Plug ‘N’ Play

Plug ‘N’ Play is celebrating it’s 10th Birthday

August 17th, 2008 Posted in Chat | No Comments »

Over the last 10 years Plug ‘N’ Play has seen many great performances and has had many great moments. Which has been yours?

A Stonking Good Time With 3 Mile Smile - Penrith Plug ‘N’ Play Celebrates A Decade of Fine Live Music.

May 11th, 2008 Posted in Chat | No Comments »

Plug & Play, Penrith. 6th April 2008 (Kirsty McGee and Mat Martin)

April 18th, 2008 Posted in 2008 | 1 Comment »

First of all, two apologies. Firstly I was late getting to the Players theatre this month so I missed the open slot, which by all accounts went well with 8 acts performing and all getting the appreciative applause of the audience. Secondly, the lateness of this review being published, as unforeseen circumstances conspired against me throughout the week.

Kirsty McGee took to the stage with bowler hat, Mat Martin and a large array of instruments that showed they were settling in for a good night of music and fun. Launching straight into “Lamb” with its foot-tapping melody and Mat wandering delicately through the song on Banjo had the PnP’ers on their side immediately. “Bliss” followed closely by “Killer Wasps” with its upbeat rhythm and impromptu wasp sounds from the audience, showed the skill and versatility of both Kirsty and Mat on differing instruments, allowing each other space to compliment the song without taking it over. The slow tango-esque “Dust Devils” got particular applause from the crowd as did “Bone Crusher” with the Banjo and Ukulele combination giving a fun, upbeat feel to the song. The variation of styles continued with “One Star”, a slow, almost hypnotic piece allowing Kirsty‘s vocals to reach every bit of the senses and draw you into the song. “Right Way Home” and a favourite of mine, “No Way to Treat a Friend” brought the session to a high and finishing of the first set with “Gunsore” had the crowd eagerly anticipating the second half.

The second half opened with the excellent “Sandman”, sung with feeling and sensitivity and reminding me of the old Torch Songs from the thirties. Changing the style immediately with “Alibi Blues” with its Yee-hah attitude showed how confident Kirsty and Mat are with their material. Generally people will stay with a theme for a few songs and then move to another style, however, Kirsty writes such good songs that I think whichever order you put them in, they would always blend well. A good example of this was the next song “Thank You”. A wonderful, melodic piece with excellent lyrics and sung with intense feeling and emotion making it for me the best song of the night. “Fresh Water” and “Sapho’s Lament” came next, with its great banjo solo from Mat. Beautifully sympathetic Banjo was also on the menu for the next song “Share Croppers” and the dual guitars played in “Coffee Coloured Strings” was very reminiscent of Suzanne Vega. “Plane Vapours” and “Faith” both had great applause from the audience as did the showpiece “Profit Song”. Raucously called back for an encore, Kirsty and Mat gave a fantastic A’capella song “Crow Pie” following up with “Betray My trust” had the crowd warmly applauding a fantastic night’s entertainment with some wonderful playing and singing. Kirsty has a wonderful soft voice which complements all of the songs she did tonight and thanks to the sterling efforts of Tom on sound, the balance of the different instruments remained excellent throughout the evening.

See you all on the 4th May for local rockers 3 Mile Smile doing their stuff both acoustic and amp’ed up. Check out the web site for further details www.plug-play.co.uk

Keep it live!!…Open Mike

Plug & Play, Penrith. 2nd March 2008 (Dr Zoo)

April 18th, 2008 Posted in 2008 | No Comments »

Fresh from a tour of South Africa and just starting a run of gigs in the UK, Dr Zoo managed to squeeze a date into his schedule for the Plug & Play session in Penrith.

