Transatlantic Sessions | Live Review | Celtic Connections | Review by Sam Hindley | 02.02.13
The final Friday evening of the 2013 Celtic Connections festival saw the first of two performances from the annual event Transatlantic Sessions. The long running TV show of same name, was first brought to the concert stage in 2004 as a special event for Celtic connections and has been a permanent fixture ever since. For the past three years there has been a tour of the event straight after Celtic Connections festival. This year’s sessions kicked off with some good old-fashioned jigs and reels from the house band, which as usual included musical directors Aly Bain and Jerry Douglas with John McCusker, Michael McGoldrick, Danny Thompson and many more. Guests are invited to perform and bring two or three of their songs to the show. The first guest this year, Teddy Thompson, was an interesting choice I thought. Every year on both the concert and TV series there is always one singer-songwriter who is totally different to anyone else on the bill, and you always wonder how are they going to fit into this? In my opinion some of the performers from outside the Traditional folk genre do not always work on the show, although there are very few of these. I’m happy to say that Teddy Thompson worked perfectly. Although from a famous folk family Thompson’s solo work has drifted away from the folk scene, taking his own direction and establishing his own fan base, of which I am one. Obviously mindful that his backing band included mostly traditional folk musicians, Teddy’s second song for the evening was “Dear Mary”, a song which he wrote with his mother, Linda Thompson. Describing it as the ‘folkyist’ thing he could think of, the song was the opening track for Linda’s 2002 comeback album Fashionably Late, a great song choice. Teddy remained onstage to provide backing vocals for the next guest, Scottish singer Emily Smith, whose song choices included Archie Fisher’s “The Final Trawl”. Transatlantic Sessions has always been about getting the performers to join in with each other and not to just do their own bit with the house band. The trio of Mary Chapin Carpenter, Emily Smith and Aoife O’Donovan, from Crooked Still, provided beautiful backing vocals on each others material throughout the evening. As well as the guest singers there were also regular contributions from members of the house band. Musical director Jerry Douglas led the band in his own composition “Gone to Fortingall”. Douglas wrote this tune after filming the last two Transatlantic TV series in the highlands of Scotland in the area which he now loves and would like to live. Bluesman Eric Bibb brought a different vibe to the stage. With his wide brimmed hat, distinctive voice and rousing guitar playing he treated us to gospel, traditional American “Going Down The Road Feeling Bad” and of course the blues. While on stage Bibb remarked “I feel embraced”, in fact we all did. Everyone in the 17-piece band expressed their delight at being part of this patchwork of musicians. The house band also included some of the top American roots musicians, most notably Old Time fiddler Bruce Molsky and Cajun musician Dirk Powell, who incidentally produced Eric Bibbs 2012 album Deeper in the Well. Molsky’s main contribution tonight was a duet with Aoife O’Donovan singing “Pretty Saro” which I believe is an old time version of a song covered by Martin Simpson, “Batchelor’s Hall”. Probably the most anticipated appearance for a lot of people was a Transatlantic debut for Mary Chapin Carpenter. Mary Chapin’s songs for the evening seemed to be the most transformed. “I Have a Need for Solitude” from her 2010 album Age of Miracles was given the addition of a McCusker/McGoldrick style riff. Transcendental Reunion from her latest album Ashes and Roses was, I hear, totally different to how they had rehearsed it. Instead of the planned ‘full house band works’ it was delivered to us totally stripped down with just McCusker, O’Donovan and Danny Thompson. By the look on the drummer’s face, not even he was aware of this change! This demonstrates the ever changing arrangements and one suspect that each night of the tour could be slightly different to the last. All 17 musicians were on stage for the finale, Mary Chapin led her classic “Down at the Twist and Shout”, absolutely incredible.
The Animals and Friends | Live Review | The Civic, Doncaster | Review by Allan Wilkinson | 13.02.13
Stiff Little Fingers | Live Review | The Ritz, Manchester | Review by Kev Boyd | 14.03.13
It’s now over thirty-five years since Stiff Little Fingers emerged out of the nascent Northern Irish punk scene with their first album Inflammable Material. This landmark release was the first independent album to enter the official charts and cemented their reputation for a particular brand of social realism which reflected their upbringing at the height of the Troubles. Indeed, a number of early songs drew inspiration directly from their experiences of growing up in late-70s Belfast and the astonishing sound they managed to manufacture on those first recordings perfectly reflected the anger and frustration that seeped out of the lyrics. In truth, their early sound emerged largely out of naivety rather than as part of a grand sonic design but that just added to the rawness of their feel, which was also unhindered by the unmistakeable hacksaw vocals of frontman Jake Burns, making Tom Waits sound positively honey-toned. A number of the standard biographies of the punk era would have you believe that this was all they amounted to, with many a rueful tale being told of the disappointment felt by once-loyal fans on first hearing their later, more polished, recordings where they not only bothered to tune their guitars in advance but where Burns appeared to have actually learned to sing! They had to move on, of course, and if a few Mohawk-sporting diehards were left behind on the way then so be it. In any case, they always did advance a much broader socio-political world view and explored a wider range of musical styles than they were perhaps given credit for. If they hadn’t developed from those early efforts it would hardly be likely that they would still be selling out venues from Aberdeen to Southampton in 2013, but that in fact is precisely what they are doing. It doesn’t hurt, of course, that they tour at least twice annually as they have for as long as most people can recall and in doing so have developed a solid reputation as a live act. The band’s current tour is their longest for some time and comes at the start of what promises to be a busy year. After treks through the UK and Europe they plan on entering the studio for the first time in a decade (and the first time ever for the current lineup) to record what will be their tenth studio album. As such, their set includes a sprinkling of the unfamiliar but if years of touring has taught them anything it’s how to get straight to the point so they kick off with a trio of old favourites: “At The Edge” was their most successful single back in 1979; “Wasted Life” the b-side to their first single; and “Roots, Radics, Rockers & Reggae” one of their numerous radical reworkings of reggae favourites. This opening section is an object lesson in getting the crowd on your side from the outset, but never wishing to rest on their laurels they head straight to the first of three new songs. As a resident of the USA for a number of years Jake Burns is well placed to comment on US domestic policy and “Trail Of Tears” takes a swipe at recent changes in legislation in certain southern states which give police increased ‘stop and search’ powers. It’s the first of three new songs that prove Burns has lost none of his ability to condense complex social concerns into perfect three-minute soundbites. “Liars Club” has been heard in previous live shows and takes on a popular SLF theme – the duplicity of elected politicians – whereas “My Dark Places” is a deeply personal account of Burns’ encounter with depression, reminding us that for SLF the personal and political have always been inextricably linked. Elsewhere the set list draws heavily on their earlier years with a handful of more recent songs thrown in for good measure. Of these “Hope Street” makes a welcome return having been absent from their set for a few years, “Strummerville” is Jake’s tribute to the late Joe Strummer, without whom he freely admits SLF wouldn’t exist and “Harp” turns a term of abuse for the Irish population in the US into an acerbic attack on prejudice and intolerance. The rest of the set is largely familiar territory but despite having played the likes of “Fly The Flag”, “Piccadilly Circus” and “Nobody’s Hero” countless times the band approach each with no less vigour and intensity than they did thirty years ago. Arrangements of familiar songs don’t differ greatly from their 1970s and ‘80s recordings but when they do the changes are subtle enough to retain the impact of the originals. It helps that they often attack those older pieces in their repertoire with a bit more verve than you might expect from a bunch of guys in their 50s. In fact, just when they may be forgiven for slowing things down on occasions, they insist on speeding up some of their better-known songs. It works because SLF 2013 is a leaner beast than many previous incarnations. In fact, the current model of SLF, including drummer Steve Grantley, second guitarist Ian McCallum, and original bassist Ali McMordie (having returned several years ago after a 15-year hiatus) as well as mainstay and frontman Burns, is perhaps their most accomplished. They tear through an astonishing half-dozen song section at the end of the set that includes the likes of “Listen”, “Just Fade Away”, “Straw Dogs” and “Suspect Device” and acts as a kind of synopsis of the SLF live experience as a whole: one exhilarating and inspiring song leads to another, then another and another… It’s this combination that defines what SLF have always been about: songs of genuine significance played with the energy and commitment of a band at the top of their game. They may have been around for over thirty five years but as long as this version of SLF still have something to say they will always find an audience. But maybe most importantly they are still around, still relevant and still selling out sizeable venues because they are in fact one hell of a live band.
