June is bustin out all over

When a couple of regular OMC said they wouldn't be able to make June's Open Music Night I thought I was in for a quiet night. Wrong! There were ten performing acts of solo performers, duets and bands, and after a quick headcount it became apparent that they were outnumbered by the audience and it was standing at the back for quite a few.

In celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the release of The Beatles' 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band', the interval and changeover music was provided by the Fab Four (not in person, obviously).

We started bang on time, just ten minutes late, and I opened with Bob Dylan's 'All Along The Watchtower. It is a lovely, simple song, but it needs to have a harmonica on the go, so maybe for next time, unless I can persuade Ross to step in. My second was my own, 'Hole'. It was lovely to have a few people singing along, though this might suggest I need to rest it for a while. There's only six months to go before I can sing 'Under The Patio' again.


Second up was John and Mike. They gave a very accomplished performance of The Beatles, 'Lady Madonna' and Cat Stevens (I know he's changed his name, but he'll always be Cat to me.) 'Moonshadow'. Mike has a very distinctive voice, and when he picks the right song he can stop the room. Tonight's songs were both on the money.
Their second half contribution was a parody of Knocking on Heaven's Door with the story of a Welshman who wouldn't get out of bed and the many attempts to wake him; 'Knockin' On Evan's Door'.



Pete and Marianne dived into the nineteen seventies with two cracking tunes. Their first, with Pete singing, was ELO's "Telephone Line", which hurtled me back to my school days. This was followed by Richard and Linda Thompson's "I'm Only A Poor Little Beggar Girl", which Marianne appeared authentically angry in. I did struggle with the mic levels to capture Marianne's voice, as she had a tendency to keep the microphone just a little too far away. But for all that, it was a lively and enjoyable performance.



Next up, fresh from his triumphant sell out concerts, (well, it was raining outside so the beer tent was nice and full on the Monday when we saw him,) at The Crick Boat Show was Dangerous Derrick Meyer, along with his magnificent pedal arrangement. AKA The Mother Ship.

Derrick has become increasingly slick in his performances, and even managed to pose and smile for his photo without missing a beat. However, he still has to master turning off the harmoniser before speaking to the audience.😉

His first song of the evening was The Eagles', 'Peaceful Easy Feeling'. For his second song,

Derrick was accompanied by Alex, who lent his voice to some very nice harmonies on The Rolling Stones' 'Last Time' before staying up for one of his own, the second Beatles song of the night, 'Blackbird'. Derrick and Alex were both up for another song in the second half of the evening. Derrick with the X-Ambassador's, 'Renegades' and Alex with Yazoo's 'Only You'.


We've seen Nigel a couple of times on his own recently, and it was good to welcome Darren back to The George, and henceforth, they are to be known as 'Odds and Ends'.

They began with the steady and soulful Bob Dylan's 'Knocking on Heaven's Door'. This was followed by 'Handbags and Glad Rags'. It's hard to believe that this was never a hit for it's writer or for Rod Stewart, and but for 'The Office' probably wouldn't have been a hit for The Sterophonics either. Still, it is a cracking song.



Though it took until the the second verse to shake off the Bob Dylan song as the initial chord sequence was very similar. Nigel was on his own in the second half, beginning with one of his own compositions, 'Day Dreamers' and then the sing along classic anthem, James' 'Sit Down' in which we enthusiastically joined in with at the necessary bits.

Allan brought his bodhran and his guitar with him this evening. His first song,  'Black Leg Miner', on the bodhran, is well rehearsed, and the underlying brooding menace was palpable. It certainly helps that he has the accent for it. His second offering was on the guitar, and that was Christy Moore's classic, 'Ride On'.

Another opportunity for the audience to join in came when Allan sang Rita Macneal's 'Working Man'; a song well known by a few of the regulars. Allan's final song of the evening was Allen Bell's 'Windmills'.

 Torgul and Sandi weren't able to make it this evening, so we were without Shud B Band. However, Sue did come, and with her came Paul and Andy. I'm not sure how they felt about being announced as Sooty, Sweep and Sue though.

Everything was 'alright' for them in the first half as they started with The Travelling Wilburys' 'Well It's Alright' and then followed it with Bob Dylan's 'Don't Think Twice, it's Alright'. The second half wasn't quite so optimistic, beginning with 'It's All Over Now'. Still, they ended on a good note with another crowd pleaser, Van the Man's 'Brown Eyed Girl'

 The star performer of this year's Love Song competition, Mick Bisiker came to see us again, and brought Nigel Ward with him. We were treated to a host of reels as well as one of Mick's own compositions 'Ball and Chain'. We had more of the same in the second half as Mick and Nigel played us out to the end of the evening, an eye watering 11.40pm

Mick mentioned that the band Rack 'n' Ruin are playing at The Napton Festival on 7th July.