A lot of open mic’ers turning up had Andy, Tom and Chris working hard to ensure all went smoothly in the opening session of thenight. First up was Ken Wilcock with a slight change to his usual style of playing kicking off with “Slow Blues”, a wonderfully soulful and melodic Stephan Grossman piece in the style of Lonnie Johnson. Followed by “Blues ain’t dry” a more up tempo ‘30s style number and finishing off with the slow and laid back “Mississippi Blues” with it’s intricate blues runs to get the evening off to a fine start. Rob Heron then took to the stage with “A Day Longer”. His distinctive voice blending well with the soft guitar playing to good effect. “Introspection” is a favourite of mine, with it’s off beat syncopated strumming going down well with the audience. Finishing off with “Cross the river” from his new CD had the PnP crowd clapping warmly. Ethan Thomas then got up and reminded everyone that the future of music is in the youngsters. “Waiting for morning”, a self penned classical piece in the style of Rodrigo was played with confidence and style as was “Taggin’ along” with it’s intricate fingerpicking and “National 7” allowing Ethan’s soft vocals to compliment the mood changes throughout the song. Christian Moss then took to the stage and immediately started to banter with the audience, pretty much as he did when he headlined the September PnP last year. “Temporary God”, with its intense, driving rhythm, showed why Christian is such a crowd pleaser and his strong voice pounding out “Lungful” off his CD had the audience applauding their appreciation. Greg Wilson took to the stage as the final act of the open mic slot, joined on stage by guitarist Chris Walker. The latin-esque “Impressario” allowing nice interplay between Chris and Greg was followed up by “Something like this” with its catchy melody. Sung with ease and confidence, both songs off his new demo CD, received warm appreciation from the PnP crowd.

Bringing his latest album, “42”, to the stage, Dr Zoo (Randal Arsenault, Guitar/Vocals, accompanied by Jonathan Bunce on Violin/Vocals) brought the art of storytelling to a different level. Interweaving the semi-autobiographical tale of a young mans quest for identity and fulfilment with songs from around the world, he got the audience singing and howling and even managed to teach them some Zulu and Swahili in the process!! Starting off with the “Prologue” about the history of Newfoundland, demonstrated the ease with which Randal and Jonathan complimented each others playing. “Act 1 – Rebellion/Rejection” about family difficulties showed an ability to write a song with feeling and sensitivity whilst also being honest.  “Act 2 – Journey” allowed Randal to pay homage to Paul Simons “Gracelands” album, a great source of inspiration in his writing and one of the reasons he went to Africa. “Diamonds on the soles of her shoes” had the audience singing along and “Full Moon” even had them howling like wolves through the tune. (A first, I think, at PnP!) “Fields of the Lord” allowed Jonathans prowess on the violin full reign, with some fantastic playing around Randal’s strumming. Throughout the set, Jonathan played with intensity and feeling for the music that you don’t often see. A real pleasure to listen to! “Act 3 – Africa” had the audience singing along in Zulu  and Swahili (“Hello” and “How are you” - “Sawubona” and “Unjani” in Zulu and “Jambo” and “Habari Gani” in Swahili if you must know!!) Very reminiscent of Gracelands with its rhythms and melodic singing, this was followed up by “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” – yep “wim-a-way, wim-a-way” and all that! Something that was picked up on by the crowd without any prompting to end the first set on a high.

Set 2 carried on the “Africa” act with “Stay with me” about falling in love and raising a family, but also the uncertainty of the path his life is going. “War” was the next act, “Peasant Battalions” recalled fighting during the second world war and how the young man is captured by the Germans and forced to fight on the Russian front. This was my favourite song of the night, not just for the artistry of the song writing but the poignancy of it being based on a true story. The final acts “Redemption” where the young man has realised his mistakes and starts to rectify them, followed by “Reconciliation” where he travels back to Africa to bring his wife and child to Newfoundland, and home, both showed the confidence Randal has as a storyteller and musician. Called back for an encore, “Little Man” had the audience applauding warmly for a story well told and also for the great musicianship of the performers.

