It isn't Christmas until Noddy Holder says so

The Warm-Up for Christmas is the last Open Music Night of the year. With it being on the first of December this year it seemed a bit early to be too Christmassy; but Mel had put the tree up and was hanging decorations as we arrived to set up. So while Christmas songs still hadn't been heard on the radio, never mind 'that one', it did feel that Christmas was close enough.

In comparison to the mayhem and madness of the previous few months, this evening was a much more sedate affair, with the majority of the audience being made up of the performers; and most of them were MDF.

In fact, the last few months have been so packed that I’ve tended to limit my performances to playing with MDF. So it was a pleasure to have the opportunity to sing a whole six songs.

My first half set was all self-penned, beginning with a song written in 1999, 'A Christmas Present for Shirley' which was about ...., followed by my second Christmas themed song 'Sad St Nicholas', inspired by the desperation of last minute Christmas shopping. Then, because there were so few of us performing I gave 'Old Town Blues' and 'Canary' a run out too.

In the second half I did a couple of covers, the first Bob Dylan's 'Forever Young' followed by Neil Diamond's 'Solitary Man'. Hedley accompanied me on violin, and it was a pleasure to play along to the instrumentals and refrains.

John & Mike were next up, and complete with appropriate props sang 'Christmas in Australia'.

Their second song was also another Christmas themed one, 'Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer'. 'What did they say their song was called? whispered #1 Roadie. When I repeated the title she asked, 'Is that a real song?' 

Moving from the seasonal to the sublime they then performed the Willie Nelson/Elvis Presley/Pet Shop Boys', 'Always On My Mind' and  Rod Stewart's 'I Don't Want To Talk About It'.

In the second part of the evening, after an extended counting exercise, they performed 

Peter St John's 'Fields of Athenry' and Creedence Clearwater Revival's 'Stuck In Lodi Again'. Did Mike really sing 'come into town on one eyed Stan? Who is 'One Eyed Stan?' and why would CCR have sung about him?

It was great to have Paddy with us again, and he was certainly on form this evening, providing an emotional roller coaster of songs. Paddy's first song was his own Christmas parody of Good King Wenceslas, the cautionary tale of Whatsislad and the over cooked sprouts. 

The mood then became more somber as he sang Glen Hughes' 'Whiskey on A Sunday', also known as 'The Ballad of Seth Davy'.

Up we soared again with the seasonal Brexit song 'TheTurkey's Referendum', another example of Paddy's genius, before he ended the first set with the Ralph McTell classic 'Streets of London'. In the second part of the evening he delighted us with the Percy French song, 'Mountains of Mourne'. Paddy finished on a high with his Humbug Christmas song, in which he admitted to being pumped up, but not with Christmas cheer.

There was only TCB missing from a full line-up of MDF this evening so Hedley stepped up to make up the numbers and to ensure that there were  more people on stage than in the audience. The Christmas selection from MDF hurtled through the decades and included  the 1934 sensation 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town', the 1958 sensation, 'Rocking Around The Christmas Tree' and the 1974 sensation, 'Lonely this Christmas'. Added to these were the distinctly not -Christmassy Travelling Wilburys', 'End Of The Line' and the John Ims song, 'In Love With The Boy', recorded in 1991 by Trisha Yearwood.

As a seasonal novelty, and as a thank you to those regular performers that had supported our Open Music Nights over the year, I raffled a plectrum maker. It was won by Ross, possibly the only performer that really has no use for it. Perhaps it will find it's way into a Tombolla over the next week or so. As I extolled the virtues of the device and the possible savings John almost stole my punchline about credit cards.

Proceedings ended a little earlier than usual, which meant that No 1 Roadie got to bed at a reasonable time for a change; no bad thing given that she was up early for work on Saturday.

So Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year from The Open Music Collective. If you are celebrating then why not raise a glass to a music packed 2018. Our season resumes in February when I look forward to hosting The Fourth 'Night of Lurve' love song competition on Friday 2nd February.

