GHOSTS, GHOULIES and things that go bump in the night.

Well a roaring fire greeted us as we rolled into the Swan from the empty carpark, was this a sign of things to come? Unfortunately I left my phone at home and had no knowledge of any errant stayaways. However one by one a half dozen muso’s arrived and as we sat around the fire chatting time marched on, so buoyed by the heat of the fire we started. Chris Thompson having rattled through some old material at home(No he was into dressmaking!) some old music that he and his sparring partner Ian(I belong to Sunderland) broke with tradition and commenced the nights entertainment. Chris gave us a fine rendition of “Bell Book and Candle” a la Eddie Reader who actually wrote it as opposed to the comedy and stage show of the same name with just a dash of Boo Hewerdine who also covered it. Chris then gathered himself for a blast from the past a song by Richard Thompson “Persuasion” that he used to do with aforementioned Ian(see not here and still gets a mention on the blog) Although Chris mentioned he used to just do the twiddly bits, we thought he did a great version of a great song.in the second Half Chris gave us an instantly recognisable intro to Van The Mans “Warm Love” whose Sax Player Pee Wee Ellis gave me my first ever Saxophone lesson! Before rounding off his spot with a self penned song  I called it “Yesterday” but he called it the “Retirement “song all I know is that Kath took umbrage! Not at the song just the message. Well Done Chris and a shame we couldn’t get Lindsay to join you.

Blogger was up next and struggled tonight to find suitable material as was so tired nearly didn’t turn out (but was ultimately glad that he did) “Only our Rivers” was first followed by a first for Brian a WHOLE song played with a plectrum(Where were you Mike?)Ivan Drevers “If you took your Love Away” which Ivor wanted to submit as Orkneys entry to Eurovision. In the second half Sublime or Ridiculous was the Question ? Ridiculous was the answer so out came the butt of every joke in music circles “The Banjo” followers off the blog will be aware that this was inherited from a sadly departed friends kind family and Master Luthier Steve Agnew very kindly turned it L/H for me. Sadly lack of practice meant that my two tunes were blundered into “Maid behind the Bar “ and “St Annes Reel” before rounding off with Steve Forberts “It doesn’t have to be that way” Steve is an American singer songwriter from Early eighties.

Chris Patrick was next, and now establishing himself as a regular visitor admitted to being in morose mood commenced his set with an obvious cathartic song “Someone to Remember” (Chris apologised beforehand re its length……..THE SONG THAT IS!!!) It was full of angst and emotion and delivered as only the song writer could Excellent Chris.”Painting Faint Memories” was his next offering and even with his finger damaged a fine finger picking was in evidence. We then got embroiled in “Remorseless Morose” discussion to the point that I put that down as his next song title"if you knew my love" it was (Thanks Chris) but Chris definitely finished with a flourish with “Til the cows come home” well done Chris and that finger is not a hinderance!

Brian Rhodes (Cheeky Chappy)see last weeks blog. Was next and as an aficionado of David Gray there was no surprise that his first offering was indeed a rejigged version of Gray’s “The One I love” rejigged because there was a C.R.A.F.T moment as lines became confused but like the consummate player he is there was a pause and away we went with gusto. Brian then asked for some singing as The Eagles “Peaceful Easy Feeling” rang round the room with everyone joining in the chorus. Brian has the knack of making every thing seem so easy, and in the second half gave us to lovely instrumentals that have been named by the blogger Gan  Ainm#1 and GanAinm#2(Irish for no name) Excellent stuff again Brian and nice to see you making our night.

A surprise for everyone next not least Kath!! As she heard her name called as the next artist.

Unrehearsed or not Kath gave us “Motherland” by Natalie Merchant and a totally unrehearsed version of “Ride on” an Irish Classic delivered with aplomb, assisted?? By the blogger on guitar. Tanita Tickram’s Good Tradition was Kaths last input of the night and sparked a where is she now question Tanita that is not Kath. Thanks Kath and no excuse now for not being on the list regularly!!

Graeme MC Morrell was our final exponent of this wonderful guitar world, and threw me by starting with TWO unrelated songs……………first was a Julie Matthews song (Julie and Chris While) are well worth seeing if you get a chance. “Blue songs on a Red Guitar” which unfortunately were done on a Collings!!Humph but hey ho this was masterful stuff anyway. Followed by “The Devil in Me” about the Demonic Drink???????”  Free Fallin” a la Tom petty minus the band Drums ,Electric guitars and Tom but you get the drift! Was joined in by everyone, and wait for it a MC song “Fully Qualified Survivor” and the the End……………………………………………….. err ………………………………………….no Blogger wanted a final round up with everyone so we did” Saw her  standing there” and “Working at the Car Wash Blues” and finished the night off with “Bad Leroy Brown” Well done Graeme and everyone.