 

See you all on the 6th April for the amazingly talented Kirsty McGee accompanied by Mat Martin. Check out the web site for further details www.plug-play.co.uk

See you there…Keep it live!!…Open Mike

3rd February 2008 (Chris James)

February 18th, 2008 Posted in 2008 | No Comments »

 

On a cold, wet Sunday evening in February, the last thing most people want to do is go out. But such is the attraction of Chris James that a large crowd braved the elements to see and hear his amazing voice and phenomenal guitar playing.
With the open mic slot getting underway, Jonathan Trengrove took to the stage to give a sample of his latest work. Launching into “Low feel high”, its delicate strumming balancing nicely with the soft vocals, showed why Jonathans music is so appealing. “Beware of the dogs” and the Loudon Wainwright cover “One man guy” sung with feeling and a nice balance of loud and soft passages had the crowd applauding warmly. Making their debut at PnP were Screaming Cats, consisting of Rachel on violin and Pete on violin and guitar. “Young Scotty” with its celtic reel feel showed nice interplay between the two violins, as did “Hamnatang”, a slower, more reflective piece, allowing the violins to swap roles over a drone note. “Bonnie at morning” had Pete on guitar with Rachel playing a beautiful and confident melody over Pete’s sympathetic strumming and picking, with all three tunes given the applause they deserved. Greg Wilson made a welcome return to PnP, joined on stage by Chris Walker and Andy Johnson on guitar and bass in an impromptu accompanying role. “Until I found you” and  “Queen of hearts” allowed Greg’s song writing skills to be shown to great effect with toned down playing from Greg allowing Chris to interweave nicely between the chords. I felt sometimes, however, that Greg was hiding behind the song and not releasing the vocal passion he is capable of. “Something like this” , was my favourite song of his on the night, with its catchy chorus and, for a trio who had only just practiced prior to going on, played nice and tight receiving well deserved applause. Last up on the open slot was Laura James, another PnP debutante and also the daughter of Chris. Launching into “All I ask” immediately had the audience enthralled with her solid guitar playing and fantastic voice. I’ve been trying to think ho she reminds me of, sort of Stevie Nicks crossed with Sinead O’Conner…intense, powerful, melodic and above all passionate. The self penned “Circles” showed how at ease she is with the guitar, moving in sympathy with the playing and again letting her voice do the business. Delicately picking her way through the Regina Spektre song “Us” to end the open slot, had the crowd clapping and cheering a remarkable talent.
A lot of words are written about the great bluesmen of the Mississippi Delta and to some extent the Thames Delta. Not enough, in my view, is expressed about the great bluesman of the Solway Delta, Chris James. His authentic playing and amazing voice enthral audiences wherever he plays. Diving straight into “Dust my Blues” and following with the Muddy Waters “Louisiana Blues” grabbed the crowd by the shirt tails and made them sit up and take note. Chris makes slide guitar playing look easy as he becomes one with his instrument, playing what he feels and projecting his passion for the blues in every note. The Skip James number “If you haven’t any hay” followed by the ragtime-ish “Six reasons” and laid back “Slow” had the crowd enjoyment-level-o-meter at high, with his ever present chat and banter keeping things moving. If you can write a song about doing nothing but drinking and straightening the rim on a hat, then it has to be a good song. “Panama Hat” by Eric Bibb is one of my favourite songs that Chris plays, it’s a shame it isn’t on his album “Trick of the light” but I suppose that makes it all the more enjoyable when I hear it. Finishing the first set off with Robert Johnson’s “Come on in my kitchen”, Blind Willie McTell’s fast and boogie-woogie styled “Statesboro Blues” and the ever popular “Vincent Black Lightning 1952” by Richard Thompson had the audience eagerly awaiting the second set.
Applauded back on stage for the second set, Chris immediately set off from where he finished the first set with some amazing fingerpicking in “Shake that booty” and following up with the Bob Dylan number “Buckets of rain” with its soft, gentle playing nicely underpinning Chris’ vocals. “Every morning”, “Special Rider” and “Light of this world” followed with another of my favourite songs “Old time religion” with its Gospel/Soul feeling all got the applause they deserved and in some cases whistles and cheers!! Some songs develop naturally when you play them many times, sometimes good, sometimes not so good. Chris must have played “Irene, Goodnight” hundreds of times, it has become his trademark. The way he has developed this song, intentionally or not, is excellent. The extra pauses and phrases incorporated into the song give his playing and distinctive voice ample room to shine and take over your senses. You end up knowing that you have just witnessed something phenomenal. The rapturous applause at the end of his set meant that there was no way he could go without an encore. Called back on stage by compare Andy he finished of with “Homeward Bound” much to the enjoyment of the audience, who went home knowing they had seen a great performer and a great show.

