Night of Lurgy was a real Night of Lurve

The 3rd Night of Lurve made for a fabulous start to the New Year. The first event of the year went off with such a bang. Thirteen acts took part and it was standing room only right to the end of the evening. There would have been a couple more, but a seasonal lurgy has been laying waste to a significant part of the population. Only a week earlier I'd spent a couple of days under the duvet and while I was ok to act as MC for the evening, singing was right out for me.

Each performer had two songs, the first for the warm-up, to get levels right and second song was the competition entry. Voting was for the best performance on the night and while the votes didn't reflect the quality of entries; very high indeed, they did reflect the difference between the good and the best.

This year's winner, with an unassailable lead was folk musician Mick Bisiker. His warm-up was a self written reflection on marriage called 'Ball and Chain'.
His competition entry was 'The Green Mossy Banks of The Lee'.

He took away a bottle of Champagne, a compilation CD of love songs and a voucher for a meal for two at The George.

After Mick's astonishing lead, there was little between the next performers, and the runner-up position was shared between last year's runner-up Steve Edgar, and old friends of the OMC, John Wright and Hilary Wilson.

Steve's warm-up was The Troggs, 'Love Is All Around' and his entry for the competition was the sad Bobby Goldsborough song 'Honey'.

John and Hilary went back to Robbie Burns and 'A Fond Kiss' for their warm-up. Their entry was the lovely James Taylor, 'Close Your Eyes'.
















Scoring slightly less than Steve, Hilary and John was Harriette and Jason. Their wam-up was Adel's 'Hello', and Harriette's delivery of the Amy Winehouse classic 'Love Is A Loosing Game' was a superb entry.





Second up was 'Dangerous' Derick Mayer, starting with 'Misty' and 'Amazed'. His entry was slightly tweaked to make it more personal as it is his and Tracy's wedding song. The old romantic was put off mid song when he caught his wife's eye at a particularly soppy bit.


Andy Wenham lost his way in the warm-up with 'The Hiring Fair'. We've heard him play it many times at The Oak, but his mind went blank and that was the end of the song for Andy. We've all been there. But he was back on form with his competition entry, the Willie Nelson classic, 'Always On My Mind'



The last time we saw Mark he had his daughter with hm, playing violin. Tonight he was on his own and he warmed-up with a jazzy and amusing 'Gee Baby Ain't I Good To You'. His entry was the beautiful Fleetwood Mac 'Songbird' from the 'Rumours' album, later covered by Eva Cassidy. s he commented, it's a song that does seem to lend itself to the female voice, but Mark made it his own, and it sounded lovely.

Winner of the First Night of Lurve, Gordon warmed-up with , 'Cry For Me' and then his entry for the evening was 'Autumn Days', both songs written by him.



Should Be Banned were out in full this evenng with Sue on bass, Paul and Torgul on guitars and Paul and Sandi sharing vocals.
There was ony going to be one winner of the 'Special Relationship' spot prize that celebrated the great romance that is Theresa May and Donald Trump. Their entry for the competition didn't fair quite so well, it was 'All Over Now'


Jason was hedging his bets by playing both with Harriette and Rachael. Their warm-up was one we've heard them play many times, Carole King's 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow' their entry was much more surprising, taking on Kate Bush's 'Man With A Child In His Eyes'. This was the first time I think that they'd performed it in public and I hope it isn't the last, but gets added to their regular repertoire.


Pete Nash, who runs an open mic at The Bull, Clifton, paid us a visit and his warm-up was an untitled, self-penned teenage composotion. His entry was the wonderful George Harrison 'Something'. If there was a prize for audience participation, this one would have won it. (note to self for next year)

No Strings Attached, AKA Ken and Roland, had love songs in mind this evening as a distinct change from their folky songs and ragtime instrumentals. Warming-up with 'Careless Love' and 'Then I Kissed Her'.

Last act on the night was MDF. Sadly we were without Grandad Banjo who had the lurgy. Mark left his accordion in favour of his electric guitar, very effective on the warm-up 'Boys Of Summer' and the final entry of the night was 'Girl Crush'.

The photo was MDF with a bit of help from their friends singing 500 miles while the votes were counted..

Next month is a regular Open Music Night.

