Unlike Manchester there is no confusion when Melanie takes to the stage of the Cheese & Grain in Frome, instead she enters into an argument with the audience. The Cheese & Grain has had a bit of a make over since I was last there. Looking much brighter and cleaner, with the bar area refurbished and some new seating. Previously it looked like an auction for kitchen chairs, with no two the same, but now the seats are matching, better arranged and more comfortable. Beau opens the evening with a short set and, as always, charms the audience with his virtuoso guitar playing and his winning personality. This being the Cheese and Grain and this also being a charity night, with all profits going to SCOPE (a UK disability organisation whose focus is people with cerebral palsy), then there is a raffle. The draw takes place in the intermission. Beau selects the tickets and one of the prizes is a giant rabbit (a toy not a real one!) that looks like it could only have been created in the mind of Stephen King. Draw over and Melanie is introduced and we start the argument. "So it's a year since I was here" she says. "2 years" we shout. "No, it was last year", "No" 2 years" "Really! are you sure", "Yes". This goes on longer but slowly it dawns on Melanie that she seems to have lost a year of her life. "Where did it go?". And with that she launches into THE ROAMER, a song that is over almost before it has begun, which seems to catch most audiences out, including this one. "I play that to see if you get me" Melanie says "You don't get me" she jokes, "maybe I should play it again". And she does, this time slower and at the end they do get her. She introduces CLOSE TO IT ALL with the story of how the song came to be written. Already she is taking requests and Diva Anne (great to see you again Anne) calls for THE SUN AND THE MOON. This is obviously a song Melanie has not sung for some time and has not rehearsed, as the performance is a little rough round the edges to start with, but she comes good by the end. JAMMIN' ALONE is followed by a rousing version of THE NICKEL SONG, with Melanie throwing in every vocal trick she knows A new song is next, THE FIRST THING I SEE which is inspired by her love of the song HI LILY HI LO, which made her feel both happy and sad at the same time. She returns to older songs with stunning versions of A LITTLE BIT OF ME and I REALLY LOVED HAROLD. A more recent song is next, but Melanie explains "I've been doing this song for a few years now, so I've changed it" and we get MAKE IT WORK FOR ME in a new arrangement. RUBY TUESDAY is followed by LOVE DOESN'T HAVE TO HURT, which is fast becoming one of my favourites. BRAND NEW KEY someone shouts. "You don't get to pick!" replies Melanie and I look to see she is responding to husband Peter who is standing at the end of my row, but she does the song anyway. Once again we are invited to join in with the 'Hump Ha Ha". Further audience participation is called for on SMILE. A request for BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE is honoured and finally she closes the set with LAY DOWN (CANDLES IN THE RAIN). For an encore we get WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO MY SONG, MA? performed straight tonight with no added story and finally she leaves us with SOMETHING WARM. Sadly another wonderful night is over all too soon.
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