See you all the second week in JUNE!         

 BCW

NOTE DUE TO THE QUEENS JUBILEE DAY THE NEXT SESSION IS ON 12/06/12

Next Time Can I Have Your Playlist in Writing Please!

Question: How do you avoid doing the blog?

Answer:  Arrive at a different time to yours truly.

In accordance with more recent blogging convention I will classify by artist only without the old fashioned sub-categories of first and second half.

Brian “you ARE doing the blog Graeme” Wylie started things off with Trouble by Horslips (or did Brian say he was having trouble with his horselips), ably followed by what Brian referred to as Ballad of Anna’s Stare but which I believe is actually called Ballad of Cursed Anna. You really must try harder to get these things right Brian! Either way it was written by Jonathan Kelly. Brian’s second set started with an emotional moment as Brian recounted how he had become the owner of the sadly departed Dave Crolla’s (one of Brian’s former band mates) banjo. The family had asked him to have it as a memento and this was it’s very first outing. Now Brian always does a clever trick by playing instruments the wrong way round (right hand fretting, left hand plucking) but as this particular instrument was exactly how the right handed Dave played it, Brian played Jackie’s Reel and Star of Munster with the strings upside down as well – now that is a really good trick. Next we time see this particular instrument it will have the strings the right way around (for Brian that is, not for us normal people). Back to the guitar for the traditional Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond by Lady Elizabeth who, from what Brian was telling us, could well be his great great great grandmother.

A very warm welcome greeted Loudon John Daure III who had not been seen in these parts for quite some time. I suspect he has been too busy building a temple in honour of LWIII to come and visit us. The love affair (one way as far as I can tell) with Mr Wainwright continues to grow stronger to the extent that JD booked two of the best seats in the house for a close up encounter with his idol. He was getting a little worried that he had been ripped off as he had not received his tickets, so he booked another two of the best seats in the house. As happens in cases like this, all 4 tickets arrived in the post one morning! So JD has two spare tickets (or a lot of legroom) to see LWIII if anyone is interested but as there is just one snag – the concert is in America! I am starting to feel a bit of musical hero envy here as I only went to Otley to see Michael Chapman (although I bet LWIII doesn’t stay at your house after the concert!).

When JD eventually got round to playing he sang “You Don’t Want to Know” and “Aphrodisiac” both of which were well played and amused the audience. Unfortunately no second half appearance from JDIII as he had to get back to offer prayers to the Great Loudon.

The Gibson Brothers, otherwise known as Larry & Adrian, were next to take to the stage. This duo show real dedication to the cause with a neat red folder containing song sheets entitled “Swan Acoustic 2012”. It makes me wonder if, unlike the norm at SAS, they had been practicing. A laid back version of “Substitute” was their first offering – a very enjoyable and unusual take on the old Who number (and The Who are old now!). “Lyin’ Eyes” (Eagles) closed the first set. To open the second set we had “She Rides Wild Horses” by The Povertyneck Hillbillies (who?!!) with Larry playing some particularly nice harmonica. No Gibson Bros set-list would be complete without something from Leonard C. The set was therefore complete with “That Don’t Make it Drunk”. All good stuff.

John Nixon up next and unusually not playing immediately before, immediately after or at the same time (usually the same song) as JD. This was as a result of Mr N needing a comfort break just when he was due to start (I think it might be an age related thing). There were some mutterings from the audience about John possibly not being able to perform (musically!) due to a recent 4 hour jam session but as it turned out the extra practice (ahh – so it’s not just the Gibson Bros!) had been beneficial as he rattled off very good versions of “Hootchie Coochie Man” and Springsteen’s “The River”. No second half from JN as (in his own words) he “had to get his father back home” (JDIII).

Welcome back Chris Patrick – it seems to have been a while since we last saw you. Chris has been having a bit of a problem with his right index finger following a minor accident (involving a closing door if I recall correctly) and he seemed to take great delight in holding it up in front of the audience to demonstrate how bent it now is – I even thought he was going to get a straight edge out at one point. Chris almost always performs his own songs and that was certainly the case tonight. “A lot of catching up to do” is Chris’s version of Haydn’s Surprise Symphony where the audience is gently lulled into a near sleep like state (some were at that point before he even started!) by a gentle ballad that I could imagine Elvis singing, only to be woken by the last chorus  which was blasted out Fortissimo! Having woken everyone up we were then treated to “An Old Man Keeping the Cold at Bay”. In the second half “Another Feather From Our Wings” and “Amanda Bell” were two more compositions served up by Chris. Overall four very good songs , collective more mellow than we are often used to (just an observation).

