Venue Review

                                                (Extracted from a review of The Nimmo Brothers)

 

The Raven Hall - October 2015

 

“We built this city... on rock and roll” was the refrain emanating from the radio during breakfast. “What city?” my wife ventured, out of the blue.

 

It was a rhetorical question, but thinking about it, there is a limited number of possibilities. Nashville? Memphis? Maybe New Orleans?

 

The former industrial town of Corby in Northamptonshire was most definitely NOT built on rock 'n' roll. Corby was built on steel, by a predominantly Scottish (and especially Glaswegian) workforce. The town suffered when the great British Steel works closed shop in the early 80s, leaving Corby an industrial wilderness; with high unemployment, and all the attendant social problems that ensued. I hadn't been to Corby for years. No reason to go there, really; either for work or pleasure. But tonight I was making an exception.

 

And the reason? Two blues music adventurers named Dave Morse and Richard Boyles got together and formed Corn Market Blues (www.CornMarketBlues.co.uk), a non-profit organisation dedicated to bringing the cream of British blues to Northamptonshire, and tonight's billing at Corby boasted the nationally acclaimed blues brothers from Glasgow, The Nimmo Brothers.

 

The Nimmo Brothers have been wooing audiences up and down the country and beyond for years with their special brand of honest, hard-working, and down-to-earth rock blues.  This would be my one chance to catch them performing live together. I wasn't about to miss their show.

 

The gig advertisement boasted “... disappointment is most definitely not an option!” It seemed like a no- brainer, really. My only concern was that the venue might be ... er... less than comfortable for an old geezer like me, as it was a standing-only event. That turned out not to be true.

The Raven Hall, attached to the Raven Hotel, turned out to be an exceptionally suitable venue for this type of event. Car parking was ample, especially considering the large number of people arriving from outside Corby. The entrance foyer was accessible, comfortable and well lit. Once past the ticketing desk, you entered the bar area, which was comfortable and well serviced with the usual range of lagers, beers and a couple of cask ales. Beyond the bar was the larger performance space, with seating and tables around the perimeter, a dance floor in the middle, and a stage at the far end.

More importantly, the event was well attended. It was nice to see a generous smattering of youngsters as well as the usual gamut of maturing blues faithful in the audience. You could feel the excitement and anticipation. Part of the enthusiasm was no doubt due to the fact that finally, local music fans had a venue that could attract the kind of blues artists hitherto only available at venues like the Musician in Leicester, or the Stables in Milton Keynes. The atmosphere was electric.

 

In the meantime, Corn Market Blues will continue to put Corby on the rock/blues map by serving up more delicacies for the local concert goer. With a programme to whet the appetite of even the most discerning music fan, there's no excuse. Disappointment is not an option. Corby, here I come!

                           John Finn            www.facebook.com/johnfinnmusic