Old’s Cool 7th Aug 2012 Words & Pictures: Dave Whiteman

Team GB may be having the most successful Olympics of all time, but more than 100 music fans packed in to the Navy Club proved that if you make a healthy dose of live music an option, it will be enough to drag people away from the dreaded box.

After a quick start up under the watchful eye of sound man Adam Brown, The Scratchouse Band whizzed through the sound check on what was to be a very busy night of live music at the Newport Open Mic held at the Royal Naval Association, in Belman’s Yard Newport, every Tues.

Sometimes you just know it is going to be special, and when Ed Conway brought his new band ‘Lost the Plot’ to the stage, so it proved. Have you ever seen musicians belt each other with tin trays whilst banging out a lusty version of The Boxer? Mad, certainly, but highly entertaining!

It seemed that it was going to be a night of bands, as next act, Vinyl Tap followed on. A lovely version of Bee Gees classic, ‘To love Somebody’ was followed by a Del Amitri classic, then a quite brilliant ‘Daniel’ by Elton John.

The guest board was already almost full but there was one more treat before the headline act. ‘Bang to Rights’ with stand in drummer Andy Conway lost no time in raising the temperature, blasting through ‘Born to be Wild’ before finishing with ‘Won’t get Fooled Again’, by The Who.

Each month the club offers a longer than usual set to local musicians, and top Newport band ‘Old’s Cool’ used their extended spot to showcase their new lead singer, Ben Armstrong. No stranger to the club, Ben first played here around 10 yrs ago in earlier bands like Casino Twist and The Words, and looks to be an excellent new recruit. They cruised through a first live outing with this line up, but showed they are not simply a jobbing rock band. Crowd pleasers from Free and Bad Company dovetailed perfectly with a quite outstanding, ‘Still got the Blues’ from Gary Moore, before a reworked Queen standard, ‘Hammer to Fall’ with terrific harmonies, brought a well deserved encore.

Difficult to follow that, but Dave & Zoe the had the audience joining in with sing-along’s from The Ronettes and the Mamas & Papas, and then there was hardly time to draw breath before the next young lady took to the stage.
Mellissa Walford seen on the right is only 15, but singing beautifully and accompanying herself on guitar as she does,  she is going to be a regular favourite at the Open Mic.  Standout track was a brilliant version of ‘White Flag’ the Dido anthem.

There seems to be a wealth of young talent coming through the club at the moment, and next act, Ollie & Jake wowed the still considerable audience with ‘When you Say Nothing at All’ by Ronan Keating and ‘I’m Yours’ by Jason Mraz, before another Open Mic veteran, Richard Evans came on stage. Carrying what looked like an old wine box with a broom handle sticking out of it, Rich proved that a good musician can get a good tune out of anything! Switching instruments he then entertained with a ‘sensitive’ George Formby song written by comedian Frank Skinner, called simply ‘Osama bin Laden’.

It seemed the younger members of the club were still up for more as the evening drew to a close, with James Pilgrim leading the way with songs from The Arctic Monkeys and then The Libertines before first Dan Walton and then CJ Allen, both members of Blue Tuesdays kept the late stayers in their place with great songs from The Who and The Beatles….where do 16yr olds like these get their enthusiasm for the sixties from?!! 

The barman Jess was yawning, drinks were being finished and at 1130, people were starting to drift away, but bums very quickly dropped back down on seats as last act Dan Garrott started to play his Alto Sax. Accompanied by Remynie Faith on drums it evoked pictures of a smoky cellar bar jazz club in Soho with its style and expression.

So once again, another fantastic evening of music at the Newport Open Mic. More than a dozen acts of various ages and styles, all with one thing in common…..playing music live. So next Tuesday around 8pm, switch off the telly and get down to the Navy Club in Belman’s Yard…..there cannot be many better ways to spend a quid!