Now it was Pam Johnson’s turn. The Phil Ochs song (note the spelling – isn’t the internet wonderful!) “Remember Me” was her first offering. I have never heard of this performer before (Phil not Pam) and it was interesting reading up on him on t’internet. This was followed by “Drink” from (no surprises) Mary Gauthier. This was a good version by Pam which became even better when she removed the capo to get it in the correct key! To start the second half we had “You Only Believe Me When I’m Lying” by Zoe Muth and the Lost High High Rollers (where do they get these names from – it’s been a nightmare sorting out all the spellings for this blog!). This was a double first for Pam – first time she has played the song and first time standing up. It was very good – all that practice in the half time interval was worth it! I have to admit that the next song has got me stumped. It was by Eileen (Eilen, Ileen etc) Duel (Duval, Duvel, Dual etc) and is called Wreckless (Reckless). Whatever it was I cannot find out anything about it – but it was very good!

It was good to see Brian Rhodes returning after his first SAS outing last time, although on that occasion he was accompanied by a young lady. This time he was on his own (which rather reminds me of what happened to me when I first started coming – my good lady has only been back once since and that was only because she thought that my daughter who also came might sing!). Anyway Brian is a very good performer and, as we found out during the evening, a gifted songwriter. He has a bit of a “cheeky chappy” air about him and I can’t help but think of Norman Wisdom as he takes to stage (meant in a nice way!), although Mr Wisdom never sang David Gray as well as Brian. From the songs he has played so far I suspect Brian is a big David Gray fan. “Babylon” was the opening number. This was followed by “Your Kiss” which was written by B Rhodes and very good it was too. “Leaving on a Jet Plane” started the second spot and this was followed by another B Rhodes number entitled “Dance”. All in all a very good performance – please keep coming back.

Paul Duff used to be a regular at AA (no – not a drink problem but Addingham Acoustic, before SAS was set up) but I think this is the first time he has been to SAS so welcome back. It appears that Paul writes all his own songs (well if he didn’t write them they wouldn’t be his own I hear you say – you know what I mean!) and very good they are too. In the first half we had “Juvenile Lies” and “Sammy’s Bar”, the latter having a verse written by someone else and the chorus written by Paul (or maybe the other way round – it’s not easy being the blogger, particularly on a night like this!). The second set comprised “How Long” and “Over My Head”. I may have made this point before, but as a blogger you always try and get the names of the songwriter. Obviously there are a number of songs that I have not heard before and I continue to be amazed when, upon being asked “who wrote the song?” I get the reply “I did”.

Blogger up next with “I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty and “Piano Man” by Billy Joel in the first half and “Room of Roots” an instrumental by Al Stewart (from Zero She Flies LP) and Sir Michael Chapman’s Bon Temps Rouler (let the good times roll).

And the good times did roll as it was another great evening of music. But SAS would not be complete without James “The Juke” Porter who rounded off the evening in style with Donovan’s “To Sing For You”.

Look forward to seeing you all on 15^th May.

GM

Spammed Again!

Good Morning all, Graeme is doing this weeks Blog, please call back later for the latest episode of our musical soap.

THE ATTACK OF THE CLONES OR JOHN DAURE’S WORST NIGHTMARE!!!

This evening had all the hallmarks of being a quiet night as Pam wasn’t coming, I hadn’t heard from Mike, and I knew John or as he is now known as Phillip (fillup) was on his way to Spain. So we opened the door of The Swan and there was a Birthday party around the fire, not wishing to intrude we encamped over by the window and waited………………………….

We didn’t have to wait to long as a newcomer was next in Brian Rhodes, (you see John your worst nightmare TWO Brians. After the introductions we sat and waited and sure enough Ten musicians turned up including Mr Ian( news of my death are somewhat exaggerated  ) Pucknall…. Welcome Back Ian and a Big Hello to Brian.