MDF, bringing the first half to a close, were once again light on numbers, without Mark, Tracey or TCB.

It seemed a good idea to open with the song that we open and sound check with given that we have a gig coming up. So off we went with Arlo Guthrie's 'City of New Orleans' or as Ross says, "a song about a train". We do miss Brian and his locomotive whistle when he's elsewhere. This was followed by an uncharacteristically slow version of Guy Clarke's MDF favourite 'Wagon Wheel'.
With a few people needing to leave early we had an order shuffle. Our second half contribution was Pete St John's 'Fields of Athenry'.





Sadly, as I prepared this entry to the Kilsby Open Music Collective Blog I learned that folk legend Vin Garbutt has passed away. Many of us had seen him in concert over the years, and the world of folk music will be the poorer for his passing.





We are back for more fun on Friday, July 7th.

Acoustic Anarchy

HI George

Some notes on Friday

a select few attended with some audience toward the end who kindly said they were impressed by the performances.

Not everyone had read the email properly so some punk offers were under cooked or non existent

MDF kicked off without BJ or George or TCB, with London Calling, getting in early since George had "kindly" pointed everyone at it on the email link, we needn't have worried as... not everyone read the email... then followed by our offering a raggedy version of Town Called Malice, not helped by our busking mic failure so the Girl's vocals were a little lost.

Pete (from Clifton) with wife Marian kicked off with the Oasis Half the World away to warm up and then wacked into Julian Copes World Shut your mouth, a proper punk anthem.

Tugril and Sandy were guilty of not reading ht email and sang Side by Side followed by Blue Moon at a decidedly ordinary non punk speed.

Steve stepped up with a rendition of Paul Wellers Wild Wild Wood and then with what proved to be a winning performance of Psycho killer by the Talking Heads, complete with French lyrics.

Paddy gave us a song I wrote down but cant read my notes on and then Green Day's Good Riddance which we haven't heard him do for a long time, well done Paddy.

Finally Allan with 2 "l's" sang Ride on by Christie Moore and then Windy Harbour, Allan said, "what's punk?" (he didn't but he might have)

Psycho Killer Qu'est-ce Que C'est?

after a break we wheeled around again in the same order MDF : End of the line, Bad moon Rising and Long way Home

Pete and Miriam a lovely self penned song about their daughter leaving home and then Fat Bottomed Girls

T & S When I'm 64, a Ewan McColl song (no notes from me)and dedicated follower of fashion

Steve, bravely wearing the black bin bag of anarchy, awarded for the winning punk rendition gave us Dont Worry about a thing, a John Martyn song and Squeezebox (Who) and then Psycho killer again.

Paddy: Sam Stone, Sweet Baby James and El Paso

Allan: Blackleg miner on the Bodrum, Working man and Windmills

Most of the ensemble then got up for a rendition of Chip Shop and then
Wagon wheel. We were joined by a chap from the audience who asked if he could play the Cajon, his name might have been Chris but by then I was losing the will to live, anyway he sat down and battered the bloody living daylights out of the old girl. It transpires he lives in Kilsby and sells... musical instruments.

It remains to be seen if any of the artists or Chris are ever seen again.

We also had in attendance Mrs Fleming's third son, who unfortunately had a shoulder injury and couldn't join in, but made his presence felt by boosting Maggie's takings, every time I looked up he was at the bar, "mines a(nother) pint please Brian"

cheers

don't ever ask me to do that again

x

No fool like an old fool!

This was the second year for the All Fools' Open Music Night. The fact that April Fool's Day was the previous week didn't seem to dampen anyone's spirits, or limit the enthusiasm for the telling of jokes. In the blog will be some of the jokes from the evening as well as some of the light bulb jokes, just in case you missed them. The night's opening joke being; Two Irishmen walked into a bar and the landlord said "I really need to change those light bulbs". Mine didn't get any better than that, but there were some very funny contributions.

Tonight's new procedure for slot allocation went ok, with one or two opportunities for improvement. I started the ball rolling as per usual singing a couple of my more recent songs, 'Old Town Blues' followed by 'The Canary'; an appropriate song given that during this week America dropped the largest non-nuclear bomb in Afghanistan and it was declared legal to rent out a spare room in exchange for sexual favours, so legitimising the exploitation of vulnerable people in need of housing. Agreed it wasn't the most humorous beginning, but I knew that that would soon be put right. 