Sam Lee and Friends | Live Review | Band on the Wall, Manchester | Review by Kev Boyd | 15.03.13
Sam Lee has a Mercury Music Prize nominated album Ground of its Own under his belt and an accomplished band at his disposal so it’s a wonder he hasn’t gigged more often over recent months. The 19 dates on this tour and the four London shows that immediately preceded them may well represent the biggest commitment for Sam and Friends in their relatively short lifespan. If that’s the case then I certainly doesn’t seem to faze them when they roll into Manchester’s historic Band On The Wall on a particularly frosty Friday evening. What is immediately striking about the band – and a little unusual for this kind of repertoire – is the diversity of their instrumentation. Fiddle, trumpet, cello and ukulele are all relatively conventional but add to these the koto (a large Japanese harp played on the floor), shruti box, Jews harp and a variety of percussion including cajon and tabla then you have an intriguing mix and a unique ensemble sound. Some of the band appear on Lee’s album but whilst the overall feel of some songs is not dissimilar to the album, the actual arrangements are often pleasingly and subtly different. The sampled elements that occasionally marked the album as being so distinct are discarded in a live context although there’s no doubt the available technology would have made them possible had Lee and band been so inclined. This shouldn’t be considered a loss though, as there is a much more organic feel to their sound that is a necessary and welcome side effect of a purely live approach. Of the songs from the album, “Wild Wood Amber”, constructed from several fragments in the repertoires of gypsy singers Mary Ann Haynes and Joe Jones, and “Ballad Of George Collins”, from the singing of Enos White as collected by Bob Copper, fare best in a live context. Both are characterised by disjointed or incomplete narratives that make little sense when examined closely but which each suggest a sense of mystery and intrigue. Interestingly, whilst the former manages this thanks largely to Lee’s editorial intervention, the latter is more likely an example of chance intervening to produce similar results. Lee and Friends have some equally fascinating songs that don’t feature on their album. Indeed, the entire first half is made up of such, with “Over Yonder’s Hill” from the singing of Jean Orchard and “Black Dog & Sheep Crook” via Queen Caroline Hughes being two of the more compelling examples and Lee’s encouraging of the audience into a sing-along towards the end of “Phoenix Island” providing another memorable moment. At various points throughout both sets Lee gives up the stage to another wonderful singer, Thomas McCarthy. McCarthy is an Irish traveller who learned his songs from his extended family and only started singing in public within the last few years. It’s rare for a singer to literally stop you in your tracks but McCarthy manages this within moments of starting his first song. He sings in the sean-nós style with a natural vibrato and the sometimes elaborate ornamentation that is characteristic of many gypsy singers. His repertoire ranges from the saddest ballads to the bawdiest barroom songs and he provides an interesting context for Lee’s explorations of traveller traditions. It’s to Lee’s credit that he readily allows McCarthy to share his stage. Less competent or self-assured performers would shrink at the comparisons that could be drawn with such an accomplished singer who is essentially doing in a ‘traditional’ context what Lee is attempting to recreate in a contemporary one but the comparison serves both singers well.
Boo Hewerdine and the Bible 25th Anniversary Gig | Live Review | Eureka, Bury Met | Review by David Jennings | 16.03.13
For fans who have grown accustomed to seeing Boo Hewerdine in his folkier, acoustic mode as a solo artist, or playing with the excellent Brooks Williams in the sublime State of the Union duo, it has been a long wait to see The Bible in full flow at a gig. Playing just a handful of shows to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Steve Earle produced Eureka LP, The Bible played Bury Met to a full house. The gig was supported by Jake Morley, who plays his guitar in a Newton Faulkner inspired ‘lap tapping’ style, and has some fine songs in his set. During his set, the audience, which was fully seated, went from half empty to full, and the latecomers missed a great set. I know its quite common for people to skip support acts nowadays, but personally I always welcome the chance to see someone new, and it has always struck me as a bit odd so many people pass on the chance. Jake has had some mainstream coverage on BBC radio, and is a name to look out for at festivals and gigs – he is well worth seeing. In a well played set of assured, engaging songs his stand-out track “Feet Don’t Fail Me Now” already has the feel of a standard. The Bible recorded the gig for future release as live album, and perhaps that explains the even better than usual quality of the playing, and the addition of a second keyboard player and saxophonist. Anyone unfamiliar with the on/off nature of The Bible would never know these musicians rarely play together, the set was such a tight, slick run through of songs from Eureka, and a few other classics thrown in, you would think they toured for weeks on end each year. Songs as well written as “Graceland”, “Skeleton Crew”, “Cigarette Girls” and “Sky Writing” would be stand-out tracks in the career of many bands, making the bands lack of mainstream success a puzzle. Factor in the musical prowess of Boo and Neil McColl on vocals and guitars, and the solid backing of the rest of the band, and The Bible should really be playing arenas, not arts centres. Anyway – the wider public’s loss is our our gain, and a couple of hundred of us enjoyed some great music in an intimate venue. A spur of the moment version of “Buzz Aldrin” from the ‘lost’ Bible album Dodo was one of several superb encores, and it was clear from the chat on the way out that most people present would not want to wait another 25 years to hear The Bible play again.