Banging Tunes and Smashing Performances at The 4th Bangers and Mash Night

I don't know if it was the news that Maggie was ending her stay at The George with the uncertainty that followed, or that the summer was quite a busy one, but the blog dropped a notch or two on my list of priorities. So while a few things had happened, like the birthday bash and Maggie's Farewell celebrations, there's not much in the blog. Perhaps I can do something about that in a summary of the year; and what a year it has been. The Open Music Nights has become increasingly popular and I had so many ideas for developing it further in terms of various stage area improvements and getting some really good paid performers to visit us from occasionally to provide a bit of inspiration, and then on the night I was going to ask Maggie about it she told me about her retirement plans.

The first indication that things might turn out in our favour came quite late in the day, and while October's Open Music Night had been guaranteed, the exchange only took place towards the end of the month. A brief chat on the phone confirmed that November's Open Mic Night was on, and a few days later, a visit to The George got 'Bangers and Mash' on the menu; well you can't have The 4^th Bangers and Mash Night without them really. “It could be a busy night Mel” I remember remarking. We had no idea.

When Friday eventually came around, it was another early start for me, and I was on my own as #1 Roadie wouldn't be finishing work until later. For a change, I was set up and ready to go by 7.30pm, all that remained was to make a quick change in the carpark. As it was, with a full house, kitchen under full steam and more musicians arriving, we were a bit late on getting under way.

No Strings Attached, with no strings at all.

The difficulty in being Master of Ceremonies for The Bangers and Mash Night is that most of the performers are also partaking in the bangers and mash supper. While there is a running order, it is a bit fluid. No one wants to belt out a big number when there is a danger of imminent burping, and I certainly don't want residual sausage on the microphone at the end of the evening.

There were ten acts on the list, so I invited No Strings Attached to open for us. Their first half performance was signature No Strings Attached,  ending with a very lilting waltz 'Ashokan Farewell'. They abandoned their strings altogether in the second half, rising to the a'capella challenge with the sea shanty 'Paddy Lay Back'.

Next up was 'Silent G'; named after the explanation Torgul has to give as to the spelling of his name. The G is silent.  Tonight they were in a decidedly blue mood. Blue Skies smiling at me, Blue Day, it's been a blue blue day. Their last song of the night was also a blue one; Guy Mitchell's 'Singing The Blues'.

There was fresh meat on offer this evening in the form of The A'Cappella Fellas. There is always a little excitement generated by performing strangers, we never know quite what to expect. I can't speak for the old days, but this was the first time since I took over that a barbershop quartet have performed at The George Open Music Nights. Being a busy night there was a two song first half limit, so their first two songs were Billy Joel's 'Longest Time', The Drifters 'Under The Boardwalk' and the an old St Louis blues number. We didn't mind, because we enjoyed it so much. In the second half, with one song only, they sang Bobby Darin's  'Somewhere, Beyond The Sea' followed by Billy Joel's, 'Goodnight My Angel'. A bit cheeky, but as this was the first time we'd seen them, and they sounded so good, I let them slip an extra one in. There definitely wasn't room for a third.

Once again the Mother Ship landed and king of the gizmo, Dangerous Derrick Meyer, gave us a signature performance. His first song of the set was Buffulo Springfield's 'For What it's Worth',  Jack Savortetti 'Written In Scars'. Sadly Derrick disappears after the fist half, so that was all we got to hear from him. Because I can't guarantee that my newsletter always goes out in time I'm going to mention his open mic nights. The first is at The Royal Oak, Crick on the last Thursday of the month. The second is at The Bulls Head, Stoney Stanton, on what appears to be the second Wednesday of the month. Derrick supplies the PA and Tracy is in charge of the list.

Alex has been to see us a few times now, and his performances always delight whether dueting with Derrick or on his own. Tonight he braved a couple of new tunes for us; the first, Sting's 'Fields of Gold', and then the Fionn Regan song 'Abucus'. 

Jason and Rachael killing it

Occasional Kilsby OMC performer Dave Pepper came along to lend us his support and to demonstrate his variety and versatility, beginning with a country song, 'Ain't Got To Be Rich'; which I knew to be one of his own composition. However, he was also responsible for the two Flamenco pieces, the first called 'The Dance' and the second called 'El Soro'

It is always good to have performers coming from Napton, except when it is the 'Night of Lurve' love song competition which they have dominated since its inception. Tonight Jason gave us 'God And Satan' by Biffy Clyro and then he was joined on the stage by Rachael for a very acomplished Buggles' 'Video Killed The Radio Star'. Sadly family commitments meant that they were unable to stay for the second half .

