For the first part of our musical weekend, Rob and I were treated to a first-class welcome at The Goose is Out folk club in Nunhead in south-east London last night.
Knowing how bad the traffic can be across London on a Friday evening, Rob and I set off for Nunhead in the early afternoon after a morning of rehearsal and working on new material. Rather than risk going through London, we followed a more circular approach to the venue which proved problem free allowing us to arrive in the area in excellent time to call in on a good friend.
Rob’s friend and previous playing partner, Luke, from revered classical guitar duo Dunlea-Garcia, lives not far from the club’s venue and had kindly offered us a cuppa and sandwiches before the gig. It was a great pleasure to catch up with Luke, hear his news and, for all too brief a time, to hear him play. (He makes a great cuppa as well.)
We then made our way to The Old Nun’s Head for 7.00pm, in good time to get set up ahead of the gig. The club organisers of The Goose is Out, Sue Whitehead and Nygel Packett, work amazingly hard to make the folk evenings run smoothly at both of the venues they manage. By the time we had arrived, the upstairs room of this very appealing pub was already warmed up against the November cold and fully laid out with club programmes on every seat, posters of forthcoming gigs on the walls, lights, balloons and all the necessary to give the place a great music atmosphere. The room also has a wonderful acoustic quality – all of which just makes you want to perform.
We quickly tuned up and stored our instrument cases away which left us with ample time to chat with Sue and Nygel and hear about recent and future events at The Goose is Out.
Doors opened at 7.30 and club regulars started to arrive. The banter was excellent and the general good humour in the club was plain to see.
The evening began with an impressive round of singers from the floor. Amongst other things, we had own compositions with Shruti, close harmony singing of Cyril Tawney’s classic The Grey Funnel Line (a personal favourite) and an Irish nonsense song which was sung beautifully.
We were then invited on for what was quite a punchy first set which saw us reprise The Bite and give another run out for new song, The Black Widows.
Over the break period, we had chance to chat with club regulars and newcomers. Then, after taking on the onerous responsibility of drawing the raffle, we had a second round of songs from singers from the floor. Again, it was a great, eclectic mix, with some excellent singing.
Our second set was a more reflective set. The audience was very much a listening audience and were attentive to the stories we were telling, joining in and supporting us with choruses. We finished the performance off with Navajos and Pirates and, to our delight, were roundly encouraged to provide an encore. This we were pleased to do, playing our new DADGAD version of The Maid of Culmore.
Some of the feedback after the gig was a little overwhelming. It can be hard sometimes, peering through the spotlights on a stage, to be able to fully read audience reaction – but we could not have been more delighted with the comments we received which was not only about the music itself but the presentation of the material.
As things died down, we packed up, said our goodbyes and got into the car to return home. It was then we heard for the first time about the tragic events that had been unfolding in Paris throughout the evening. Understandably, it was a sombre and reflective drive home through the centre of London.
Many thanks to Sue and Nygel not only for their invitation to play at The Goose is Out but also for their professionalism throughout all our dealings with them relating to this gig and for the warmness of their welcome. We wish them and all at The Goose is Out well and sincerely hope to make a return to the club in the not too distant future.