Rebecca Pronsky and Rich Bennett | Live Review | Old Courthouse, Thirsk | Review by Allan Wilkinson | 22.03.13
The Wayward Tour – Eliza Carthy & Jim Moray | Live Review | Buxton Opera House | Review by Kev Boyd | 27.05.13
Wow, looks like Eliza’s back in town! Mr Carthy’s wayward daughter is celebrating 21 years of being on the folk stage in style, touring along with Jim Moray and an 11 piece band of fine musicians. I caught up with this grand event in the apt setting of Buxton Opera House, about half way into the tour. Jim, who is also enjoying 10 years as a major performer, kicked off the show with a solo song at the keyboards, then quickly brought on the full Wayward Band. A well thought out duet with Lucy Farrell on “Jenny of the Moor” set the scene for the evening. Moray’s set also included “Lord Douglas”, a beautifully adapted Child ballad and a well-deserved winner of Best Traditional track in this years Folk Awards. After no more than an hour we were hearing the familiar rousing chorus of “All You Pretty Girls” signalling the end of Jim’s set. Post interval Eliza took to the stage, heading first to the piano which was probably surprising to most people in the room. The result was a gorgeous version of “Diego’s Bold Shore”, from Waterson Carthy’s Dark Light album but rarely heard in this form. From there Eliza gave us a tour through her immense and varied back catalogue, starting with “Cold Haily Rainy Night” which was the first song that she’d recorded with band members Saul Rose on melodeon and bassist Barn Stradling some 16 years ago – and she still made it sound as fresh as ever, with lots of little yells and dances. I was great to hear Eliza in good voice again, hardly a trace of the throat problems she has suffered in recent years. Having a big band to play with allowed both Jim and Eliza to fill out the arrangements they usually do on stage, creating something as big and in many cases better than the original studio versions. A good example was “Worcester City”, popular song from the Rat Catchers days, but this time with the distinctive percussion intro from the album. Also from the Rat Catchers era was “Gallant Hussar”, heavily featuring some great brass playing by Nick Malcolm on trumpet and Adrien ‘Yen Yen’ Toulouse on trombone. 21 years in the business has given Eliza depth and variety, and this showed up on the “Grey Gallito”, which is actually a version of “The Lovers Ghost” originally picked up from her father. However, she recorded this with the great dance band Salsa Celtica, with the addition of a Spanish chorus – result, simply gorgeous. More treats to come with a lovely version of Mike Waterson’s “Jack Frost”, with Dave Delarre on guitar and Lucy Farrell with backing vocals. My only slight disappointment of the show was the limited material from Eliza’s Red Rice album, only 2 songs. These were never the less brilliant, particularly “Billy Boy/the Widdows Wedding” with Eliza and Sam Sweeney playing together. Last song before the encore was a fine version of “Willow Tree”. This song used to appear at the same point during the Ratcatchers set and it was great to hear it again in an even fuller arrangement. To round off the evening everybody joined in the vocals on a rousing “Glory Land”, then a big band treatment of “The Cobblers Hornpipe”, the only full instrumental set of the evening, sending all home with smiles on our faces. It was evident watching how much fun the band seemed to be having up there. Sam Sweeney confirmed this after the show. Sam said “It’s great to play Eliza’s old material, she was one of the big reasons I started playing folk music in the first place”. Well, I think you speak for a lot of people there Sam.
Doncaster Folk Festival 2013 | Live Review | Ukrainian Centre, Doncaster | Review by Allan Wilkinson | 02.06.13
York Ukulele Festival 2013 | Live Review | York | Review by Liam Wilkinson | 15.06.13
Sunny with a very good chance of heavy rain. That was the forecast for Saturday 15th June 2013 in York. But, as puffs of off-white cloud tickled the twin bell towers of the city’s scaffolded Minster, nobody really seemed to care what the skies had in store. From 11am, every alley and snickleway of this ancient city would be filled with the sunny sound of that most delightful and ever-popular of instruments, the humble uke. The first ever York Ukulele Festival was presented by Red Cow Music – the best music shop in the city to discover the uke or feed your obsession for the instrument – and attracted a bustling crowd of curious onlookers throughout the day. The main stage in St Sampson’s Square boasted a host of strummers – from individual pluckers to sizeable uke orchestras – from mid-morning to late afternoon with the Black Swan pub in Peasholme Green taking over in the evening. The Grand Old Uke Of York – the city’s most vibrant ukulele collective who meet weekly at Victor J’s Bar in Finkle Street – opened the festival in true Live Aid style with a fifteen-strong uke rendition of Status Quo’s “Rockin’ All Over The World”. Soon, the weathered slabs of the old Square were flooded with crowds, each unable to stifle that traditional uke-induced smirk. And the smiles were only lengthened by the collective’s buoyant versions of Queen’s “Fat Bottom Girls”, The Beatles classic “Eight Days A Week” and a show-stopping “Rawhide”. A gently enchanting version of Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” was performed by two of the group’s members and another Disney favourite, “I Wanna Be Like You”, introduced the giggling passers-by to the kazookulele – a uke with a luminous green kazoo pegged to its headstock. And while the music itself laid the foundations for what would be a day of merriment, a brief and unanticipated interlude to let a booming uniformed marching band pass through Parliament Street, during which the entire collective stood in acknowledgement, created an infectious ripple of guffaws that failed to evaporate all day. Kyle Frasier’s folk-flavoured uke set was next up, featuring a four-stringed rendition of “Dirty Old Town” as well as a selection of self-penned songs. Kyle also paid tribute to George Harrison – the late Beatle and ukulele-obsessive – with an admirable re-working of “If Not For You” – the Dylan song that Harrison covered on his All Things Must Pass album. After a colourful performance and rousing version of Rainbow’s “Since You’ve Been Gone” from the Harrogate Ukulele Group, the seven-piece Ukulele Sunshine Revival rattled off a lengthy set of well-known numbers such as “Fisherman’s Blues”, “Hello Mary Lou” and a beguiling version of “Mr Sandman”. And, as those grey clouds began to let go of their first stinging drops of rain, pupils from York’s Headlands School took to the stage for an impressive showcase of cleverly-reworked songs, including a fitting rendition of “It’s Raining, It’s Pouring”. Thankfully, the charming little pub The Habit was on hand to save us from getting drenched with a ukulele open mic session. The boards of the pub’s first floor were put to the test when hoards of uke-lovers assembled to sip local ale and listen to impromptu performances from a long list of diverse strummers. Performers as young as fourteen shared the bill with more seasoned ukulele players in front of the pub’s open upstairs window, filling not just the room with that adorably happy sound but the whole of Goodramgate, too. And the happiness continued well into the evening with further performances at the city’s six-hundred year old Black Swan, sealing the lid on York’s first ever and clearly very successful Ukulele Festival. Let’s hope the dancing fleas will descend upon us again next year.
