SpideWriter

CHAMPFEST The Champion, Chapelfield Road Saturday 23rd / Sunday 24th March 2024 Champfest 2024  Every Monday evening in the front bar of The Champion there is a gathering of songwriters and musicians who under the gentle guidance of Pete Turrel and John Fennel test out new material, refine revised songs, or just practice with the aim of getting some honest and trustworthy feedback. It is not an open mic for audience entertainment, but a musicians' circle for musicians and Chris The Poet. Some seriously good musicians attend this event and the licensee, Jackie has said that this event is her most enjoyable evening of the pub week. And so it came to pass that ten years into her tenure as landlady, Jackie organised Champfest, which for a £5 wristband a punter could enjoy Happy Hour prices all Saturday and Sunday and listen to  some of the city's most popular local musicians. I duly u-turned my motor and popped in for a wristband on my way home from playing footy on the Monday eve...

Odd Creatures and two gallons of SNAKEMILK Odd Creatures and (2/3 of) SNAKEMILK 21stMarch 2024, Voodoo Daddy's Showroom, Norwich It’s Thursday night, so let me take you down, because we’re going to  Voodoo Daddy’s Showroom  for a proper visit.  Next to  Gonzo’s Too , which is part of the same funky establishment on the top tip of London Street.  This is the reawakened alternative music venue that has moved from its  quirky oak-beamed room, up the rickety stairs, on Timber Hill.    Now days you go through the double, abattoir-style plastic strip curtains to the bar area and then  downstairs  for the new location of this legendary  Norwich  venue.  There is a sofa pushed to each side wall of the room, the two familiar rugs and a very decent low-rise stage stretching across the back wall.  It’s a low ceiling and a regular shape by comparison to the original Voodoo’s.  All-in-all a very decen...

Hanging Out With the Stars The Hanging Stars – Norwich Arts Centre 19 th  March 2024   Americana is a tough trail to follow and the highway is pretty crowded.  There are plenty of bands heading West looking for El Dorado these days and not all of them are going to succeed, but The Hanging Stars are making good headway, ploughing their own deep furrow of cosmocity under the big skies of the Mid-West.   The band has just released a bright, sparkly album On A Golden Shore  that has been very well-received.  If they don’t make it further down this particular dusty track, not one of this energetic band will be faulted for lack of commitment to the cause.  On A Golden Shore, The Hanging Stars   Richard Olson is the front man, lead singer and guitarist, who by the end of the set was wiped out.  Leaning on the wall by the merch stand, he looked absolutely drained.  I am not sure I have ever seen a musician so visibly exhausted at...