See you all on the 2nd March when Dr Zoo will be playing. Check out the web site for further details www.plug-play.co.uk

See you then…Open Mike

Plug & Play, Penrith. 6th January 2008 (Rory Connor)

January 10th, 2008 Posted in 2008 | No Comments »

2008 kicked off in fine style at the Plug and Play gathering in Penrith on Sunday. Billed as a singers night, with Alston based Rory Connor as the highlight of the evening, the slightly smaller than usual crowd enjoyed a variety of songs and music from both Rory and the open mic’ers.

 

 

First up in the open slot was Ken Wilcock and his trusty Fylde guitar, fingerpicking his way through the slightly ragtime-ish “Buckdance”, followed by “Windy and warm” and finally “Rosalee”. All three tunes allowing Ken to show his artistry on the fingerboard. Phil Caton was next up, and in a change to the normal ukulele antics, decided to play keyboards and treat us to “Constant Alibi” a song co-written by Phil with Bill Turner and reminding me of a Hall & Oates style 80’s rock hit.Chris Walker then joined him on guitar for, initially, a Roberta Flack number. However after Phil completely blanked and forgot the tune, much to the crowds amusement, they decided to cover The Rolling Stones’ “High-Heel Sneakers” (Higgenbotham) allowing Chris to improvise nicely whilst Phil held down the tune.

12 year old Ethan Thomas then took to the stage to give us a great version of “Little Wing”, followed by the Rolling Stones “Streets of Love”. Finishing his stint off with “Goodbye, Ruby Tuesday” was a nice touch, letting his warmed up voice power through the song.

Jonathan Trengrove (aka Dr Glam) then took to the keyboards with Chris Walker and Andy Johnson on guitar and bass respectively, treating us to three songs from Jonathans ever expanding portfolio. “Letting go” and “The feeling” showed some nice interaction between Jonathan and Chris, each allowing the other space to develop the tune. “Sunshine Blues” was an unashamedly foot-tapping 12 bar which allowed Chris and Jonathan to take solos with Andy underpinning the beat throughout. Jonathan then finished off the open mic slot with a solo piece “All we love”, again the warmed up voice adding to the passionate keyboard phrasing.

Dr. Glam, Chris and Andy perform ‘The Feeling’.

Jonathan Trengrove (A.K.A. Dr. Glam) performing “All we love”

Jonathan Trengrove (A.K.A. Dr. Glam), a passionate vocalist

 

Rory Connor has been writing and performing for 9 years throughout Northern England and having just recorded his debut EP, was an eagerly anticipated attraction at tonight’s show. With a great melodic voice that, for me sounds like an English Ronan Keating he launched into his set with “Won’t stay for long” closely followed by “Ozzie” about the delights of Australian wine. The underlying Calypso feel to “Waiting” showed his talents as a song-writer and versatility as a guitarist off excellently and the powerful “Butterfly” about changes and discovery, with its haunting “Tell me what you found!” refrain at the end was for me one of the highlights of the evening.

 

Chatting to the audience throughout, Rory lapped up the appreciation of the PnP crowd, who were applauding and cheering the songs, all of which were played with feeling and enjoyment. “For the last time” and “She looks good in yellow” had the crowd in silent appreciation and the beautifully played “Don’t think twice” by Bob Dylan received an especially enthusiastic round of applause. Finishing off the set with “Half full glass” from his new CD he was called back to the stage amidst cheers and clapping for an encore.