Beverley Folk Festival 2013 | Live Review | Beverley | Review by Allan Wilkinson | 26.06.13
Richard Shindell | Live Review | The Live Room, Saltaire | Review by Keith Belcher | 02.08.13
Richard Shindell timed his 5 date mini tour of the UK to coincide with our brief heat wave so it was quite a warm, humid night at The Live Room, Saltaire. Fortunately as well as a fan aimed at the stage a door was kept open which allowed a cooling breeze to circulate around the front of the room at least. A good crowd turned up to see Richard Shindell, surely one of the most under rated and largely unrecognised singer/songwriters of his age. Although born in the States, Richard now resides in Buenos Aires. It’s always baffling to me why the likes of Tom Russell and Richard Shindell don’t regularly play far larger venues. However, I’m sure that most of the audience along with myself were very pleased to see Richard perform in such an intimate setting. The Live Room at The Caroline Social Club has been putting on acts for just over a year now. Recent ‘scoops’ have included The Home Service and Martyn Joseph, full credit to Ron and Hilary, the promoters, although it has to be said that it was a bit of a squeeze to fit all 8 members of The Home Service on the stage. The evening started with a short but delightful set from the very capable Jess Morgan from Norwich. I first saw Jess in May 2007 at Fibbers in York supporting Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter. She was one of several supports that night so she obviously made quite an impression on me back then. Her stage presence, guitar work and song writing abilities have progressed immensely in those few years and surely a ‘Laura Marling’ type break could happen anytime. As well as playing support to Richard she has supported the likes of amongst others, First Aid Kit, Teddy Thompson, Chris Wood, Lau and Megson. Jess was the perfect opener for Richard Shindell as she is very much in the story telling vein of song writers. Many of her songs are about travelling as, in her own words, she does a lot of it. She has a great voice and unlike many support acts had that confident manner and introduced all her songs and gave background information. Her very good use and choice of words was emphasised by her very clear vocal style. Call me old fashioned but I like to hear the words to songs without straining. I think the highly polite and attentive audience would have been very happy for Jess to perform a few more songs, recognising that she is a real talent. Jess is well worth taking the time to see if she is playing near you. The first thing Richard Shindell said when taking the stage was to ask for another round of applause for Jess saying how much he enjoyed her set. Throughout the night a seated Richard switched between a custom made in Buenos Aires white electric which resembled a Fender Stratocaster and an acoustic guitar on loan from Show of Hand’s Steve Knightley. It was, apparently, Richard’s intention to just play electric guitar for the tour but a change of mind and the offer of the loan from Steve meant both were used. If anything the acoustic was actually played louder than the electric. Sometimes Richard tours with an accompanying guitarist. In 2010 he toured with the wonderfully talented Mark Schulman who created a kind of sonic backdrop to Richard’s songs. This time, however, Richard demonstrated that he quite a talented and inventive guitarist in his own right. Richard first two songs were what he calls his road songs, “Transit” from a 2000 album Somewhere Near Paterson. During the evening Richard told of how wonderfully civilised he thought drivers were in the UK. He had been driving himself around on this tour and described roundabouts as something totally new to him, nothing like them in the States or Buenos Aires where any kind of road etiquette is non existent. The comments that we Brits are very civilised courteous drivers obviously surprised a few in the audience but I guess it’s all relative. The song basically describes traffic gridlock on a Friday evening, brilliantly observing the characters, faces, frustrations and actions of the drivers and their vehicles. This was followed by a new as yet unreleased song “The Deer on the Parkway”. Richard remarked during the evening that most of his songs fell between road songs and four legged creature songs. “The Deer on the Parkway” being a combination of both. From the very new he then played as a request “By Now” from his first album 1992’s Sparrow’s Point, a song he rarely performs live as he calls it ‘creepy’, hauntingly beautiful would be more apt in my opinion. Continuing the four legged theme he then played “Stray Cow Blues”, another as yet unreleased song. Keeping on the road theme we then had “The Juggler Out on Traffic” from 2009’s So Far Now, his last ‘new’ album. Also from that a chirpy four legged creature song “Get Up Clara” which must be the only song I can think of that has the word Visigoths in it. A song Joan Baez and Fairport Convention have covered was next, “Reunion Hill”, an American Civil War song told from the views of a woman waiting for her husband to come back from the war. The chilling “You Stay Here” was next, this also has been recently covered by Show of Hands. It was after hearing that song on the Mike Harding Show that they invited him to tour with them last year and Richard regularly joined them on stage during their set to join in on his own song. A change of pace to Richards attempt at a country song “Kenworth of My Dreams” which was perfectly punctuated at the end of the song by a falling glass which Richard thought was perfect for the end of a country song. Another road song, this time from the point of view of a cab driver in New York, “The Last Fare of The Day”. A new song, an anti objectivism ditty called “Ayn’s Air” based around Russian-American philosopher Ayn Rand meeting Yul Brynner at the gates of heaven showed the wide range of topics covered in tonight’s songs. Two more unreleased songs “Your Guitar” and “Careless” followed. Careless was played by tapping the guitar strings rather than finger picking or plectrum. A fairly impromptu tribute to one of Richard’s heroes Nick Lowe was next with a cover of “You Make Me”, it was the first time he had played the song and Richard jokingly asked someone videoing not to put it on YouTube. The nearest Richard Shindell song to a sing along followed, his Halloween breakup song, “Are You Happy Now”. I was at Sheffield two nights before where there was a resounding audience participation with this song which left Richard slightly disconcerted saying ‘No-one sings at my shows’. Richard finished the set with another request, one of my favourite songs and one of his catchiest guitar riffs “There Goes Mavis”. This song is seemingly about building a sand castle before the tide washes it away with the background story of an orange canary escaping from its cage, great story telling. Another piece of perfect timing/synchronicity on the last refrain of “There Goes Mavis”, the guitar amp ran out of battery and stopped abruptly but at just the perfect moment. Of course the audience weren’t going let him go without an encore. No choice now but to use Mr. Knightley’s borrowed acoustic for another cover. A traditional song that I will always associate with the Grateful Dead, a beautifully sung “I Know You Rider”. That was it, 1 hour 45 minutes had flown by. He is a superb story teller, let’s hope the new CD will be released soon and that he returns to the UK to promote it. On leaving the venue, long awaited rain was falling, several people were seen to be just standing in it to appreciate it’s cooling effect. No doubt that the warm weather will pass and usual Yorkshire climes will resume.