Night of Lurve Rules

Open Music Collective – Night of Lurve – Love Song Competition - Terms and Conditions (small print, smaller print and dubious financial implications in barely intelligible legalese gobbledy gook )

The first year's winner, Gordon

The 'Night of Lurve' Love Song Competition is open to all, however, as the competition is held in a licensed premises and one of the prizes is Champagne, anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Should they be successful, the responsible adult will receive any alcoholic prize on the under-age competitor's behalf.

Harriet, 2016 

For the purposes of this competition, the definition of what constitutes a 'love song' is loose. The voting audience will determine its worthiness.

The winning entries are determined by audience and performer vote. Each nomination for 1^st and 2^nd choice is counted and the total scores per performer are added together to determine the winner. There is one nomination form per person.

Points are awarded as follows:

Best performance (1^st choice) scores 2 points, Second best (2^nd choice) scores 1 point.

The total points for all performers are added together and the highest scoring pair are identified as 'Winner' and 'Runner-Up'. In the event of a tie, the performer with the highest number of first choices wins. In the event of this being tied, the Master of Ceremonies decides the final order. There is no right of appeal.

Mick Bisiker, 2017

Other awards will be identified as and when applicable and awarded in accordance with the declared criteria..

All audience members and performers will be invited to nominate their preferences.

Performers can vote for themselves, even if they don't really deserve it, but in the spirit of fun and friendship please vote for what is, in your honest opinion, the 'best' performance on the night.

In the event of the prize being won by a band or duo etc., the prize is awarded to the act and it is up to the performers as to how it is shared. If a performer is appearing as solo, but has some backing support, this should be declared on entry.

Lew Bear winner 2018

The number of slots is limited due to time constraints and the requirement to achieve best sound quality for each competitor. Position on the list is determined by first come first served, so arrive early to guarantee a place. Previous winners (even Gordon) are welcome to compete.

One entry per act, though a person might appear more than once if they are performing in separate acts. i.e. as a solo performer and as a member of a band.

Entry to the competition is at the discretion of the organiser. Late entries (after the competition has started) may be permitted if slots are still available, at the discretion of the organiser. Slots are of around ten minutes duration to allow for setting up, sound checks and volumes, and for the warm-up piece and performance piece. Therefore, the evening is limited to around twelve acts.

Last one at The George, Kilsby, 2019 Winner, Dangerous Derrick

First Prize – Bottle of Champagne and Winner's Certificate

Second Prize – Box of Roses chocolates and Runners-Up Certificate

Other prizes, as announced on the night.

In the event that someone is deemed to behaving in a manner likely to result in dispute, i.e. canvasing votes or attempting to unfairly influence proceedings; poor sound or stage set-up, dissatisfaction at position in the running order; quality of prizes; size of certificate; in fact, almost anything; the complainant will be reminded that this is supposed to be for fun.

The Open Music Collective and its logo are subject to trademark and cannot be used/reproduced without the owner's permission.

No responsibility can be accepted for loss or damage to instruments or equipment either by Mediterranean Knees or The George, Kilsby.

By entering the competition, performers are deemed to be in agreement with these terms and conditions.

Rules on the night

Each participant has two songs. Their first is a warm-up to allow for sound levels, the second is their entry. The vote is on the second song only.

After the last performance of the evening, audience members, whether performing or not, are invited to nominate their favourite and second favourite performances.

After a short interval, while the results are calculated, the winner will be announced and prizes awarded. In previous years the winner has performed their winning song again, or something else if they choose.

Issue 1, Jan 2017
Issue 2, Nov. 2017
Issue 3, Dec. 2017
revised, Dec 2018

All I want for Christmas is Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

The Xmas Warm-Up at The George, Kilsby, is one of my favourite nights of the year. Radio 2 has begun playing the Christmas songs; well all except that one. It is a bit early for the office party, but there is a sense that the festivities can legitimately get under way.

After the usual welcome, I settled down to open the evening's performances with a couple of my songs. The first is my second Christmas Song, 'Santa Never Looked So Good' and then a reflection on finding myself in an old and familiar place that feels very different with the passage of time. This one was called 'Old Town Blues' and was written towards the end of this year.