Rory Connor playing Australian Wine

Initially playing “Falling from trees”, he succumbed to the curse of that nights PnP and completely forgot the song, again much to the crowds amusement. Not wanting to disappoint, he jumped onto the piano and showed off his keyboard skills and another side to his musical abilities with “Jolene” – his own composition and not the Dolly Parton song! Look out for Rory and go and see him, either as a solo performer, or with his band…you won’t be disappointed!

Rory Connor performing “Won’t Stay”

 

Due to unforeseen circumstances (i.e. Christmas!), Decembers PnP review of Dr Glam missed the press. Sorry about that! For all of you who played, or wish to read what happened, this can be viewed at http://www.plug-play.co.uk/reviews/

 

Don’t forget, the open mic set is for you! Want to play? Come along! All styles, instruments, abilities are welcome. Plug and Play is about live music…YOUR live music!

 

See you all on the 3^rd February when the fantastic Chris James will be taking to the stage.

 

Happy New Year!! “Open Mike”

Plug & Play, Penrith - 2nd December 2007 (Dr Glam)

January 7th, 2008 Posted in 2007 | No Comments »

 

An almost full house turned up for the December instalment of PnP, with local singer/songwriter Jonathan Trengrove in his incarnation as Dr Glam headlining, and enough open slot performers to have Tom, Chris and Andy from the PnP crew kept busy moving people off and on stage and keeping things running smoothly.

The show was kicked off as ever with the open slot and first up was Low Fat Lilly from Carlisle, making their PnP debut. Consisting of Lisa, Billy, Andrew and Dave they launched straight into “Flowers in the rain”, following swiftly with the Leonard Cohen hit “Diamonds in the mine”. Lisa’s voice grabbed the songs with feeling and intensity and allowed Billy to harmonise seamlessly. A traditional styled “Daniel O’Callaghan” followed with “Black Horse and the cherry tree” finishing off a confident and upbeat first outing at Penrith. Next on stage was 12 year old Ethan Thomas playing guitar and singing self penned songs as well as covers. Its excellent to see people of this age getting on stage and playing

 with confidence and enjoyment. This is the future of music and should be cheered and roared on. The self penned laid back blues “Hitch hiker” had the audience immediately engrossed in his playing and singing. “Hit ‘em hard with the first song” they say, “Yeh, great, then what?” Well, some finger picking reminiscent of Lindsey Buckingham is what came next!! “National Service” and “Beautiful Voice” played on slide guitar had the audience calling Ethan back on stage for an encore. “Stairway to Heaven” is a song most guitarists play in the shop when trying out a new guitar or in the bedroom for there own satisfaction. Not Ethan…slightly nervous from the encore call causing a few fluttering fingers, played with determination and courage which was great to see and hear. Look out for him in the future!

 

Steve Cumberland then took to the stage, nicely finger picking through a song about a love affair with an old motorbike. “Vincent Black Lightening 1952”. Moonshine Daddies came next, a good old Rock ‘n’ Roll band and with a-poppin-an-a-slappin’ double bass, Nashville electric guitar and some serious foot tapping stuff, the audience showing enjoyment throughout “That’s alright Mama”, “Hound Dog”, “Stray Cat Strut” and “C’mon’ everybody” and encoring with “Mystery Train”. Rob Heron was next up with a new Marvin Gaye inspired song “7 day week” followed by “Introspection” and “Answers” Rob finished off with another song I hadn’t heard before “Hopp Sång”. Last up for the open slot, also making his PnP debut, was Greg Wilson. Singing and playing the self penned numbers “Till I found you”, “So far beyond emotion”, “Something like this” and “Johnnie” again, showing the high level of performers at the PnP.