Larkin Poe | Live Review | Parish Church, Wigan | Review by Keith Belcher | 07.08.13
On arriving at Wigan Parish Church I spotted a Larkin Poe poster labelling them as ‘Swampadelic Soul Sisters direct from Atlanta, Georgia’. The first time I’d seen or heard of the word Swampadelic, more of that later. Getting to the Church was a challenge. My satnav had already taken me on two circular tours of Wigan, each time getting desperately close to the Church only to be thwarted by Bus/Taxi lanes and one way systems, almost like driving through Sheffield! I settled for abandoning the car nearby and walking as directed through a narrow ginnel to the Church. For those not from the North of England that’s a narrow passageway between two buildings. By the time the Church doors were unlocked a good crowd had gathered for the night’s show. Pausing only to grab a cushion for some comfort when faced with sitting on an unforgiving wooden Church pew for a couple of hours I took my seat, resisting the urge to genuflect and cross myself having been a good catholic while younger. Being a Weddings/Funerals only sort of Churchgoer I’m not used to seeing a pair of swampadelic soul sisters rocking in front of the altar so this was going to be interesting. Larkin Poe is the name taken by the two younger Lovell sisters, Rebecca and Megan after their eldest sister Jessica chose another path in life after performing as bluegrass band The Lovell Sisters for many years. The Lovell Sisters appeared at many large American festivals and the Grand Ole Opry. Keeping in mind that Rebecca and Megan are still only 22 and 24 respectively this means they have been performing most of their lives. Larkin Poe was the name of their great, great, great grandfather. They currently perform with bass player Robby Handley and drummer Marlon Patton. Judy Dunlop, a very well known singer in her own right and also mother of Blair Dunlop with whom Larkin Poe have recently released a collaborative CD EP Killing Time did the honours as MC for the night. Support was provided by Fabian Holland, a very well regarded young singer, songwriter and guitarist. Fabian’s been playing guitar since the age of seven, taught initially by his father before attending the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford. After that he spent four years in Italy learning and developing his musical style. He now lives on a narrow boat in London. Playing a Lowden guitar in an accomplished wonderfully flowing style with many flourishes but never over embellished Fabian did a mixture of his own and traditional songs. His second song “Like Father Like Son” about turning into his Dad raised a chuckle throughout the audience who obviously recognised many of the traits mentioned. This was followed by a more serious and sad song “Little Boy Johnny” about a military conscriptee at age 18. Another own composition “At The River” related to his observations from his narrow boat. A traditional song “Banks of the Dee” was very ably given his own interpretation. He finished the set to much applause with “Dr Price”, a tale of a 19th century druid, surgeon, chartist , lawyer, bard, nudist, vegetarian and pioneer of cremation. Fabian has a CD due for release on October 7th. After a short break Judy introduced Larkin Poe. Larkin Poe as a band have evolved musically in a huge way in the last couple of years. This year there were some personnel changes in that guitarist Rick Lollar and drummer Chad Melton left the band, Chad being replaced by Marlon and Rebecca has mainly put aside her acoustic guitar and taken to playing a mean electric lead guitar as well as mandolin and fiddle. Megan plays Lap Steel with attitude as well as occasional keyboards. Recently Mark Radcliffe at this year’s Cambridge Folk Festival commented (I paraphrase slightly at times) “one of my favourite acts this weekend has been Larkin Poe, two sisters from America originally an acoustic bluegrass outfit who were playing a sort of deep down and dirty sort of swamp blues, you heard this incredible slide guitar thinking that’s going to be played by someone who looks like one of the hairy bikers and you turn the corner and it’s being played by a very pretty young girl with silver hair (Megan)”. Fair praise indeed. As well as deep down and dirty the two sisters also produce the sort of sublime harmonies that seem divinely reserved for siblings. Over the past couple of years the band’s music has evolved and been refined significantly to their own gutsy but sophisticated sound, what they call Swampadelic Americana Soul. They still do the occasional cover song , tonight they did as an encore a wonderfully harmonious “Take Me Back” by Buddy and Julie Miller but the majority of the music is theirs, written by them, arranged by them and played in their own style which is also more sophisticated than traditional Blues swamp music taking in elements of gospel, jam band, soul, R&B and country. That sounds like a melange but it really works well and sounds good. Rebecca urged the audience to make noise as she had noticed that she had been very conscious of the noise her footsteps were making in the Church. Possibly not the best thing for Rebecca to say in a Church was “For Christ’s sake let’s make some noise” but no bolt of lightning split the roof so all was obviously well and approved of on high. First song was “The Principle of Silver Lining”, which has undergone many arrangement changes over the years, this performance a lot heavier and gutsier musically but with delicate ever building background vocals from Megan in contrast to Rebecca’s lead vocals finishing with Rebecca joining Megan in harmony. No pause for breath and straight into “Trick of the Light”. The band have become a lot more substantial and polished musically in the last year or so with Rebecca both singing powerful vocals and taking lead guitar role, with Megan producing some ‘down and dirty’ Lap Steel. You start to get what they mean by Swampadelic Americana Soul. A very swampy, bluesy traditional Wade in the Water followed, the contrast of the harmonies and powerful strident music with soaring electric and Lap Steel breaks as well as a mandolin solo throughout worked really well getting the audience to form a couple of choirs and join in with the multiple harmonies coming from all band members. “Mad as a Hatter” a new unrecorded song written for their crazy grandfather and performed last year at Cropredy for the first time featured Rebecca on mandolin and Megan playing some very powerful but subdued Lap Steel licks, beautiful harmonies throughout and many hand gestures from Rebecca during the choruses of ‘Off With Her Head’. Another new song, the very rocking “Sugar High” followed with piercing Lap Steel from Megan, Robby and Marlon keeping a very solid rock rhythm. A new far gentler song “Slow Moving Giant” contrasted with “Sugar High” and “Mad as a Hatter”, Megan playing some keyboards in addition to Lap Steel on this one. Rebecca switched to fiddle for another new song “The Heart of You” in the same gentler vein, debating whether it was a fiddle or a violin. The best definition I have heard was from Tim O’Brien with “you can spill beer on a fiddle!” A bass and drum groove rhythm was background for the band intros leading into “Mr Mechanic”, a junkyard romance song. Some delightful interplay between all instruments in the band to get a very catchy groove going to Rebecca’s slowly phrased vocals. Back into the swamps for hip swinging muddy swamp soul on this one. Almost scat singing at times between Rebecca’s vocals and Megan’s guitar. “The Banks of Allatoona” about (their words) an ugly lake in Georgia showed a new dimension with a pre-recorded opening vocal digital loop from Marlon’s drum pad kept with the swampadelic theme. An extensive Lap Steel solo from Megan underlying Mark Radcliffes comments mentioned earlier, the song fading out to the earlier pre recorded loop. A song about autism Fear and Trembling slowed the pace down. Megan manages the contradiction of being both delicate and powerful at the same time with her Lap Steel, that is never more evident than this song. To up the tempo again Larkin Poe’s take on a fairy tale Goldilocks started and maintained a rocking beat, some very nice drumming with syncopated vocal interplay. Another song about a strange family member Jesse, their paternal great grandfather who was by all accounts a very strange and mean character. While Rebecca introduced this song Robby created some unusual bass effects using an array of pedals and switches. A very striking bass and drum groove open this song which is quite dark in its lyrical content. A long swampadelic intro to the very upbeat “Jailbreak” brought the set to an end. Buddy and Julie Miller’s “Take Me Back” was a beautifully performed almost acoustic encore from Rebecca and Megan singing, with faces almost touching, perhaps in reflection to their bluegrass past, into a single microphone. Sibling harmonies have that something extra and this was a great example. Larkin Poe have a number of CD EPs on release but hope to release their first solo full length CD this winter. The plan is to start recording as soon as they are back home. With their Swampadelic Americana Soul sound now firmly developed and established this should be a treat.
