Practical Stuff

WHO? WHERE? WHAT?
We are an open mic club meeting every Tuesday at the British Oak pub in Old Dover Road, Blackheath. We are more of an acoustic than a pure folk club. Recent sessions have included virtually every musical genre.

TECH BIT
We have a 300 watt Yamaha PA system with 2 mics and 4 other inputs. If more inputs are needed a Behringer mixer can be made available with prior notice. The space is relatively limited and a four-piece band is probably the optimum.

WANT TO PLAY?
We operate a first come-first served system. There are 10 minutes/2 song slots. It is best to arrive by 8pm to avoid disappointment and ask for Lynne. We only have one rule we ask performers to respect: our excellent host, Peter, prefers people not to publicise gigs in other pubs, which seems fair enough to us.

WHERE ARE WE?
The British Oak, 109 Old Dover Rd, London SE3 8SU

Sunday, 31 August 2008

Tuesday, August 26th

We were treated to two excellent sets by Andy Smythe, backed by Barry Targett. Andy performed a mixture of self-penned material and interpretatons of others' work. He switched from guitar to piano smoothly and was ably backed by Barry, mainly on violin but who also played some mean guitar in the second set.
As always it was desperation stakes at around 8.15 as we lacked that essential prerequisite for a successful open mic - performers! However, prayers were answered and a number of mainly familiar artists emerged to provide yet another rich and balanced programme. It was almost as if we planned it that way! Relative newcomers included John, a stalwart from Folkmob, and Ashleigh, who sang beautifully with Simon Goodwin to provide the customary jazz interlude. Colin shared an entrancing and heartfelt newly written song of his own with us with a sensitive harp accompaniment by Baxter.

Tuesday, 26 August 2008

Tuesday, August 19th

DIVERSITY RULES!
What links Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, the Beatles, the Eagles, Damien Rice, Andy Williams, Prince, Gordon Lightfoot and British and American roots music? The answer is obviously the talented bunch of musicians who played on Tuesday, August 19th. There were fewer in the audience than usual but this did not dampen the atmosphere and a great night ensued.

Most of the performers were old lags but it was nice to welcome Neil who entertained us with sensitive interpretations of Bert Jansch and Gillian Welch material, further adding to the diversity of the vening. An innovation was an impromptu jam as a finale in which Colin, Simon G and Sion tackled some reggae and rhythm and blues songs. I (Sion) brought along my bass and am happy to atempt to accompany anyone who is up for it.

Speaking of diversity, I've played at some open mic events in Central London recently. They were good but had nothing like the depth and breadth that our regulars provide. We are so fortunate in this area to have access to jazz at Mycenae on Mondays, Folkmob on Wednesdays and Colin's fortnightly bash at the Pelton Arms on Thursday as well as our Tuesday sessions.

On Augut 26th we welcome Andy Smyth, a resident at Orpington Friday Folk. To get your appetites whetted for this his website is http://www.andysmythe.com/

Our ever-obliging host Peter has consulted the committee over concerns expresed by a resident over noise levels. We are therefore asking all those who come along to leave on tippy-toes, sotto voce.

The excellent and hugely entertaining Steve Morrison played at the British Oak on Saturday, August 9th. Steve is always tremendous and attracts quality musicians to accompany him. This gig featured an incredible percussionist called Mark Watson, Rolf Harris's drummer! Next Saturday (23rd) sees Bill Clift perform, another very classy act.

Forthcoming Events
26th August: Andy Smythe Duo http://www.andysmythe.com/home.html
16th Sept: Bruise
http://www.webotech.co.uk/cgi-bin/bruisemusic/WOT_displayinc.pl?file=w-gigs.inc

 
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