Most of us had forgotten that this was the closest Wednesday before Halloween. Stuart, however, had not and gave us ‘All Skin and Bone’ in his usual engaging style, with some extra menace as befitted the material. We all fell for the shock at the end. Well done Stuart, and thanks for your tip about lantern walk at Aston Rowant on Saturday.
We welcomed Alan and Liz, usually to be found at Maidenhead, and their harmony singing. Their three songs were Kent and Keer and Lune, When the Snows of Winter Fall and Penny for the Ploughboys. Let’s hope that they enjoyed the atmosphere more than they felt cramped!
There were at least seven guitars present for the evening. It was the one owned by John that dazzled, with his instrumental piece Naked Ladies and Electric Ragtime, and in accompanying his singing of Big Bill Broonzy’s Trouble in Mind.
We also heard (in round the table order):
We’re at The Belle Vue next week. This is in the middle of their beer festival so we expect the start of the evening to be even more lively than it usually is there. We’ll set up a small PA system so we can be heard and will probably run the evening a bit more like an ‘open mic’ with everyone having longer turns – this will save changeover time as people step up to the kit!
We welcomed Alan and Liz, usually to be found at Maidenhead, and their harmony singing. Their three songs were Kent and Keer and Lune, When the Snows of Winter Fall and Penny for the Ploughboys. Let’s hope that they enjoyed the atmosphere more than they felt cramped!
There were at least seven guitars present for the evening. It was the one owned by John that dazzled, with his instrumental piece Naked Ladies and Electric Ragtime, and in accompanying his singing of Big Bill Broonzy’s Trouble in Mind.
We also heard (in round the table order):
- Dick: The Miller and the Maid, Ben Hall, Turkish Men of War
- Karen and Roger: Silver Dagger, Great Divide (which was preceded by a comic interlude as Roger played the intro the Here in California) and a first time for Roger accompanying Here is My Home, which Karen has previously sung unaccompanied.
- Martin: Paul McCartney’s I Will, Mary Chapin Carpenter’s He Thinks He’ll Keep Her and, a perfect song to finish the evening, Last Thing On My Mind
- Me (initially without Rosie): My Darling Asleep and Lord Inchquin on mandolin, ably supported by Richard
- Steve: first time out for Dan Fogelberg’s Old Tennessee and, be popular demand following Martin’s lead, Mary Chapin Carpenter’s Family Hands (AKA Weavers of the Cloth) – expect to see both in a Bottom Line gig soon
- Kerraleigh and Martin: Hank William’s Alone and Forsaken, The White Stripes Dead Leaves in the Dirty Ground, Johnny Cash’s Big River and Jonathon Rice’s Best To Keep It All Inside
- Richard: The shanty Serafina (excellent for joining in) and the slip jigs Boys of Ballysodare and The Butterfly of the low whistle
- Delia: Where Ravens Feed
- Delia and Stuart: Huntsman’s Chorus
- Simon and Roger: Madeleine’s Waltz
- Simon: Always to Galway/ List for a Sailor
- Rosie (late arrival) and me: Carole King’s It’s Too Late and White Petticoat / Out on the Ocean – we hadn’t actually practiced tunes so I was surprised that Rosie chose to play the trickiest jig we know
We’re at The Belle Vue next week. This is in the middle of their beer festival so we expect the start of the evening to be even more lively than it usually is there. We’ll set up a small PA system so we can be heard and will probably run the evening a bit more like an ‘open mic’ with everyone having longer turns – this will save changeover time as people step up to the kit!
The renovation has clearly worked – the pub was packed and very lively when we arrived. Those of us who had planned quieter material had to re-think and do sing-along stuff instead. So we heard things like Take Me Home Country Roads, The Boxer, The Old Kent Road & Waited As Long As I Can.