Getting the Fender to hold its tune was a nightmare. A long day in the back of the van meant that once in the warm it moved all over the place. The Martin, which I'd ony brought along for playing with MDF, was unaffected, so it became my instrument of choice for the evening. In the second half I sang a seasonal 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' and Neil Diamond's 'Solitary Man'

Our next performer was Steve Edgar, now an established feature at The George. If anyone is going to get away with a bit of Beatles, it is Steve, who carries off the vocals with ease. Tonight we had a bit of George and a bit of John with 'Isn't It A Pity' and 'Imagine' before ending his first set with Neil Young's  'After The Gold Rush'. His second half offerings were Jeff Buckley's other song, 'Song To The Siren' and 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' Steve's being a cross between Isreal Kamakwawiwo'Ole and Eva Cassidy


Paddy Wex was third up on stage this
evening and entertained as usual with a range of songs from the sublime to the ridiculous. His own compositions topical as ever dealt with the season, 'Good King Whatsislad', the political 'You Chose Trump Voluntarily ( to a tune by Purcell) and 'Speciesism' a guide to political correctness that encompasss the feelings of all sentient beings. The sublime components were written by others, Tom Paxton's 'Last Thing On My Mind' and Ralph McTell's beautiful 'Nanna's Song'.

It was a pleasure to welcome back Brian and Alan. They were meant to be second up, but when I looked in their direction to call them to the stage Alan was just tucking into his dinner, and Steve stepped in. Still, they were worth the wait as they entered into a shared double slot.

Between them across the two sets they sang and played 'The Rocky Road To Dublin 12345', The lovely Alan Bell 'Windmills', 'The Black Leg Miner', is well known to The George audience, it being one of the MDF regulars, but Alan's vocals and frame drum accompaniment gave it a menacing feel; 'The Flower of Sweet Strabhane', 'It's A Working Man I Am', 'Dance Oh Dance Kate O'Neil', 'Spancil Hill' The Rout of The Blues' and one that involved a lot of 'whack fol de do foll de diddly I de day' but the title of which escaped me once again.


The Greengrass lineup this evening included the fabulous voice of Lauren. Their first song 'Wild Goose' gave my goosepimples.
Their second song I missed the title of, but it was a moving song. I tried to google the lyrics without success, so when I see Keith or Kate in the New Year I will be asking.
They ended their first half set with a rousing 'Old Salty' and the goose pimples were back in the second half with the Fairport Convention
'Who Knows Where The Time Goes' and 'Dance Me'

Roland had come out for an evening of audience participation, little realising that leaving his guitar at home would offer him no protection.
He borrowed my guitar for his ragtime medly 'For The Folk At The Oak' and gave us a couple of a cappella songs. 'The Dark Eyed Sailor' and the amusing 'Rottenstall Annual Fair'.

MDF were very light this evening with Ross, Mark and myself.
We performed Fisherman's Blues, Mud's 'Lonely This Christmas' and the evening's finale was an MDF favourite, 'Wagon Wheel', which we delivered enthusiastically with a little help from our friends.

Keep your eyes peeled for the review of 2016 and I look forward to welcoming the start of a new year with the February open music night, our famous 'Night of Lurve' love song conpetition, Friday 3rd February.

Bangers and Mash

There was standing room only again at The George; this time for the celebration of our 3^rd Bangers and Mash Night. The consumption of Maggie's delicious bangers and mash interrupted the normal proceedings. No one wanted to be called to the stage whilst they had a face full of sausage, or gravy dribbling from their chin, so the order of performances was chosen in order to catch performers before their dinner arrived, or wait until they had had time to digest. Fortunately one or two had come along early so we didn't have long to wait between performers. The greatest difficult was getting too and from the stage area because of the diners.

I kicked things off with a new song
about marital disharmony; a song that
acknowledges the impact of those two little words, 'Don't Start!'. This was followed by old favourites (well mine anyway) 'Under The Patio', requested by my good friend John and 'In The Woods (Like Bear Grylls)'.

'Dangerous' Derek Mayer demonstrated how and why he gained his sobriquet by bringing down the back cloth, which never recovered its previous taughtness but remained resolutely droopy for the whole evening, and then crashing his pa equipment into the overhead

lighting gantry as he tried to leave quietly without drawing attention to himself. Still his time on stage was well spent, and we enjoyed his mastery of the technical wizardry. He opened with the first part of Queen's 'Bohemian Rapsody', but stopped, expecting us to be relieved that he wouldn't be hogging the mic for the next ten minutes, but I think that we were all a little disappointed and had readied ourselves for helping him out with the 'Gallileo Gallileo Gallileo Figaro.…..'. Instead he channelled his inner Freddie and gave us a 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love', followed by Brian Adams romantic 'Baby I'm Amazed By You'. You've been married two months now Derek, you can stop now, you're making the rest of us look bad. There's been an increase in the appearance of Bob Marley on the set lists at The George and Derreck joined the ranks with his cover of 'Three Little Birds'. Audience participation was essential for the 'der der der der der der der'.

