Youth AND experience at The Navy.  Words: Dave Whiteman, Pictures: Laurence Gale

There has been a lot of comment this week about football season ticket prices going up by more than three times inflation, and, fan or not, you have to feel sorry for the true supporters. Our ticket prices are by far the highest in Europe, and a pundit recently calculated that if all the premiership clubs let the fans in FOR FREE…they would still be earning more money than last season, thanks to TV income. A seat to watch my team Burnley, for the game against West Ham tomorrow, would set me back £35…which is almost as much as a season ticket cost my father when I first started to support the club.

On the other hand, a season ticket for the Newport Open Mic, held every Tuesday in the Navy Club, would set you back around £50 for the year…and that would give you about 150 hours of live music from maybe 400 separate performances. How’s that for value?

One of our regulars at the Navy is Newport local, Eddie Maiden and he always seems to enjoy himself. This week for the first time, we saw him up on stage and what a performance it was. Within seconds it was clear that Eddie, aged 76, had done this before and it turns out he was lead singer with a band called The Bianco’s in the sixties. It just goes to show, you never lose it…..well done Eddie.

Virtuoso is a much over used word in the music world, but I think that description applies to newcomer Tom Boddison from Priorslee. He has only been playing guitar for the last six years, but his style and technique had many guitarists in the audience gasping with surprise and admiration He is still only 16, so goodness knows how much better he can become. Whisper it quietly……his version of Gary Moore’s ‘Parisian Walkways’ was one of the best I have ever heard.

Once again an earlier slot for John Minor and his keyboard, and it certainly seems to work well for him. Centre stage, his instrumentals from The Moody Blues and Oasis were very good indeed, but his version of ‘Yesterday’ was once again outstanding.

Sticking with the Beatles theme, resident snapper Laurence Gale swapped Canon for Epiphone to bring us a lovely little medley of their tunes, finishing with excellent finger picking style on ‘Norwegian Wood’….good stuff from one of our great supporters.

I haven’t seen Gaz & The Tones since Newfest, way back in June. Guitarist Tony Callister, told me that the band have been rehearsing and gigging regularly and that dedication showed on this performance, with an extended and very tight set. All the usual stuff was there, ‘Newton Squared’ and ‘Around the Sun’ but it is really nice to see them mix up their own material with a couple of good covers. Cornershop’s ‘Brim full of Asha’ was, amazingly, released more than 17 years ago, but still sounds fresh and perfectly suited to their style.

 

Great to see two thirds of ‘Ricochet’, Sand Kumar and Scott Thompson, back at the club.  Performing as The O’Chets and even without regular drummer Cameron, these guys produce a good full sound. Their set included ‘Dancefloor’, a tribute to Rob Skipper, former guitarist with The Holloways who tragically died a couple of weeks ago, aged just 28. Once again, this is a band who write their own good material, but, recognising that it may not familiar to many, mix up the set with a few covers….a practice that pays off if you want gigs.

 

No Scratch House Band tonight, but just time for a bit of a rock jam before the end, and another first for the club. I have never seen a guitarist on crutches manage to play proficiently, but Tom Bond did an admirable job without falling over! With David Minor, brother of John, on bass, Remynie Faith on drums and Tony Callister from Gaz & The Tones on guitar, they played a lively rock set to send the punters home happy.

 Thanks again to all those who gave their time at the start and finish of the evening to set up and dismantle the kit, it’s always appreciated. If you disappeared before the end….shame on you.

So there’s no doubt the football crowds will be huge again this weekend, with millions watching on TV, but if you want to see Premier performances AND get good value, check out the local music scene at the Newport Open Mic. Till next week, keep it live!