Steve had a little help to throw the curtains wide.

Sue turned up on her own saying that Andy and Paul were on the way. The name 'Sooty Sweep and Sue' appears to have stuck., though this evening it was Sooty, Sweep and Sue, and Hedley too. Their offerings this evening were Tina Turner's 'Proud Mary' and something by the Old Crow Medicine Show.
Their second half song was Bob Marley's 'Three Little Birds' and then the snuck in another, Van Morrison's 'Brown Eyed Girl'.

Steve Edgar, possibly our best hope for The 2018 Night of Lurve, was accompanied first by Hedley on violin for 'The House of New Orleans' and Bob Dylan's 'It Hurts Me Too'. Then his second half finale was a more theatrical affair than we've been used to when he was joined for the chorus of Elbow's 'One Day Like This' by The A'Capella Fellas. It wasn't quite as startling as Grandad Banjo hijacking Ian's performance last month, but was spectacular enough.

Ending the evening was the Mighty MDF. They were joined by Tea Chest Brian in the first half performing 'Werewolves of London', and The Cure's 'Friday I'm in Love'. It wouldn't be right to let Brian leave without a song, so he gave us Putting On The Style'. Brian went home at the interval and the second half of the evening was brought to a close with The Water Boys' 'Fisherman's Blues', and Dire Straits Walk of Life, with Ross adding the harmonica parts.

The Next Kilsby Open Music Collective is on Friday 1st December. It feels a bit early for Christmas songs at the moment, but by then perhaps we'll all be ready for them, so bring them along and blow the cobwebs off them. Perhaps MDF will lead in some of their Christmas repertoire as part of their rehearsal for the Christmas Busking in Crick, which I think is on December 15th. I had better find out as I'm going to taking part.

Maggie's Farewell and the end of an era.

Maggie's Farewell sounds like the title of a folk song, and no doubt it's a sad one. This Maggie's Farewell was another packed open music night by The Kilsby Open Music Collective, and while there were one or two somber moments, the evening was mostly a celebration of appreciation for our lovely host, Maggie Chandler, who leaves The George towards the end of October. The Kilsby Open Music Collective, Open Music Night, once known as 'Paddy Wex and Friends', has been running for years. The last four years has seen the progressive development of the event from an acoustic folk music evening to a 'gig' with PA and lights. The latest addition being a multichannel mixing desk that #1 Roadie has taken a shine to. It was also the first open music night since the news of Tom Petty's passing, so a few of his songs found their way into the performances.

Proceedings began on time, ten minutes late, and I opened with two of my favourite songs

Mike and John follwed, with John on the spooky sounding autoharp 'Hardworking Boater' and 'Come By The Hills'.

They ended their evening's performance in the second half of the night with their rendition of the well known Eskimo mealtime song, 'Whale Meat Again'. Actually, it was an interesting delivery of the Vera Lynn saying good bye song

Nigel and Darren, as Odds and Ends with accompaniment by Hedley on violin. When I booked them in I asked if Hedley was joining them and they didn't know. At that moment, as if by magic Hedley appeared. Their Bob Dylan repertoire is growing and their delivery just gets better and better. Tonight we had a Ben E King sandwich. Dylan's 'You Ain't Going Nowhere', followed by Ben E King's 'Stand By Me' and then back to Bob for 'Knocking On Heaven's Door'.

Inspired by the prospect of Maggie's retirement Steve Edgar raised the cultural component by performing 'Leisure',  by Welsh poet, W.H Davies "what is this life if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare" with a musical accompaniment. This he followed

by the most popular funeral song, Frank Sinatra's 'My Way', not the sex pistols version, but one we all knew and joined in with.He ended his evening's selection with a superb account of Led Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven'. Hedley joined in on violin and between them they made the hair stand on the back of my neck.

It was great to have Stained Grass Bluegrass with us again. This evening they performed Special Consensus Band's, 'Leaving Town' followed by Gordon Lightfoot's, 'The Redwood Hills'

Left handed legend 'Dangerous Derrick' once more had the mothership of electronic wizardry at his feet for his delivery of Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks, 'Stop Dragging My Heart Around' and The Eagles, 'Take it Easy'. 