Nigel and Darren were back again, but this time they were accompanied by Hedley on violin – Nigel started with a cover of T-Rex's 'Life's A Gas', Darren was singing for Bob Dylan's 'Knocking On Heaven's Door'. Their final offering of the night was another Sterophonics cover, 'Hangbags And Gladrags'. A couple of months ago, I introduced Nigel as Lewis, he was very gracious about it. Tonight, I introduced him as Martin, the make of his guitar. He was very gracious about it. Next time Nigel!

It was the first time we had seen traditional folksters Brian and Allan. I didn't have time to introduce them properly as once the sound was deemed ok Brian was off and into his first song. I

didn't catch the title, but it contained many 'foll diddles'. Their second was much more familiar, 'Spancil Hill', and then a lively 'Rocky Road to Dublin 12345', a song guaranteed to drain the breath of all but the most skillfull singers.

Allan, to just the sound of his own drum accompaniment, sang the song of The Dirty Blackleg Miner; his accent and demeanor lending a brooding authenticity to the performance. In 1844 a national lockout was brought down by 'Blackleg' miners, and it hardly seems thirty years since the NUM dispute was ended in a similar fashion.

Tonight we had two Steves; the first was our regular performer, Steve Edgar, who declared his songs would be full of teenage angst. His first, 'You've Got Your Troubles I've Got Mine'. This was follwed by Frank Sinatra's 'My Way', but not the angry Sid Vicious version. His final song was the lesser known Kinks B-side 'I'm Not Like Everybody Else' Bar The Kinks it was a bit light on the anst in the end, but well delivered and much enjoyed non the less.

It as great to see Peter and Shirley again. This evening they asked to be introduced under the name of Stained Glass Bluegrass, and they were joined by Keith, who used his double bass to dramatic effect. I love their pace and harmonies, especially when they give familiar songs the bluegrass treatment. They began with Gordon Lightfoot's 'Redwood Hill', 'Sea of Heartbreak', Alison Krouse & Union Station's 'Too Late To Cry'.

Roland goes Cob Coaling

 

The other Steve, Steve Bates, is a regular performer at Folk at The Oak, Crick I wish I was in Carrick Fergus, his own David Bowie tribute, which I think was called 'Put on Your Red Shoes and Dance The Blues' and the touching story of his meeting with his son, years after he emigrated to New York called 'Thirty Years On'.

Roland was on his own this evening singing 'Ain't Nobody's Dirty Business', and then playing a ragtime medley called 'For The Folk at The Oak'. Finally, he put down his guitar, to sing an old Lancashire Bonfire Night song, 'Cob Coaling', with considerable support from the audience during the chorus.

Crow's Feet were next up.  I've finally come to terms with the Greengrass/Crow's Feet distinction. Even though there are the same people on the stage there is a difference in material and sound. Ian is the principle vocalist I aint ever satisfied, Moon Over Memphis, It's Not Unusual, Country Girls, Paranoid "It is a rock club after all"

The battery pack decided to die on Ian's skeletal guitar, so he borrowed my accoustic, unplayed up to this point this evening. For some reason, it was as quiet as his had been post battery death, but a quick twiddle of the guitar's volume put things right. I had turned it down when playing with MDF at Yelvertoft Marina. A problem with the sound deck set up meant that my guitar was the loudest instrument on the stage. I had forgotten to turn it back up.

With a little bit of time left for a few more performers it was Brian and Allan that stepped up with Brian giving us a couple of delightful Irish songs, 'Dance Around The Spinning Wheel', and 'Martha, The Fower of Sweet Strabane'.

Allan then finished with The Band Played Waltzing Matilda, our only Remembrance Day related song of the evening. Kate provided a timely finger, to scroll the song up on the tablet.

So as not to end the night on a sad note, we played out with an ensemble, and in the absence of MDF, took a couple from their song sheets and we sang 'Baton Rouge' and finished on 'Wagon Wheel'. There's a bit of video footage of this if you'd like to see.

Rock me Mama like a . . . . .

I hope you can join us for our last evening of the year, as we begin the warm-up to Christmas. The first event of 2017 will be February's 'Night of Lurve', a chance to blow the dust of those romantic ballads, love songs and smut.

