St. Thomas Square, Newport, Saturday, August 23rd
Music on a Summer's day
SG and Paul Athey, Buenos Notches 2
Zara Smith has been spearheading attempts to get the Council to promote local street events in an area the Council pedestrianised nine years ago "but has never been used to its full potential". That potential was realised on Saturday when local musicians turned up to provide over six hours of entertainment for shoppers, children and tourists alike.
The event began with a local group of young Irish dancers slip jigging in stockinged feet to recorded music on the Square's stony slabs. John Wroath and Duncan Jones filled a lull in the music with Van Morrison's Sweet Thing and Brown Eyed Girl and Boo Hewerdine's King Chicago. The Spencer brothers, Mark and Rafe arrived from Gurnard joining Wroath and Jones for short set of digeridoo ragas.
This was always going to be an impromptu event. Any musician passing was in danger of being persuaded on stage to perform. Sally Garrett wandered by to find herself cajoled up onto the small stage. Provided with a guitar she sang a couple of songs including that old classic about Cocaine Lil and Morphine Sue.
Roland Jones on his lunch break from Ottakars Bookshop was the next musician to find himself on stage singing a selection of his own songs including Simple Life. The Vic Mick Turner overdrive were listening to Roland from our vantage point over lunch upstairs at French Franks. We compared this cosmopolitan atmosphere with San Francisco. On this balmy afternoon we spied a student out of the window leant against the church wall reading a book, children flitting around with brightly coloured faces and hear, if not see, musicians casting music on the wind.
Another unplanned set followed Roland's to support our San Francisco 'theory'. Russell Dack, the new landlord of the Broadway at Totland joined a band from Norwich on stage. They went under the title 'Russco'. Dack on guitar and vocals, Darren Cochrane, formerly of Island band Built For Comfort on lead guitar, John Kramarchuck on bass and Luke Arnold on harmonica. Their rocking set included San Francisco's favourite son Steve Miller's Gangster of Love and Mercury Blues.
Mid afternoon the Buenos Notches 2 played a dazzling acoustic guitar duo set. Paul Athey playing percussive chords as a launch pad for the inspired single note runs of SG. They were just totally and utterly amazing weaving blinding solos out of nowhere. Time someone lifted these guys out of places where they have to suffer drunken yachtsmen and put them on a concert tour.
Taking the set a stage further Paul Athey remained on stage to be joined by saxophonist/drummer Dave Pontin and double bassist Paul Armfield as Tres. Athey filled the set with his funky chorded riffs, Pontin bounced between his pared down trap set and the foggy burr of his saxophone playing. Paul Armfield laid down a continuous stream of cleanly pulled bass runs. The trio sounding inspired by Jazz on a Summer's Day when Paul Armfield began singing lounge jazz songs like some modern day Chet Baker.
Graham McFarlane broke into the music for a monologue entitled 'Scooby Doo was a secret Methadone addict' which was typically off-the-wall and a send up of Hanna Barbera. He then gave the stage to his partners in the Jones' Chiz and Russ.
Chiz and Russ shoot the moon
Irish Dave was squeezed in after Chiz and Russ to sing The Star of the County Down and Mike Scott's Bring 'Em All In.
Nick Potts, John Wroath, Duncan Jones, Wayward Sons to the last
The smiles from disabled children, from the dancers, the passing policeman, the laughing traffic warden and Steve Wyatt of French Franks soaking up Wroath's stick for handing out baguettes and sausages to the kids as the "feeding of the 5,000" spoke volumes for community spirit and the abilities of selfless musicians. The sizeable petition collected by organiser Zara Smith and her fellow 'Spice Girls' ought to convince the Council to put its weight behind similar events in the future.
Last but not least this excellent mural was painted on the day