Another very interesting evening of folk music at Bedfords in Norwich last night. This really is the best value for music in town - £5 for three acts and the food is good as well.
Sadly there was a very disappointing turnout on a warm evening. Those who didn't go missed a treat. The evening started with Jazz Morley - a young lady with a powerful voice somewhere between Amy Winehouse and Carole King. She sang her own songs - some poignant and some slightly less serious. She finished with a song about her brother who is serving in Afghanistan. It did bear a remarkable resemblance to Jennifer Rush' Power of Love but never mind.
She was followed by a guy called Jinder who was an all round entertainer - mixing good original material with stories and jokes. At time he was very funny and he managed an excellent slowed down acoustic version of Dexy's Midnight Runners' Come on Eileen.
The evening was rounded off by John Ward and Mario Price - a very interesting duo from Lowestoft. John on guitar and that Irish drum thingee that I can never remember the name of and Mario on violin. Plenty of Irish gig type music, mixed in with some ballads and slower numbers. I was particularly impressed by the song "From Stornoway to Lowestoft" about the migration of female workers over a 100 year period from Scotland to Lowestoft for the herring industry.
John kept mentioning the X Factor and such equally tripey talent shows. He pointed out quite rightly that these quick fix, instant star shows detract from the fact that criss crossing the UK in cars and vans every day of the year are some truly talented musicians who barely scratch a living from doing what they love. I agree wholeheartedly. These are the people with true musical ability and you can see them every month at venues like Bedfords. John also made interesting comments about the rivalry between Yarmouth and Lowestoft and the fish wars of the past between the two towns - all an important part of East Anglian history. He talked about something I have been going on about for some time - the ridiculous part that territory plays in our lives amongst people who, shall we say, aren't intelligent enough to know any better.
You probably know what I'm talking about. Yarmouth hate Lowestoft and vice versa but the two towns would combine to hate another part of the British Isles. Then Britain would combine against Europe but Europe would combine against the Americans and the the World would combine against Mars and then the Universe would combine against another Universe. You know the kind of drivel I'm talking about! It's about as understandable as my last paragraph but I know what I mean.
Tonight I'm off the get some more historical culture with a talk at Hethersett Library on the history of the Norwich yards.
Yesterday I spent quite some time starting to write a piece of poetry/prose to reflect my recent visit to Northern Ireland and Belfast in particular. Usually I write quickly but this idea is taking some time to form shape and at the moment it's just a series of unrelated notes that I need to develop and put together. Originally I was going to call it Words on a Map, but its new title is History and Music (Words on a Map). When it is eventually finished I will put it on this blog and my web site.
Sadly there was a very disappointing turnout on a warm evening. Those who didn't go missed a treat. The evening started with Jazz Morley - a young lady with a powerful voice somewhere between Amy Winehouse and Carole King. She sang her own songs - some poignant and some slightly less serious. She finished with a song about her brother who is serving in Afghanistan. It did bear a remarkable resemblance to Jennifer Rush' Power of Love but never mind.
She was followed by a guy called Jinder who was an all round entertainer - mixing good original material with stories and jokes. At time he was very funny and he managed an excellent slowed down acoustic version of Dexy's Midnight Runners' Come on Eileen.
The evening was rounded off by John Ward and Mario Price - a very interesting duo from Lowestoft. John on guitar and that Irish drum thingee that I can never remember the name of and Mario on violin. Plenty of Irish gig type music, mixed in with some ballads and slower numbers. I was particularly impressed by the song "From Stornoway to Lowestoft" about the migration of female workers over a 100 year period from Scotland to Lowestoft for the herring industry.
John kept mentioning the X Factor and such equally tripey talent shows. He pointed out quite rightly that these quick fix, instant star shows detract from the fact that criss crossing the UK in cars and vans every day of the year are some truly talented musicians who barely scratch a living from doing what they love. I agree wholeheartedly. These are the people with true musical ability and you can see them every month at venues like Bedfords. John also made interesting comments about the rivalry between Yarmouth and Lowestoft and the fish wars of the past between the two towns - all an important part of East Anglian history. He talked about something I have been going on about for some time - the ridiculous part that territory plays in our lives amongst people who, shall we say, aren't intelligent enough to know any better.
You probably know what I'm talking about. Yarmouth hate Lowestoft and vice versa but the two towns would combine to hate another part of the British Isles. Then Britain would combine against Europe but Europe would combine against the Americans and the the World would combine against Mars and then the Universe would combine against another Universe. You know the kind of drivel I'm talking about! It's about as understandable as my last paragraph but I know what I mean.
Tonight I'm off the get some more historical culture with a talk at Hethersett Library on the history of the Norwich yards.
Yesterday I spent quite some time starting to write a piece of poetry/prose to reflect my recent visit to Northern Ireland and Belfast in particular. Usually I write quickly but this idea is taking some time to form shape and at the moment it's just a series of unrelated notes that I need to develop and put together. Originally I was going to call it Words on a Map, but its new title is History and Music (Words on a Map). When it is eventually finished I will put it on this blog and my web site.
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