening song there was a hush around the busy room. Remynie's vocals are hauntingly stunning. Gaz's accompaniment on guitar perfectly complimented her vocals and Cher's song "Bang Bang" written almost 50 years ago by her then husband Sonny Bono would have had the panellists in The Voice spinning in their chairs. "Girl With One Eye" by Florence and the Machine brought an all too short set to a close but judging by the response Rem and Gaz will be back soon.

 

Laurence Gale and Rob Bryon were joined tonight by Dave Sanford on mandolin for their set, perfect for Ronnie Lane's "How Come" and "Up the Junction" by Squeeze. Great to see Laurence and Rob performing more regularly at the Navy Club stage. Talking of squeeze, time left for a few songs from Andy Appleby alongside Magpies, Tony and Martin and Nick Wells on bass. Stray Cats, Soft Cell and Pink Floyd with a great version of "Money" were a good choice and with a bit of gentle persuasion Matt Miles and Rob Brown brought a splendid evening of live and varied music to a close with "Mrs Robinson".

 

So in celebration of the anniversaries of some of the greatest albums going back 20, 30, 40 and 50 years those appearing on Open Mic stages across the country continue to play tribute to some great musicians as well as bringing a wealth of original material to the live music stage. A splendid night of musical entertainment on a Tuesday night in Newport.

 

 A reminder that there is an Open Mic session every Thursday at the Royal Oak in Gnosall and recently started there is Open Mic at the Bell Inn Ham and Eggery on the A5 every other Monday, the next one being on 9th March.

 

Till next time KEEP IT LIVE.