Dave McGraw and Mandy Fer | Live Review | The Wheelhouse, Wombwell | Review by Allan Wilkinson | 11.08.13
Bright Phoebus Revisited | Live Review | Liverpool Philharmonic | Review by Kev Boyd | 13.10.13
Forty-one years ago Mike and Lal Waterson, aided and abetted by a ragtag bunch of friends and family, wrote and recorded one of the strangest and most beguiling albums of the 1970s. Bright Phoebus has had a long and often less than illustrious history. Originally pressed in an edition of 2000, only half of which had the hole in the conventional central position, it later disappeared into a publishing black hole and, save for a substandard CD-R release a decade or so back that barely merits a mention, hasn’t seen the light of day for at least 30 years. During those three decades the album has developed a much deserved reputation as a lost classic and in what you could be forgiven for thinking was the age of the reissue you’d imagine it to be a prime candidate for the full box set treatment. But whilst recent developments suggest there may now be a glimmer of hope in that respect the Waterson family aren’t holding their collective breathe and are taking things into their own hands by revisiting Bright Phoebus in a live context. At the same time they are celebrating the release of Teach Me To Be A Summer’s Morning, a CD and book of Lal’s unreleased demos and diverse artwork. Sadly, both Mike or Lal are no longer with us but the family have mustered their more than adequate collective resources and with the help of Musical Director Kate St John have gathered an impressive cast of characters which includes Neill MacColl, Rory McFarlane and Martyn Barker alongside various Carthys and Watersons (namely Eliza, Martin, Marry, Norma and Oliver). The ensemble is completed by the mightily impressive John Smith, Kami Thompson and, perhaps most surprisingly, Richard Hawley. The original album was nothing if not eclectic and tonight’s show is similarly varied in tone. Sandwiched between the singalong classics “Rubber Band” and “Bright Phoebus”, which topped and tailed both the album and the main portion of tonight’s live set, are a diverse collection of solo, duo and group performances. Some are familiar but others get an all too rare airing such as Hawley’s “Piper’s Path”, an unreleased song written by Lal apparently under the influence of pickled onions (and not mushrooms as he had first suspected). Elsewhere he tackles Mike’s rockabilly “Danny Rose” (well, with that hair you’d expect nothing less) and the spoken portion of “Magical Man” but his overall contribution is relatively modest. The same can’t be said for John Smith who proves to be the revelation of the show, firstly by taking the lead vocal on Mike’s majestic “Scarecrow” and then by reinterpreting Bob Davenport’s original vocal interlude on “Child Among The Weeds”. Similarly, Kami Thompson impresses with a mid-Atlantic take on “Marvellous Companion” and a beautiful duet with Smith on Lal’s “Evon Our Darling”. But it’s perhaps unsurprising that the real highlights come courtesy of various Watersons and Carthys. “Fine Horseman” has now been in Marry’s repertoire for several years but is no less powerful for its familiarity and her version of “To Make You Stay” is similarly dark and esoteric. Eliza’s take on “Jack Frost” is utterly enchanting and is an example of Mike’s casual regard for his work, having been offered one morning over the breakfast table almost as an afterthought. “Winnifer Odd” and “Never The Same” perfectly suit Martin’s unique guitar accompaniments and peculiar sense of rhythm and Norma’s beautiful interpretation of “Song For Thirza”, written for the woman who helped raise the three Waterson siblings, is a genuine emotional high point. Martin and Norma also reprise “Red Wine Promises”, the song they performed together on the original Bright Phoebus (under a slightly different, erroneous title) and which arguably helped seal their blossoming romance during the course of those sessions. A final, euphoric, singalong moment comes courtesy of “Shady Lady”, followed predictably by a standing ovation and the last of several ‘something in my eye’ moments. The entire show has been a bit of a high-wire act as full band numbers lead into quieter solo or duo moments and perhaps a clearer ‘narrative’ thread throughout the evening might have helped contextualise these changes. But this is very much a minor gripe and something that is likely to be ironed out if the show ever goes beyond these few performances, as it surely must.