 

Pete and Marian provided the next Tom Petty song, 'Free Falling'. They were were then joined by MDF's Mark on accordion, The Levellers 'What A Beautiful Day'

The first song from Ian was a swinging version of Tom Waits' Chocolate Jesus.  This was followed by a song written for Nina Simone, but made famous by The Animals, 'Lord Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood'.

After the break Ian began with 'Wide Eyed and Legless', but he'd probably had too much beer, so he stopped and performed Mungo Jerry's 'In The Summertime' instead. It isn't often that a performance is highjacked by a member of the audience, but John, mistaking an empty proseco bottle for a musical instrument leapt to his feet and puckered up very intimately. How Ian maintained his composure I'll never know, but he couldn't have minded too much as he invited John to join him at the subsequent 'Folk At The Oak' night the following Thursday.

An almost complete MDF lineup offered the last of the Tom Petty tributes, from their regular set list, Travelling Wilburys' 'End of The Line' and then a crowd pleasing rework of Bob Dylan's 'Maggie's Farm'. The lyrics of which were laminated and signed by all of the evening's performers for Maggie to take away with her.

The evening ended as they often do, with an ensemble peice; this time lead by MDF. 

The new owner of The George is keen for things to carry on, so we are back in November, though I can't say that there will be bangers and mash just yet.

Biggest July Crowd This Year!

MDF have had a couple of gigs lately and I've used the OMC PA system. The last one was Barby Fete on Sunday 25th June. No.1 Roadie and I got there nice and early and got everything nicely set up. All was well, and after the second set there were some grumbles from the audience. I would have dismissed them had one ofthe audience been No.1 Roadie. That was the worst I've heard you. It sounded awful. :-( Clearly the amp, at full volume, was on its limits, and the speakers were distorting.
It has been on my mind for a while now that the way to go is to invest in some higher quality gear.
And so it was on the Monday I was on the phone  to Music Express Coventry https://www.expressmusic.co.uk/ and talking active speakers. I've bought a few things from them recently, and they are always very helpful. A deal was done and a couple of Yamaha DXR10s went into the back of the van, only coming out of their boxes on Friday Night,

Mike & John

There's a little experimentation to go with levels before I've got the sound just right for The George, but with the additional support of an 800W sub there was no question that the difference was amazing. My thanks to Derrick for keeping me informed of how things sounded at the back of the room.

It was another full night of various genres and I began the evening's proceedings with a Bob Dylan cover, 'All Along The Watchtower'; this time with harmonica. Not sure how it sounded, but I think it is definitely in need of more practice. Sitting on the high-stool the guitar kept slipping down my thigh, making those barre chords very tricky. My second was one of my own. It doesn't have a title, but it is about one of my favourite subjects, 'death'.

Next up were John & Mike. Their first song of the evening was Van Morrison's, 'Brown Eyed Girl' follwed by Elvis Presley's 'Wooden Heart' with "einige einwandfreie Deutsch singen"

A baking July evening meant that the firedoor was open, letting a much needed cooling breeze through the assembly. That probably explained why it is that Hedley looked so cooldelighted us with his accompaniment and solos while our regular contributor Nigel Lewis gave us Bob Dylan's 'Knocking On Heaven's Door' and his own composition 'I'm Not Sure'; a song that gets better each time I hear it.

No Strings Attached

We haven't seen No Strings Attached at Kilsby for a while and it was great to welcome them back. Their two guitar  jigs and reels are delightful, and this evening, with the addition of a bit of bluegrass, was no exception. I missed the titles of this evening's pieces, but think the first was a reel called Jenny Lyn

Sandi &Torgul

Tony Collins

Without the rest of the band Sandi & Torgul are free to pick from a much deeper pool of music, and they had their dancing shoes on tonight. Poor old Leonard Cohen is much maligned, but one of my favourite songs of his is a spectacularly cheerful 'Dance Me To The End of Love'. This was followed with a bit of country and George Stait's, 'I Just Want To Dance With You'

Tony Collins has been heavily involved with this year's 'Folk on The Water' cuminating in an open mic at The Boat Inn, Stockton. I should imagine he is shattered, so it was good to see him this evening, and he brought along his harpsichord. He had his femine side on display this evening, with songs from Suzanne Vega and Bette Midler. The first being 'Queen and The Soldier' and then finishing with a song I've heard him cover a few times now,
'The Rose'

Pete and Marianne

Steve Bates

Steve Bates was on good form this evening. Noel Gallagher's 'Half The World Away' suits his style of playing and his voice very well. His second song was a self-penned song around the experience of  losing touch with your children. The title 'Miss You' said it all, and it was a very moving song.