Rocktober at The George

The October Open Music Night could only be quiet by comparison following The Birthday Bash, but not as quiet as I'd thought, with six performing combinations.

My No.1 Roadie was absent for the setting up, so Narla helped as best she could, and I set up as much as she would let me.














It was great to welcome back Bluegrass duo, Pete and Shirley, our old friends Torgul and Sandi, Keith and Kate (Greengrass lite) MDF (also lite) and Paddy (full fat version).


As is customary for the open mic MC, I opened proceedings, starting with my song 'The Canary in The Coal Mine Isn't Singing Any More'. Having sung it a couple of times it has become well enough known now that there was a very satisfying contribution to the chorus from the assembled audience. Ross was then invited to give me some rythm and accompany me on the cajon for 'Spade' and then 'In The Woods (Like Bear Grylls). Strumming on the electric guitar is still a bit problematic for me and I inadvertently switched pick-up part way through a song. I have no trouble in knocking the lever down, but haven't been able to move it back without distrupting the performance.

The second half was kicked off by Ross on vocals and cajon, with a short harmonica intro, and John (Grandad Banjo) on banjo, with a single song; William Elliot Whitmore's 'Diggin My Grave'. It was the first time I'd heard them perform it, so don't think it was well rehearsed, but it was very nicely delivered. I won't be sorry to hear it again. Ross stayed on stage to help me with Bob Dylan's 'Forever Young' and Neil Diamond's 'Solitary Man'.


Next up was Torgul and Sandi. They went Old Skool, singing 'Side By Side' and the jazz standard 'I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby' before hurtling forwards to the nineteen sixties with The Kinks, 'Lazing on a Sunny Afternoon'. Their second half performance consisted of a slice of 'Appalachian Mountain Pie' and the Beatles 'When I'm Sixty Four'.

Its was lovely to have Pete and Shirley with us again. There is something about the harmonies in bluegrass that gets right under the skin, and this evening, these pair were bang on the money. Tonight, they had the added benefit of being joined by Keith on his double bass; and while he was difficult to spot, his presence on stage was certainly felt. They gave us a taste of things to come with a late soundcheck, so we knew they'd be good. Their opening was 'Gone To Carolina', Neil Sedaka's 'Breakin Up Is Hard To Do' works really well in the bluegrass style and then the more traditional 'Blue Trail of Sorrow'. Their second half performance included the spiritual 'I'll Bear My Cross' and after Pete had a brief game of hunt the capo they finished with 'I'm leaving town'.

Back on stage with MDF, my lack of recent practice was apparent. Sorry chaps (and Tracey). There was just Ross, Tracey, John and myself tonight and we opened with Sea of Heartbreak, described by Ross as possibly the slowest ever performed by MDF. A bit more on the money was 'Bad Moon Rising, and then we
finished our first set with Tracey singing There's a Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis. Our second half was better, not because Tracey had to leave after the break, but a much more familair pair of songs for me, starting with 'Long Way Home' and then Keith and Kate joined us for a rousing 'Waggon Wheel'.

Ive missed Paddy, who hasn't been around much over the last couple of months, and he was as delightful as ever in his irreverence. Donald Trump's performance in the American
Presidential Elections continues to give 'Donald The Demagog' to the tune of Nelly The Elephant mileage, relevance and new lyrics. This song just gives and gives. Somehow, even after the election, which he might still go on and win, I don't think we'll have heard the last of this song for years to come. His second offering was a critique of the advice given by health experts and so-called nutritional advisors; 'Instructions From The Food Police' and his final offering of the set was a song inspired by Theresa May and The Brexiteers ( a good name for a band that); the chorus being "Bullshit is bullshit, it's just a scornful metaphor, we seldom mean it literally as a pile of bovine poo, but sometimes things aren't so clear, so is it true Prime Minister,does Brexit mean Brexit or is that just bullshit too"

The performance of the evening had to be Paddy's second half set. His 'Let's like call the whole thing off', was a beatiful song about the distance between generations and the language that separates them, a subject I know only too well, and then his parody of Neil Diamond's 'I'm a Believer', 'I'm a Retriever'. 


Keith and Kate (Greengrass lite) brought the first half of the evening to a close with  Townes Van Zant covered by Don Williams and Emilou Harris performed beatifully. Dance Me their hippy anthem Alternative Routes, Nothing More and they ended the evening 'Summer Fly' and  a lively 'New York Girls'.

 Next month is our 3rd Bangers and Mash Night, with selection of sausages and choice of mash.