Tamikrest | Live Review | Howard Assembly Room, Leeds | Review by Allan Wilkinson | 18.10.13
The Full English | Live Review | Firth Hall Sheffield University | Review by Sam Hindley | 29.10.13
On Tuesday 29th October the Full English tour arrived in Sheffield, to the beautiful and intimate setting of Firth Hall. ‘The Full English is a groundbreaking project sponsored by the English Folk Dance and Song Society that draws together for the first time the early 20th century folksong collections of Harry Albino, Lucy Broadwood, Clive Carey, Percy Grainger, Maud Karpeles, Frank Kidson, Thomas Fairman Ordish, Cecil Sharp, Ralph Vaughan Williams and Alfred Williams. The result is the most comprehensive searchable database of British folk songs, tunes, dances and customs in the world.’ – Fay Hield. An extremely talented bunch of musicians have been put together to perform songs and tunes from and inspired by the Full English archive. Musicians included Fay Hield, Martin Simpson, Seth Lakeman, Sam Sweeney, Nancy Kerr, Ben Nichols and Rob Harbron. Arriving on stage to a great reception the gig was underway with Fay and Seth leading the rest in some fabulous harmony singing, it quickly became clear how much work had been put into this entire show, the band sounded fantastic and very slick. As well as the music there were also pictures and film footage of the collectors displayed along each song. A memorable example of this was when Rob and Sam played “The Princess Royal” while a clip of Maud Karpeles performing a morris dance was being shown on the screens either side of the stage. My favourite piece from the first half came from Mr Lakeman with a beautiful song he found in the archive from Frank Kidson – Portrait of My Wife, with an additional chorus from himself. It’s worth pointing out at this stage that this is very much a collaborative project and not just each individual getting up to do their own thing separately. The selected musicians have spent time working on each song together and arranging the material as a band. The hard work has paid off, as during the interval, inevitably there was a discussion between folk about the performance they had just seen so far and how amazing and inspiring they thought it was, many people commented saying it was like having a concert in their own front room, I have to agree. The atmosphere was relaxed, friendly and everyone was completely spellbound by the musicians in front of them. Time for the second half, kicking off with the traditional song “Linden Lea” which in fact is not part of the archive but a song Fay thought was just too beautiful to miss out of the show, I again have to agree. The only other song in the performance not from the Full English was a contemporary piece written by Nancy Kerr – “Fol The Day-O”. ‘This was written as a homage to Joseph Taylor (1882-1961), in which Nancy examines the interplay between folk song’s ancient rural imagery and the modern world, and the transporting, transformational capabilities of a great singer.’ Without the introduction to this song, you would have easily mistaken it for a long surviving traditional song. It was hard not to notice how much fun the band were having on stage, I’ve seen the individual musicians perform their own material on various occasions, however you could really tell the difference, they all sounded as if they had been playing together for years. It was a tight performance and the relationship between the band was glowing. Martin Simpson came off stage evidently buzzing, Seth Lakeman was stamping and tearing his fiddle apart as usual. The second half seemed to fly by, before we knew it the show was coming to an end, the audience however had a different opinion, with such a raucous applause the band came out to do the perfect encore led by Fay Hield, a song she found after a long day trawling through the various notations at the library she told us she was feeling tired and bored or searching through bits of writing she couldn’t read when she came across a beautiful song called “Man in the Moon” a perfect chorus song joined by the band and the entire audience raising their voices in appreciation to the hard work by Fay for putting together this brilliant project that will hopefully continue for many more years to come, and the outstanding talent of the band for recreating the life of all these songs that should never be forgotten and the people who sang them all those years ago. Well done and congratulations have to go to everyone involved in this project. The tour itself its merely a percentage of the project, as there are many strings to its bow. Please do go and check out the website and look up more about the Full English online. You are missing out on an absolute treat and we are very lucky to have such hard working and inspiring people in our folk community.
Salt House | Live Review | The Shakespeare, Sheffield | Review by Allan Wilkinson | 02.11.13
Ginger Baker Jazz Confusion | Live Review | Theatre Royal, York | Review by Liam Wilkinson | 09.11.13
Known to most as the wildly animated blur behind the drums of sixties supergroup Cream and to others as the ill-tempered old rocker, shrouded in a thick blanket of contempt for those he sees as lesser beings, Ginger Baker is, undoubtedly, a living legend. Recently, Baker’s fifty year career has been scrutinised by a candid autobiography (2009’s Hellraiser) as well as an equally revealing feature-length documentary (2012’s Beware of Mr Baker). Each document makes for uneasy digestion. Both tell the tale of a dangerously volatile and altogether unlikeable human being who has been known to prompt the most docile of music journalists to roll up their sleeves and offer a fist fight. They paint a picture of a man who would rather break your nose than sign your souvenir programme. Tonight, Mr Baker took to the stage of the York Theatre Royal with his Jazz Confusion – a quartet of seasoned players – to perform two brief sets of hand-picked jazz classics. With not a single “Strange Brew” or “Sunshine of Your Love” in sight, the seventy-four year old, silver-haired and somewhat fragile ghost of that once flamboyant showman fired the engine of a performance packed with the melodies and rhythms of Wayne Shorter, Sonny Rollins and Ron Miles. He did so in spite of poor health and a bitterness brought on by what he referred to as “the coldest place I’ve ever been!”. Indeed, the frosty York autumn only added to the lines in Baker’s frown, having just returned from a balmy twenty-show sell-out tour of the United States. It was, as he commented, “like jumping into a cold swimming pool!” Baker was joined by American saxophonist and former member of James Brown’s band Pee Wee Ellis, supreme bassist and member of British jazz royalty Alec Dankworth and dazzling Ghanaian percussionist Abass Dodoo. Each musician was offered generous spotlight time by their leader – Ellis with his sinuous sax lines during Shorter’s “Footprints” and his own composition “Twelve and More Blues”; Dankworth’s air-thickening bass runs and arresting chords on Ron Miles’s “Ginger Spice” and Dodoo’s indefatigably explosive conga and cymbal playing on the Sonny Rollins classic St Thomas. Baker himself proved that his drumming can still be as firey as his temperament, especially during performances of the mesmerising Lagos folk tune “Aiko Biaye” and his own composition “Ain Temouchant”, a tune inspired by a village in which Baker landed in a tree having driven his car off a mountain. The pitifully small audience was, by the end of the evening, so enthralled by the sparks bouncing off the stage that they showed their appreciation by jumping to their feet, which is more than Ginger himself could muster. After a visibly exhausting encore performance of Baker’s “Why?”, the living legend’s weary bones were carefully escorted off the stage and into the darkness by his right-hand man, Dodoo. And whilst the majority of York’s citizens missed their chance to see a man oft regarded as rock’s greatest drummer, a modest crowd of more canny rhythm-seekers left the Theatre Royal tonight with a shiny new memory to savour.