 

A short interlude then allowed Tom and Chris to set the stage for the eagerly awaited main act, Dr Glam. “Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to Maddison Square Gardens, . . . Penrith!” isn’t how you would expect Andy to announce a band at PnP, but the audience was up for it. Cheering from the off through the crowd grabbing opener “You’re the one” and into “Trapped” the PnP crowd were having a ball! Going into the Reggae/Ska styled “Heartbrand” which morphed into Britpop and back to Reggae/Ska finished the “Bang! we’re here” start of the set. Jonathan then went onto acoustic guitar causing a short interlude for tuning etc. There were times during the gig that it seemed Jonathan could have engaged with the audience a bit more as the gaps between some songs were a bit long due to instrument change, tuning etc. This gap, however, was filled with an impromptu bass/drums solo spot by Mark and Jamie before Jonathan was up at the mic, ready for the next bit. All of the songs played this evening including “Low Feel High”, “Uncertain Times”, “California Girl” were new songs written for this event but you wouldn’t think it listening to them being played as if they had been part of the repertoire for ages. Jonathan played piano on “Caught in the rain” and “Captive” which not only showed his musical abilities off brilliantly but also highlighted something which I hadn’t noticed prior to this point. When there was an instrumental break with piano there was the melody as well as some backing to fill out the sound. When the song was being played on guitar, either there wasn’t a solo and just rhythm or there was a solo and not a lot of filling (There’s only a certain amount you can fill out on a bass!) A second guitarist? Don’t know. This isn’t a criticism in any way, just my point of view. “Save your soul” and Strength Song” finished off the electric set with Jonathan goingback to piano for a solo piece “If Only” to round off a great gig in front of a very enthusiastic audience.

An “Unscripted Encore Moment” as it would probably be called on MTV, had Jonathan back on piano playing the extremely moving “Born for Free”. The entire audience at PnP was silent throughout as powerful vocals echoed around the room with an understated but beautifully effective piano accompaniment. Not until the final chord had eventually died away did the audience explode into applause and cheers for a great gig.

See you all on the 6th January for the next session. Check out the Plug & Play website for details of upcoming gigs. “http://www.plug-play.co.uk” www.plug-play.co.uk. Hiccy new year!! “Open Mike”

 

 

Christian Moss

September 2nd, 2007 Posted in 2007 | No Comments »

