Posts

Mad March Mayhem and Music at The Arnold Arms

Image
I knew that it was going to be a busy night, but I had no idea just how busy. As the evening approached I got the usual messages telling me that someone might be there, or maybe not this month. On the night itself, as I was running the last cables and Ali from Monday Nights was setting up his drum kit, I was counting the performers coming in, both old friends and new, and it occurred to me that I might not be singing after all. There were also three bands, and that is quite a lot to deal with. Shirley and I are familiar enough with MDF to get them on stage and playing quite quickly now, (what do you mean they always play quite quickly) but the other two were going to be more of a challenge and once more Shirley was much relieved to have Craig on hand to help with the mixing desk. The opening performance went to Monday Nights, a local four piece band comprised of Alixe, Ellis, Jacob and Ali. It was a milestone for them, their debut performance and a milestone for us, our f...
2 comments
Read more

All My Lurvin'

Image
Kristy warms up on The Old Town Road with Ross; on her own for her entry. It was with mixed feelings I received the news that we wouldn't be able to hold a Night of Lurve this year. Matt and Tina's plans for the pub meant that the pub would be closed until the middle of February. The good news was that the performance area was going to move, away from in front of the fire and bar, to the end of what is now the games area; a vast improvement for performers and audience alike. I put the word out and thought about what we might do instead. Then, out of the blue, following a phone call from Matt, it was back on. A delay in starting work meant that Friday the 7th of February, the first Friday in February and our first event of 2020 could go ahead after all.    Mike and John recreate the spirit of 2019 A little bit of lurgy, and the late notice that the event was back on, meant that performer numbers were a bit down on previous years, but the atmosphere was as warm as ever...
Post a Comment
Read more

What an end to the year!

Image
What an end to the year! Given that it started with a large question mark hanging over us, and included a couple of months in the wilderness without a venue. It finished on a very high note with a wonderful evening of music and song in a pub that has made us very welcome and has atmosphere in abundance. So, to the evening itself. A rather nice festive window dressing had been installed across the rear of the performance area, and the surrounding Christmas lights reflected in the glass made for a very sparkly stage setting, so we went without the usual black back-drop and presented our backs to the outside world. My opening contributions to the evening were  "Caffeine and Nicotine" and then a seasonal reflection inspired by the shop window of Ann Summers in Coventry, called "Sad St Nicholas". 'Caffeine and Nicotine' features on a CD, recorded earlier in the year at Born In A Barn Studios. The artwork has all been done, so sometime early in the new year ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Inadequate Superlatives Abound

Image
I had been looking forward to this open music night for months. In the summer, Shirley and I had visited the acoustic stage at Coventry's Godiva Festival to see The Danny Ansell Band perform. They were good, and well worth the effort. But, before they came on, we saw someone else that blew us away with the quality of her voice and the liveliness of her performance. I suggested to Shirley that she would make a cracking Open Music Night Guest if we could persuade her to come and play for us before the inevitable stardom catches up with her, and we did. For a variety of reasons it had to be November or nothing. We were a bit late getting our open mic performers through. There was a late addition to the list and then some technical issues with Brian's guitar meant that  we were half an hour late in inviting Taylor Louise to the perfromance area. As we expected, she did not disappoint, from the moment she kicked off with a cover of Gnarls Barkley's Crazy, and her own songs ...
Post a Comment
Read more

When The Magic Happens

Image
There was an atmosphere at The Arnold Arms that was difficult to define, but it certainly had an impact on audience and performers alike. Along with the warm and friendly welcome received from Matt, Tina and staff there was something else going on. It might have had something to do with the average age on stage, which was much lower than usual. It might have been the variety of performances, or the number of female vocalists, which was higher than usual, that lifted the mood to the height of the roof. Or, it might have been the number of supporters that the performers brought with them to provide the much appreciated encouragement. Whatever it was, this music night has something special about it and that something special was in abundance on the October Open Music Night. George opened with his own composition, 'Running With Scissors', and then  a cover of The Kingsmen's 'Louie Louie', which was covered by Motorhead in 1978.  Louie Louie by Motorhead ...
Post a Comment
Read more