Blogger got the night off as always and as I like to leave the bar low started with nothing that I intended having studied my songbook on the way over, it was discarded in favour of Christy Moores’ “The Contender” followed by Jack Savorettis’ “Dr Frankenstein” Modesty prevents me from stating how fantastic it was (or at least I thought it was). Next up was the first of our double acts Larry and Adrian aka “The Gibson Brothers” and although I was already drooling at what may come from his Bobships hand. They decided to go for Robbie Robertsons “The Weight” the chorus of which always raises a wry smile. The dynamic duo then headed into Drifters quarter with a fine rendition of “Under the Boardwalk complete with Harmonies. Great stuff and a precursor to what was to come later.

James Porter next and having come in early for a change and resplendent with guitar under his arm automatically moved up the line-up (James did point out that he was up at 4am to get to work so as he could attend Swan Acoustic. Now that is dedication!!!. James started with a Gerswin number from Porgie and Bess “Summertime” a slightly different interpretation of this classic but done as only James can,With Style. James then took us to Jamaica for his next offering with Bob Marleys’ “No Woman No Cry” AND he played with a Capo!(I blame that Mike Craig and Gizmo)

Our New comer was next up Mr Brian Rhodes who had previously informed us he last played in Addingham about 30 Years ago and now felt safe to return albeit after some plastic surgery and a name change (Sorry Fred your secret is safe with me). Brian although a tad nervous gave us a great version of Donovans “Catch the Wind” and then proceeded to enthral the blogger with a cracking song unheard of by me The Script’s “Going back to the Corner” what a great start for this new /old face, and more to come. Len Harvey mad a tentative entrance this evening and although Len hadn’t been around for a while stated that he felt he may have lost his Mojo? Well……………….

After listening to Tom Paxtons “Hold onto Me Babe” and John Prines “Souveniers” (I have to say that this was a favourite of my dear departed friend Dave Crolla) I closed my eyes and let the song take me to numerous pubs and clubs where the aforementioned Dave and Kath and myself had been. Thanks for the Memories Len and believe me you haven’t lost your Mojo! (Sadly Len had to miss the second spot)

Graeme Morrell next up and safe in the knowledge that he wasn’t having to do the blog relaxed into “Hurt” a la Nine Inch Nails and twas as good a version as Nigel’s but played on a Colling! Graeme then returned to his roots with a Michael Chapman number (more about this later in the second spot) “Theme from the movie of the same Name” was I believe the title. Now that this new guitar has settled into his hands an excellent spot Graeme. Our penultimate spot tonight was for Father and daughter pairing of Chris and Lindsay Thompson. Now that Ian has moved up to Sunderland this new duo on the block is more than capable of replacing the old sparring partner.

A Natalie Imbruglia(Thanks Brian for the info) number “Torn” with Lindsay on vocals and Chris on Guitar was greatly appreciated by the throng and prompted a few heads to come round the door from the snug. An Eva Cassidy number next as “Fallen Leaves” cascaded around the room as Lindsays voice blended with Chris’s guitar, Sublime and lovely.

The return of Ian Pucknall sans Babs was  acknowledged as he informed us that Babs was in Malaysia harvesting rice I think, well she had to be doing something like that to pay for his New GUITAR! A Martin no less (He states he went for a Guild and came back with a Martin) I don’t think Kath would wear that one, Ian as he closed a perfect end to the first half. Welcome back King Puck!

The second half continued with Jim Croce ‘s “Lovers Cross and a 60s favourite of the blogger “Don’t let the Sun Catch You Crying” Blogger done.

Adrian And Larry returned with a Leonard Cohen “Amen” done with such aplomb and as larry said only Leonard can get away with such lyrics. Nuff said. A rendition of his Bobships “One more cup of Coffee” rounded off perfectly the dynamic duos offering tonight(nice to see you back Adrian and in fine form) More of the Gibson brothers soon please!

James returned  with a self penned number “Sunshine and Rain” excellent James, before offering a quandary for any male singer “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman a la Carole King. You had to be there to see how he got round that one. Well done James. Brian (Rhodes) returned and started his second spot with a David Gray number “Sail away with me” and as JD wasn’t there gave a great version of an LWiii number “Delaware”(if that is wrong please let me know).

Great stuff Brian, and as you are now local we expect to see more of you!