Next up, to his surprise, was Bob Deluce. The surprise came from drawing plectrum No.8 and assuming that meant that there were seven others before him. That he had drawn the lowest number and missed my running order announcement meant he was a bit thrown. Bob had brought his studio with him and required powering up and plugging in. This meant that he was tucked into the wall a bit. I'll make sure that there's a flying lead available for next time Bob. Bob's contributions to the evening were Gerry Rafferty's Shoeshine Boy and Beatles Back in The USSR. I have to say, the Gerry Rafferty song really suited Bob's vocals and sounded superb. Bob also receives the 'That Joke' award for his Gary Glitter joke.

Bob shares the running of an open mic night at The Royal Oak, Crick, with Derrick Meyer on the last Thursday of each month. Bob and Derrick provide the PA and you can benefit from some of their gadgetry, such as drum machine and harmonising effects if you wish.

#1 Roadie taping up the gantry harness 

Here's one for Shirley: How many roadies does it take to change a light bulb? One, two, one. two.

Tony was lent John's homing pigeon joke; What do you lose if your homing pigeon fails to return? The answer being just a pigeon.
His first song was a delightful innuendo laden 'Let's have a ride on your bicycle', by Max Miller. Between songs Tony (sorry, the very blurry photo was rejected by the editorial staff) announced that this year's Folk on The Water event includes an open mic evening at The The Boat Inn, Stockton, in aid of Zoe's Place Hospice. It takes place towards the end of June. Tony's second piece was printed on a sheet that was defying his eyes attempt to see the words, so he reverted to a song he knew by heart. Al Read's, 'Our Joe Won't be With Us Much Longer'. I was possibly the only one struck by the irony.

How many folk singers does it take to change a light bulb? Ten. One to change the bulb, one to play accordion, and the other eight to sing about how good the old one was.

The not so mighty MDF were without Ross, John and TCB tonight, and because Mike had to be away before ten thirty, and it looked like being a long night, we did a three song set, with me standing in for Ross singing Galway Girl, while Tracey sang The Travelling Wilburys' 'Handle Me With Care' and Don Henley's 'Boys of Summer'.

It was Mike that made MDF's contribution to the jokes; going something like "I was annoyed at my computer for not accepting my new password. It said it had to have eight characters, but wouldn't accept 'Snow White'.

How many men does it take to change a light bulb?  Just one good one, but we know how difficult they are to find.

Regular Collectivist, Steve, Was on form, his opening line being "Can I beat last year's Italian joke? Corsican" I was so busy chuckling about that, while mingling at the back that I didn't note down his first song. I know I enjoyed it, but when it came to writing up for the blog I couldn't recall it at all. His second was an excellent cover of Keen's 'Somewhere Only We Know' which he absolutely nailed. 

How many aerospace engineers does it take to change a light bulb? Look, it's not rocket science.

By special request we were treated to a six song set by Stained Glass Bluegrass.

There was the obligatory 'Man of Constant Sorrow'; which no Bluegrass set would be complete without , along with a few less familiar tunes, and a very impressive a capella which gave me goose pimples.

It was good to have a extended set from this accomplished band, and I hope it isn't too long before another band or performer does the same.

Their song list for the evening was:

Lonesome Road

Man of Constant Sorrow

Russian Mandolin instrumental

Lord, Don't Leave Me Here

I'll Bear My Cross

Cold Sheets of Rain by The Blue Dogs

Not only did they play an extended set, they also had an extensive repertoire of jokes, with each band member taking at least one turn. Some of them were clever, some of them were funny, some of them were clever and funny, but at least one was neither! The best one belonged to their American mandolin player who offered the following travel advice for those seeking to visit Southern Carolina. "Why are there so unsolved murders in South Carolina? Because they have few teeth and all share the same DNA." 

How many fishermen does it take to change a light bulb? It was this big, took at least five of us to get it in!

After a short break, that allowed me to tidy up what had become a very busy and cluttered stage, and untangle the mic and instrument cables, we had a three song debut from The Soul Sisters, Sue, Ange and Debs, who had come all the way from Napton.

Their performance included Sixpence Non The Richer's 'Kiss Me', Mamas and Papas' 'California Dreaming' and ended with the beautiful Tom Waits', 'San Diego Serenade'.

It was a very polished performance and I really enjoyed the close harmonies and I don't recall us having a sax here at The George. I hope that it isn't too long before we see them again.

How many members of the Labour Party does it take to change a light bulb? Just the one, if they have enough Momentum behind them.

How many cabinet ministers does it take to change a light bulb? None, the light bulb is not broken, in fact it is better than it was under the last Labour Government, and is getting brighter and brighter.