 Plug & Play 07/08 season at the Penrith Players theatre got off to a great start on Sunday with a good crowd and some great playing from both the headline act and the “Plug and Players”.The traditional open mic slot started the proceedings off with the compere, Andy Johnson playing a lovely melodic solo bass piece, inspired by J. S. Bach. His interweaving of the D minor Toccata with an atmospheric Celtic influenced tune was warmly applauded by the audience. Local guitarist Chris Walker, then joined him on stage for a run through of two instrumental pieces showing a  mastery of the fingerboard by Chris with a slow blues number, followed by a more upbeat jazz piece. Both tunes were appreciated by the Plug & Play audience.  Ken Wilcock then took to the stage with his Fylde guitar and treated us all with some great finger-picking tunes namely “Rosalee”, “Paddies Green Shamrock Shore” and “Planxty Fanny Powers”. For an encore Ken played a French, gavotte-style piece called “Schottische”. Next up was Andrew Davies who is becoming a more regular face at the PnP sessions. Andrew treated us to four of his own compositions which showed off his Guitar and Harmonica playing and complemented his soft, clear voice as it rode above the music. “The Friend”, “Back of my mind”, “Feel it” with its driving guitar rhythm and “You’ve got something to say” were all well received by the audience. The final act for the open slot was Rob Heron who, fresh from playing at Solfest, treated us all to some awesome playing and singing. “Wouldn’t he”, “Roseville Fair”, John Lennons’ “Cold Turkey” – completely reworked and with some great guitar playing – and “Introspection” all had the audience cheering and clapping. After a short break the stage was then given over to Christian Moss. Having played in Manchester, Newcastle and California, he will shortly be heading off back to America for a tour. Joined on stage by drummer Gavin Warrender, he immediately started interacting and joking with the audience which for me is always a big plus. Lots of “stars” nowadays think you only have to get up on stage, play and get off. Not so. Engaging your audience is a big factor in becoming popular. I just wish this was appreciated more by artistes. Anyway…The set began with “Brick Wall”, from his new album which was launched that evening. Immediately showing off his superbly strong voice and complimentary guitar playing, this song for me is the best on the album. Not all songs had Gavin accompanying on the drums, (well, snare, two cymbals and a tambourine used as a kick drum!) but when he did accompany Christian the playing was excellent.  It was just enough to alter the song, but not overpower it, the sign of a great drummer. “Control” “Headwound” and “The Odds” followed, with Christian merrily plugging the new album and laughing and joking with the audience throughout. “Circumvent” and “No Pianos” with its great interaction between guitar and drums followed as, song after song, Christian kept the audience enjoyment levels up. “No connection” the first song he wrote, way way back and “Killing my time” were played with feeling and intensity as was “The Flies”, played on slide Dobro to much applause. Unfortunately he broke his pick so could only give us one song on the Dobro. This was a shame as this gave a glimpse of another side to his compositional work. Finishing off with “Lungful”, again from his album and played without drums, Christian demonstrated that a good song stands by itself. He was called back for a well deserved encore. Clearly surprised to be asked for another song Christian and Gavin  deliberated for a few moments. Then with the words “This should be interesting….” they launched into a lively song  called “I need” which they performed brilliantly. A long applause followed showing how much the PnP crowd had enjoyed the session.See you all on the 7th October for Clive Carol (don’t miss this one!). Check out the Plug & Play website for details of upcoming gigs. www.plug-play.co.ukKeep it live!!    “Open Mike” 

Bob Fox

January 7th, 2007 Posted in 2007 | No Comments »

The first Plug & Play of 2007 was a well attended event with everyone chilling out after the fun and festivities of the previous two weeks.

 

Ben Mattinson was first up with a smooth little number he wrote as a College project which we called “No Name”. Its good to see new faces at PnP, and Bens immediate two way interaction with the audience was nice to see. “Fade”, “Sunrise Town” and “Garden Path” were all got the reception you expect from the PnP crowd and his final song “Insecure” showed what a confident and talented musician his is. Paul and Sally got up next with a Vocal, Guitar and Flute set (continuing in the PnP tradition of all types of groupings), “Tramps and Hawkers”  was a wonderful piece showing off Paul’s guitar work nicely and also the close bonding between the voice and flute, giving a pleasing harmonic sound to the words of the song. Sally then gave us a blast of Danish Waltz music with Paul accompanying, finishing off with “John O’Breams”, a song based around one of Tchaikovsky’s  themes. The Lancashire-based duo Blackheart, consisting of Chrissy on vocals and Richard on guitar and vocals, then got up to finish off the open mic session, starting off with “I’ll see you there” and carrying on to give us powerful songs about Relatives, “94 years”, home towns, “Wonderland” and marriage, “Blue flowers for tomorrow”. Chrissy’s voice floated nicely above the intricate guitar work of Richard, who harmonized with feeling in both the choice of harmonic and  intensity of the note. Their CD “indigo” is available from their web site: www.theblackhearts.eu 

 

The main act was the eagerly awaited visit of Bob Fox. Famous for “Big River” (yes, as sung by Jimmy Nail) and “Sally Wheatley”, Bob is a songwriter of great feeling and passion for his native North-East. Sculpting songs from his thoughts and experiences throughout his life and interspersing traditional songs such as “When the boat comes in” about the herring fishermen of the North-East coast. Audience participation is an important part of Bobs set, and as usual the PnP crowd were up for the challenge.

“Jack Crawford”, “Celebrated working man” and “Life is not kind to the drinking man” kicked off his first set and immediately had the audience on his side. Bobs accent gave the songs authenticity, combine this with the passion in his voice and you get a singer who keeps you listening to the very last. “Ballad of the big ships” about life in the ship yards, “Tailors song” and “Child of mine” to finish off the first set were all applauded warmly by the crowd.