Graeme next with a little anecdote that was misconstrued by ALL in the room, apparently Michael Chapman was playing at Korks last week and stayed over at Graemes………….. heres the rub………apparently Graeme had a little play with Michael and Wrecked um…. At least that what we heard. However he was introducing an MC number entitled”Wrecked again” before finishing with twisted road by one and the same(methinks he will choose his words more wisely next time Hee Hee) Chris was next as the penultimate performer with a Jon Martyn(R.I.P) number “May you Never” a long time favourite of mine. And a John Mayer number”Comfortable” excellent stuff Chris. It fell to King Puck to Finish the night and Ian did us proud with a Guy Clark Number “Dallas Whore” and he even had him die in the right verse this time(last time we buried him before he died) before rounding off nicely with “I cant remember if We Said Goodbye” and I think we all did as we sauntered off into the night stars a twinkling and headed home Satiated with every musical genre we would need. Until next time peeps (May 1^st) BCW

“The BartonConspiracy” or “Done like a Kipper” or “Have you got any news of the Iceberg?”

A beautifulApril evening resplendent with hosts of daffodils and horizontal sleetaccompanied me on my drive to the metropolis of Addingham for tonight’s Swan AcousticSession. I had a stop to make first though, at the home of famous (he’s justbeen featured in Acoustic magazine) local luthier Peter Barton. Peter isfettling the set-up on my lovely but neglected Blueridge dreadnought and Ipromise to bring it along to show and tell when it’s had the magic touch.Little did I realise that the only downside to visiting aforementionedstringmeister is the new tradition of a free blog with every service! Ithappened to Mr Wylie last time and now me. Having said that, it was Wyliehimself who laid the blog trap for me. “Are you on half-term Mike?” he askedall innocent-like. “Why, yes”, I replied, “I’ve got two weeks off, thanks forasking!” “Good, then you can do the blog!” he quickly countered. I didn’t evensee it coming. Still, here we are and there we were and a blog is born.

Thetrickster Raven Wylie did the decent thing and went first (make up your ownminds as to why that’s decent!). He started with “For IrelandI'll Not Tell Her Name” a traditional song written by John Barry Oge from County Kerry andmade popular by The Wolfe Tones. Brian gave a lovely rendition of this whichlaunched us gently from the quay. Why the nautical reference? Well, it’s the100th anniversary of the Titanic’s historic sailing as I write thisand Captain Birds Eye, sorry, Wylie paid his respects with a brace of Titanicaltunes tonight. The first was a tribute to Annie Moore an Irish girl with thedistinction of being the first punter through the gates at Ellis Island. Thesong was entitled “Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears” and Brian gave a greatperformance of it.

In the second half Brian continued with the Titanictheme with a great song; Johnny McEvoy’s “Ballad of John Williams”. Brian istravelling back home for the anniversary celebrations and I sincerely hope hewill be wearing as a symbol of Irish pride, one of the t-shirts proclaiming“She was alright when she left here!” Mr Wylie finished his evenings work byrecruiting your ‘umble blogger and his bouzouki (an SAS virgin) for a blastthrough the trad reel “The Mason’s Apron” which may or may not be about acrustacean offspring (is that what you call a little nipper?.....sorry,couldn’t help myself). Job well done and braw sailing Mr Wylie.

Next up was a welcome return to SAS for the goldenharmonies of Blackwater aka Tony and Ruth. They started with a great version ofa song written by eminent British Folkie, Chris Leslie entitled, “My Love is inAmerica” which was nominated for a BBC Folk award for best original song a fewyears ago. Blackwater followed this with a real crowd pleaser, Simon andGarfunkel’s ‘Sound of Silence’. I’m not sure who was being Simon and who wasbeing Garfunkel but the harmonies were lovely.

In their second half appearance Ruth and Tonystarted with a Jon (without an ‘h’) Strong song, “Gun Metal Grey”. The songreferences the Falklands War (another anniversary this year) and Mrs T and wasreally rather good. Blackwater concluded tonight another topical song (it beingclose to Easter) “Strange Way” from Welsh songwriter Martyn Joseph which looksat the crucifixion from the viewpoint of a modern man and is not at all aboutthe large government hotel in Manchester. Good to see you again guys.

A raise in audience numbers prompted some furniturere-arranging which left MC David and myself on a table right in front of theperformers prompting X-Factor comparisons (most of which went over your blogger’shead as I don’t have a T.V. and am spared the delights of such cultural shows).This proximity appeared to initially unsettle the night’s next performer PamJohnson but she soon settled down like a seasoned professional. I always look forwardto Pam’s country tinged offerings as she has introduced me to several artiststhat I would otherwise have overlooked. Take tonight’s first offering from Pam,a great song entitled ‘Middle of Nowhere’ by Zoe Muth and the Lost High Rollers.Ms Muth hails from that that great country capital of..Seattle! But who careswhere she’s from when she writes great songs and Pam gave us a great version.Next we had an unusual request. Not that wanting Pam to sing Mary Gaultier’swonderful song ‘Our Lady of the shooting stars’ is unusual, but the fact thatthe request came from absent friend Rob Watkins was. Apparently, the last timeRob saw Pam play, she didn’t sing the song and Rob was disappointed so shedecided to rectify things tonight, and Rob’s loss was our gain.