More first time visitors, Dave and Joy. When we spoke after they'd arrived Joy confessed to not singing as often to Dave's accompaniment as to backing tracks. They were a bit undecided as to whether they would perform or remain in the audience for the evening. Clearly they were encouraged by the friendly and supportive atmosphere, or by beer, and they came up to give us a couple of songs.

Their first song was from George Gershwin's Porgy And Bess, made famous as a jazz standard by Ella Fitzgerald; 'Summertime', and then a song written and performed by Leadbelly, and covered by many over the years including Johnny Cash and Creedence Clearwater Revival, 'Them Old Cotton Fields Back Home'.

How many opticians does it take to change a light bulb? One.... or two? One.... or two?

How many drill sergeants does it take to change a light bulb? "One two three one two three one.

How many opposition politicians does it take to change a light bulb? Fifty two, one to blame the Government for the chronic under funding that lead to the bulb failure in the first place and fifty one to go 'yah, yah, yah'.

Keith and Kate have visited us a few times in various band guises; their most recent being as The Hatstand Band. This evening they were minus Richard, their cajon player and backing vocalist. The Hatstand Band material is a bit darker than we're used to hearing
I'm not quite sure of the title of their first song or who wrote it. It was something like 'River is Rising'. Their next was Justin Cross' 'Drink The Water'.
One we all recognised was Dorothy's 'Why Did Love Put A Gun In My Hand' which they've played many times, allowing us to sing along.
Finally, they ended their set with 'Too hard, too long'. When Keith said that searching Google for this song he got in a lot of trouble. So did I. Keith also provided what I thought was the funniest line of the evening. My wife asked me to pass her the lipstick, I misheard and passed her a glue-stick. She still isn't speaking to me.

From Kate. How many clinical psychologists does it take to change a light bulb? Non, the light bulb must want to change.

Tony adds a bit of uke authenticity to Baton Rouge

To finish the evening we had an ensemble for Baton Rouge.

How many Republicans does it take to change a light bulb? Three. One to hire a Mexican to do it, and two to deport the Mexican once the bulb has been changed.

How many divorcees does it take to change a light bulb? None, the bulbs went with the house.



Ross is in command for the May Open Music Night, while I enjoy a continental wedding. He is very keen to hear some Punk anthems, so might even have a prize or two. There is no need to swear, or spit, or wear a bin bag, or have your nose pierced; and you don't even have to be angry about anything. Just have a listen to this if you are after a bit of inspiration. Here is a link to The Bad Shepherds. Bad Shepherds, London Calling

If I was coming, and I wish I was, then Iggy Pop's 'Passenger' would be one of mine. Perhaps if no one gets in first I might do it another day.

Just one last one. How many thriller writers does it take to change a light bulb? Two, one two screw it in almost all the way and another to give it a surprising twist at the end.

March 2017 Open Music Night

After the excitement of February’s ‘Night of Lurve’ love song competition, March’s Open Music Night seemed a much calmer affair; and with some of the regulars away on holiday, and the legacy of this Christmas’ lurgy still evident, it was good to see a couple of returning faces.

I opened with the first performance of a new song, ‘I'm Not Ready For You’.
There is a difference between singing at home and performing something in public, and I’ve already made a couple of tweaks following its outing. My next two were more familiar, both to me and the audience. They were ‘Old Town Blues’ and ‘Simple Life’.

Nigel Lewis was next up and, with a little help from Hedley on violin, Torgul (hiding) on percussion and Sue adding a very effective bass, performed Bob Dylan’s 'Knocking On Heaven's Door', followed by another classic, Ben E. King’s 'Stand By Me'. His last was a self-penned song. 'I'm Not Sure Any More'.

Folk at The Oak regular Steve Bates was back again. Tonight he nailed REM's 'Losing My Religion', and provided a couple of self-written songs. The first was 'You Make My Day' and the second was the very sad 'The Phone Keeps Ringing'; inspired by a personal experience.

Dangerous Derrick Meyer brought his own studio with him; with more pedals than a church organist would know what to do with. The effect of the effects is to give Derrick's performances the feel of a band, and an accomplished band to boot.

Derrick is so comfortable in his performances that he adlibs and tweaks the songs; and his comical asides can be delightful or infuriating depending on how much you love the song being performed. Tonight's offerings were The Eagles, 'Take It To The Limit', X Ambassadors 'Renegades' or Lemonade, (Derrick and Tracy's in joke), and Derrick's last song was the Lionel Ritchie classic, 'Easy'; with the audience, after a little coaxing, providing the 'ah ah ah!' Tonight he managed to make his exit without any drama, possibly because I’ve replaced the uprights to the lighting rig with longer ones, increasing the headroom by at least a foot.