Pete Nash was armed with a bundle of leaflets promoting his open mic night at The Bull, Clifton. You have to admire him for it, and it is a night I've been promising myself for ages. Tonight, with Marriane, they gave us the song of the night Melanie Safka's 'Look What They've Done To My Song Ma'
Pete's other song was the Harry Nilsson classic from Midnight Cowboy, 'Everybody's Talking At Me'

MDF was a bit thin on the ground this evening, just John, Mark and myself, and with the Crick Scarecrow Festival busking coming up, we decided to stick with the things we'd be playing over the weekend, beginning with a song about a train and then Guy Clarke's Baton Rouge. I wasn't expecting to be jostled off the mic, but Grandad Banjo wasn't missing out on the chorus.

No socks in sight - Steve Edgar

Steve Edgar was in plaintive warbling mode this evening, blasting me back to my youth with a bit of Led Zepplin and Pink Floyd. It isn't everyone that can carry off 'Stairway to Heaven'. Like many of the songs we all know, it is more difficult to sing well than it seems.
His next song was banned from guitar shops all over the country for at least ten years. It is still frowned on, but a beautiful song all the same, and one of my all time favourites, 'Wish You Were Here'.

Bringing the biggest ever first half to a close, it was half ten after all, was Dangerous Derrick Meyer and his grandson Alec; I'm sure that's what he said. Derrick started off with a blast from the past, Cat Stevens' 'Wild World' and then bang up to date with George Ezra's 'What You Waiting For'. He finished his solo set with Gordon Lightfoot's 'Ghost' before being joined by Alec and together singing 'Crying In The Rain'. The harmonies were superb, and I think The Everly Brothers would find it hard to do better; especially since Phil died in 2014. On his own Alec sang the Roddy Woomble song, 'I Came In From The Mountain'.
Something strange happened at 10.45 and lots of people decided that they had to go, leaving a few of us to enjoy a few songs, lead by Steve Edgar and to an audience of two and the staff. We started off with a bit of Bob, no not that one, Bob Marley and Three Little Birds, followed by Tony's suggestion, 'Working Man' and finishing on Be Bop A Lula.

Thank you to all participants and performaers, you were awsome!

It all happens again on Friday  4th August.

A truth universally acknowledged

It is a truth universally acknowledged that there is nothing like a nice warm summer's evening for an outdoor open mic, and Thursday's weather for Tony Collins' Open Mic in aid of Zoe's Place at The Boat Inn was nothing like a warm summers evening. Though that didn't dampen the enthusiasm of any of the performers, it did thin the audience a bit.

Well that's what Jane Austen would have said if she had been at The Boat in last night. I'd been keeping an eye on the weather for the last couple of very wet days and had my fingers crossed for Tony, who'd put in a lot of work organising the event as a part of this year's Folk On The Water and their appeal for Zoe's Place.

Wisely, I picked up a tarpaulin to cover the lighting rig in the event of rain, as it provided a little additional protection to the performers too.



The privilege of bringing the evening to a close fell to MDF, possibly as a strategy to get everyone to go home, who were ably assisted by Steve Edgar. Because one of the listed acts hadn't made it we got a little longer on stage; and on behalf of MDF I'd like to thank those that did stay for hanging on with us to the end of the night. It was not for the faint hearted. No1 Roadie hadn't been able to help me set up, because she was still at work as the first act got under way, but I was very glad to see her when she later appeared in the audience and I was very glad of her help when it came time to pack up.



Here's a photo of the sound man's view from the stage, as Napton's 'Soul Sisters' basked in the warmth coming from the audience, possibly the only warmth going this evening, unless you were sat under one of the patio heaters.

The highlights of the evening for me were a lovely set from John Wright, who we don't often get to hear on his own, and local legend Mick Bisiker's 'Rack and Ruin'.

Other performers that braved the elements were
The Willow & Tool, setting the bar very high with their opening set, Steve Edgar and also the lively Garrison Evolution Band.

For more information on this year's Folk On The Water follow the link http://www.folkonthewater.com/