In the second half Pam took a spirited run up at asong which I think is by a band called ‘Island Jewel’ (although google refutestheir existence), however we’ll have to wait for another time to hear it infull as Pam pulled the plug on it part way through. All musicians will have experienceda song spinning out of their control at some stage and it’s hard not to use theejector seat even though the audience probably hasn’t noticed. We’ll lookforward to it next time. Pam found her mojo and finished her evening with theappropriately entitled ‘Lullaby’ by the Dixie Chicks a great song and performance.

Your blogger was next in the running order and Ican only say that my brilliance was matched only by my modesty (well there hasto be some perks to doing the blog!). For the factually minded of you outthere, I made my way through A.A. Bondy’s ‘Lover’s Waltz’; a new version ofSteve Earle’s ‘The Mountain’; fulfilled a small ambition by finally gettinground to singing Boo Hewerdine’s ‘Patience of Angels’ and finished with Thefabulously named Flying Burrito Brothers’ tune ‘My Uncle’ (FBB was formed byex-Byrds Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman).

Next in front of the judges table was Graeme Morrelland Colin, sorry, Graeme and his lovely colleague, no sorry, Graeme and his lovelyCollings OM guitar. I’d really only come tonight to see this fine instrumentand has since discovered that Graeme has a J45 shape Collings too, so I’m goingto have to come next time too! I did stop marvelling at the wonderful tone longenough to write down what songs Graeme performed, he started off with ‘somethingcontemporary’ in the shape of an Adele inspired version of Bobby Zimmerman’s ‘Makeyou feel my love’ which was very fine indeed. Just as I was thinking “I wonderwhat that Collings sounds like if you give it some welly?” Graeme decided todemonstrate by rocking out with a great version of ‘Mrs Robinson’ that owed asmuch to The Lemonheads as it did to Messrs Simon and Garfunkel. Another crowdpleaser!

In part deux, Mystic Morrell channelled Michael Chapmanand performed two MC tunes ‘Dewsbury Rd’ and ‘The Mallard’ the second being asong apparently about the joys of trainspotting, yet I did not hear a singlereference to the Scottish drug scene in the 1990’s – strange that! Both tuneswere up to Graeme’s, sorry, Michael’s usual high standard and Graeme assures methat MC was intentionally dressing down when he appeared on BBC’s SongwritersCircle. I thought he looked like a cross between David Hockney and SeasickSteve, Michael that is, not Graeme.

A family affair next as Lindsay and Chris Thompsontook the floor. First up Lindsay applied her soulful voice to KT Tunstall’s ‘Otherside of the world’ with Dad, Chris backing on guitar. They followed this with agreat version of Katie Melua’s ‘If you were a sailboat’. My Google research hasrevealed that Ms Melua has recorded a parody of her own song with lines such as“If you were some tiling, I would grout you” this has made Ms M jump in myestimations.

In the second half we had an SAS first as David(lazy blogger didn’t get your surname –sorry) produced an oboe! Not only that,he actually played it, and in tune! David, Chris and Brian applied themselvesto something that had been discovered in a piano stool, not an ageing cheesebutty but Edward Walsh’s “The Vocal Gems of Ireland” circa 1938. I think it wassheet music but I could be wrong as it was covered in lots of lines and dots.They gave a unique and rather grand rendition of a song set to the tune of ‘RaglanRd’ Possibly the first time it’s been arranged for guitar, mandolin, oboe andvoice. It worked very well, and it turned out that David is a bit of a ringeras he usually sings with ‘the best choir in the North’ on Tuesday nights. Obviouslythey haven’t heard the SAS audience singers in full flow!

David and Chris then revisited ‘Make you feel mylove’ which was memorably described as ‘Bob Dylan with an oboe’.  The Thompson collaborations ended with Lindsayjoining Chris once more for another crowd pleaser and sing along, Elton John’s ‘YourSong’

And that my little blogettes, is what can only bedescribed as 1,576 words. See you all at the next one! New faces and old onesalways welcome. Oh almost forgot, the title refers to Les Barker’s Monologuefound here

http://monologues.co.uk/Les_Barker/Any_News_Iceberg.htm