Paul, Sandi, Torgul and Sue, AKA ‘ShudBBand’ were in the mood for some Creedance Clearwater Revival tonight. Starting with 'Stuck In The Middle With You' and followed by 'Have You Ever Seen The Rain' and then they covered Bob Dylan’s ‘Don't Think Twice, It's Alright'.

Tonight's performance was a bit shaky and it was apparent that it was clear on stage too. Whether it was the introduction of Torgul's Telecaster with amp at the back of the stage made it more difficult for the rest of the band to hear each other or not, it identified the urgent need of some monitor speakers. I’m on it! Having been in a similar situation with MDF at a recent gig where the sound system was supplied but not set up properly, I know how difficult it can be.

Mike, who hadn’t been sure if he would make it this evening, having just shaken of the worst of the lurgy, and John were next up. Mike is usually in strong voice, but tonight he wasn’t, as they say, on song. While their Cat Stevens' 'Moonshadow' was excellently performed, their Brian and Michael ‘Matchstalk Cats And Dogs' proved a bit of a stretch and Mike was defeated on The Fields of Athenry, as his voice began to deteriorate quite rapidly. It didn’t help when John produced a different version from the one they rehearsed. Hopefully, Mike will be back to full strength by Thursday’s Folk at The Oak. Sadly, John won’t be able to make April’s night so he got his joke in early.

MDF was barely recogniseable this evening, with no D, and no F;
but we did have an M, with Mark on accordion. John (Grandad Banjo) played banjo and guitar and I played guitar and stood in for Ross on vocals. I didn't do too badly, but not well enough for Ross to feel in any way threatened.

We kicked off with a well-known 'Wagon Wheel'. Well we would have had Mark got the right accordion strapped on; and he would have had if John put the songs on the stand in the right order. There’s nothing like looking professional. The Bob Dylan / Ketch Secor song was followed by The Waterboys ‘Fisherman's Blues’, which we seemed to do really, really slowly. The last song of our set was Woody Guthrie’s ‘Worried Man Blues’. The list of artists that have covered ‘Worried Man Blues’ is full of legendary performers. I’ll leave it there.

As always, Paddy delighted the assembly; this time with his Brexit based Christmas song, ‘The Turkey's Referendum’. It should remain topical at least until 2019, possibly much longer if the negotiations drag on as long as some suggest they might. His second was ‘Sing Like Johnny Cash’, in which he did sound remarkably like him. You can find this one on Youtube, but to save you looking, and I’m sure he won’t mind, here’s the link.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3RCbiFLygo

His last song of the set was ‘Fun With Birds’; a salutary tale about the apparently good ideas formed while under the influence of alcohol. It doesn’t matter how often I hear these songs I can’t help laughing.

Last but by no means least was Andy Rogers, who must have enjoyed himself
last month because he was back, travelling all the way from Napton. He treated us to a couple of self-penned songs. The first was ‘Friday Salvation’, and one written for his daughter when she was a baby ‘Don't Be Afraid of the Dark’. In between, like a cover sandwich, was Newton Faulkner’s ‘Dreams catch me’. As always, Andy’s delivery is flawless, an excellent ending to the first part of the night.

Balancing the number of performers, the number of songs and then squeezing them all in to the nominal three hours is one of the challenges of running an open mic. When folk arrive a bit late, the list is already drawn up and I don’t like having asked people for three songs to then reduce the number, especially when the early acts have had their go, so tonight the first half took us to half past ten, only enough time for a few more songs, but not from everyone. I think in future I’ll create
a list based on a finite number of slots so that early arrivers get more than those that slip in after the evening has started.

After some pretty dark and heavy tunes in the early part, the evening ended on a lively and up-beat note. Steve Bates accompanied once more by Hedley performed ‘San Francisco Bay Blues’. The only thing missing was a kazoo. ShudBBand continued their Credence Clearwater Revival revival with a rousing ‘Proud Mary’. Paddy, once more in jocular mood, provided dietary advice in his ‘Instructions from The Food Police’; a fabulously satirical side swipe at the nanny state’s attempt to encourage healthier eating. MDF were back with Guy Clarke’s ‘Baton Rouge’. To finish off the night, Paddy, Mike, Steve and Nigel came up for an impromptu 'Wild Rover', with Paddy in the driving seat and the rest of us trying to keep up.

Time is flying by this year, so I’m already starting to prepare for April’s Open Music Night. I say preparing, I need to find some jokes.

Thanks Shirley for taking the photographs.

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