The second half continued in the same vein. Kicking off with “Bonnie Gateshead Lass” and passing through, amongst others, “Champion at keeping them rolling”, “Shoals of Herring”, “Galway Shawl” and “Sally Wheatley”. Called back for and encore, Bob first played “Waters of the Tyne” and then to much delight played “Big River”. When you listen to Jimmy Nail singing this song it’s a nice tune, when Bob sings it, it is a powerful song about the decline of the Tyne industries. One voice, one guitar and an audience that was listening silently to an excellent song sung by a wonderful singer…Bliss!!

 

By Andy Johnson 

Samsa

December 3rd, 2006 Posted in 2006 | No Comments »

 

By Andy Johnson

 

The final P&P of 2006 (but not of the season!!!) promised to be a great showcase for ex local band Samsa, who now reside in the Leeds area. Even the sound check sounded good with Samsas’ own sound-man Ian allowing P&P’s resident sonic guru Tom to take it easy with a few beers for the latter half of the evening once the open session had ended.

 

First up on the open session was Chris and Andy from rock band “3 mile smile” giving a blues feel to the proceedings with an instrumental version of “Torn, Tired and Broken” from their soon to be released EP, followed up with a 12 bar jam showing off both Chris’s excellent guitar work and Andy’s unscripted bass soloing when Chris’s guitar lead fell out!! Their web page www.3milesmile.co.uk has details of CD availability and back catalogue items.  They were followed on stage by Rob Heron, playing songs off his album “Morning has come…”. “Answers”, “What do you want me to do?” by Mike Scott,  and the title track “Morning has come…” all given a rousing reception from the audience with a well deserved call for an encore of “Make myself” again, from his album!! Check out his myspace page at www.myspace.com/robheronmusic for album sales, etc. Watch this bloke..he’s going places. Sound man Tom Corda-Stanley was then joined on stage by Chris Walker to give a taster of his new jazz EP “An evening with Gatsby” playing  “Notes to a Gentleman on Leaving Through a Window” to an appreciative crowd. His myspace is www.myspace.com/lvhz where details his CD can be found. Just shows that the “Plug” bit in Plug & Play is just as relevant as the “Play” bit!!

 

After a short break the ever popular Lucy and Jamie Deakin took to the stage to give the audience a reminder of  their unique take on Cello/Guitar duets. Starting with “Burleaves” and continuing through “Gremlin”, “Stepping Stones” and “Sasperilla” (dedicated to Lucy’s parents Keith and Jackie). Finishing off with a combined tune of “Hannah’s Tune/Apple Scrumping” to much applause from the audience.

 

Samsa divided their set into two distinct sections. The first being an acoustic set from Ollie showing off not only his excellent voice but also his subtle guitar playing to good effect. “He who dares” and “Ground Control” were among the songs played in this set, occasionally joined by Lucy on Squeeze Box to add another dimension to the already eclectic evening.

 

Then came the big ending…Samsa took to the stage in all their glory to give the audience what they came for. Kicking off with “Wasting Time” they went through their set list with venom. Good interplay between Ollie and the audience kept the tempo moving between songs (something that can be lacking in other groups). “Red Sky”, “First the Lights”, “Silence” and “Another Night” were all played with the professionalism you expect from this outfit. The metrognomic Jamie on drums kept everything tight and with Harry on bass (with broken thumb!) the rhythm section never wavered. Called back onstage for an enthusiastic encore, the evening finished off in great style with “Animals” giving the audience a great end to the gig.

 

Next up in January is Bob Fox (Big River, Sally Wheatley, etc)…Don’t miss.

 

Keep supporting this great venture by the VOLUNTEERS of Plug & Play to keep music live in Penrith…

 

Merry Chrimbly and a Hiccy New Year.