Bright Phoebus Sings Tom Waits | Live Review | The Greystones, Sheffield | Review by Keith Belcher | 20.11.13
At Martin Simpson’s 60th Birthday Bash part 1 on 3rd May Fay Hield announced that Bright Phoebus would be putting on a Tom Waits night at the Greystones in July. This would be the first trial run of shows to take place at various festivals throughout the summer. Being a huge Tom Waits fan and having heard some excellent folk renditions of Waits songs, ie Fay’s “Briar and the Rose”, Spiers and Boden doing “Innocent When You Dream” and Heidi Talbot’s interpretation of “Time” I was captured straight away and noted it for the diary. Bright Phoebus is a collective of musicians mainly around the Sheffield area. Tonight’s musicians were Roy Bailey, Martin Simpson, Jon Boden, Fay Hield, Nancy Kerr, James Fagan, Andy Cutting, Jess Arrowsmith, Sharron Kraus, Rowan Rheingans, Sam Sweeney, Andy Seward, Rob Harbron, Neil McSweeney and Richard Hawley. It was a very hot night both musically and temperature wise, my car dashboard read 28C as I approached Greystones late afternoon. I was in time to hear part of the sound check and it did sound very good indeed. The Back Room at Greystones, Sheffield was so hot that the room had fans with bowls of ice in front of them blowing into the audience. Free water was also dispensed in an attempt to keep everyone cool. A couple of things Greystones lacks is decent air conditioning (how many times is it needed in Sheffield?) and some decent stage lighting. Anyone not at the centre of the stage is almost invisible. The idea for this show came from the 2012 Shrewsbury Folk Festival where Fay and her band The Hurricane Party performed “The Briar and the Rose”, a song from Tom Waits 1993 album The Black Rider. A suggestion was made about an album of Tom Waits songs. Fay’s partner being Jon Boden who is an unashamed Tom Waits geek could supply lots of advice and to him it was a labour of love. Andy Bell the sound engineer was credited by Fay as doing most of the work in getting everyone together and making it happen. Bright Phoebus will be touring this show at this summer’s folk festivals and hopefully in due course a CD will emerge. On tonight’s showing I, for one, really look forward to that. There was little evidence of the familiar gravelly Tom Waits tones that we usually attribute to these songs, not that there is anything wrong with Tom’s voice. The nearest to that was Richard Hawley’s fairly rocky interpretation of “Gun Street Girl”. There were glorious harmonies at times and a far more ‘folky’ arrangement of the songs than the originals. What really shone out was the fact that all the artists, especially Jon, had a deep respect and reverence to the Waits song book over the years and that this night was definitely not work for them, the enjoyment and enthusiasm was plain to see and hear. I’ve often heard Martin Simpson say “I love my job”, that was very evident tonight, not only for Martin but for everyone involved in this show. One of the wonderful things about this show was the sheer range of Waits covers performed. Songs taken from 11 different CDs starting with 1973’s Closing Time to 2006 Bawlers were given a folk twist. Many who are put off Tom Waits by his voice will probably be taken by these versions. The musical influences and styles on show were well outside the traditional folk style. Martin Simpson was playing electric, Sam Sweeney was giving a drum kit a serious workout. Fiddles contributed to semi classical string quartet style to almost gypsy dance music. The evenings proceedings were started by a solid solo performance by local Neil McSweeney who then brought on Bright Phoebus members Andy Seward on bass and Sam Sweeney on fiddle/drums to accompany him. After a short ‘cool down’ break. Unofficial MC Roy Bailey sang “In the Neighbourhood” from Swordfish Trombones. Roy then introduced Sharron Kraus who performed “Another Man’s Vine” (Blood Money). The on stage members fluctuated according to the song. Mostly ever-present were Martin Simpson playing electric guitar and performing some biting slide guitar throughout, Andy Cutting playing, as ever, immaculate melodeon and Andy Seward on double bass. Rob Harbron played both keyboards and squeeze boxes. Jon Boden played fiddle and guitar. Even a banjo or two made an appearance. Serious Tom Waits fanatic Jon Boden was next lead vocalist, admitting he was spoilt for choice for drunken pub ballads performed “Jersey Girl” (Heart Attack and Vine), a song known to most non Tom Waits fans due to a certain Mr Springsteen having included it in his set list. The first set was relatively gentle compared to the second. Next song was “Little Trip To Heaven” (Closing Time) beautifully sung by Nancy accompanied by Jess Arrowsmith, a simple arrangement with Nancy playing autoharp. Nancy described this as ‘fluffy’ Tom Waits. Tom Waits never sounded like that no matter how much you’ve had to drink. Jess then took lead vocals on “You Can Never Hold Back Spring” (Bawlers) ably assisted by what amounted to a string quartet of fiddles. Lead vocals then switched back to Nancy for “Whistle Down The Wind” (Bone Machine). The relatively short first set was brought to a close with a good audience participation in “Hold On” (Mule variations) with Rowan Rheingans taking lead vocal. Roy gave everyone a few minutes to go and cool down, get a drink and get ready for the second much longer set. Fay got the traditional raffle underway. After all what’s a folk night without a raffle? Roy then tried to get everyone seated to start the second set. Guest Richard Hawley kicked off proceedings with a superb rendition of “Gun Street Girl” (Rain Dogs). If the first half was gentle then this was a change. Lots more volume with Martin playing seriously good electric slide guitar, a change from his usual style. Sam Sweeney was pounding the drum kit doing a fair imitation of John Bonham . Opening act Neil then kept up the pace with a rousing version of “Cold Cold Ground” (Frank’s Wild Years) featuring, some superb accordian playing from Andy. Next was a lower tempo “Old Shoes (and Picture Postcards)” (Closing Time) from Sharron with Jon Boden giving (mainly wrong) information about the song and album it came from, he did sound very confident about his facts though. He made up for that with some great fiddle playing. Many accusations of geek from Martin Simpson at this point. In true folky fashion the audience joined in with the choruses. James Fagan then joined the stage commenting on Australia’s loss of the first Ashes Test and celebrating that Tom Waits even wrote songs for Australians. James kept up the lower tempo ably assisted by genius Andy Cutting on “Town With No Cheer” (Swordfish Trombones). James said there was an Australian parody of this song envisaging the worst conceivable Australian disaster – A town with no beer! James introduced Fay who gave the background to this project before performing with Jon a beautiful version of “Briar and the Rose” (The Black Ladder), squeeze boxes, fiddle and bass being the accompaniment. This got a superb reception from the audience. Next vocals were from Martin Simpson who managed to put his own unique stamp on “Day After Tomorrow” (Real Gone). One of Martin’s gifts is to put his own style on any cover songs he performed, this was no exception. Jon next, getting the audience, who didn’t need much encouragement, to join in with “Rain Dogs” from the album of the same name. Sam’s drums and the rest of the band gave this the Waits jaunty feel but more folky than the original. Andy Cutting and Nancy Kerr playing superbly on this song. The shows starter Roy Bailey played the last song of the set. He did admit to feeling a bit odd to be a 78 year old singing a bouncy version of “I Don’t Want To Grow Up” (Bone Machine), more the traditional Martin Simpson guitar on this one, great and enthusiastic singing both from the band and audience. They weren’t going to get away without an encore and I’m surprised they got away with just one. Jon led the band and audience in a rousing version of “Come On Up To The House” (Mule Variations) taking the time to inform the audience of some of his favourite Tom Waits lines. Roy brought the proceedings to a close in his own inimitable manner. It was a superb night, enjoyed by audience and band. Bring on the festivals and also the CD.
Vera Van Heeringen | Live Review | Roots Club, Doncaster | Review by Allan Wilkinson | 23.11.13
Great British Folk Festival 2013 | Live Review | Butlins, Skegness | Review by Liam Wilkinson | 02.12.13
Whilst the summer festivals offer us folkies the chance to don silly hats and polka dot wellies, the annual Great British Folk Festival at Butlins, Skegness provides a colourful feast of striped scarves and fluffy ear muffs. For the last four years, this nippiest of winter gatherings has been something of an oasis, shimmering in the tinsel-decked early onset of Christmas and prompting many of us to wake from our hibernation, trim our bushy beards and head to Billy Butlin’s flagship holiday camp for three days of real music. And, like an advent calendar full of chocolate, the festival line-up offers a few tempting treats for each of the first days of December. This year, the Skyline Pavilion at the centre of the camp became a selection box of must-see musicians, many of which pushed the boundaries of what we refer to as folk music. To those who have managed to retain an open mind in this world of borderlines, walls and convenient little boxes, it’s refreshing to see folk sweetheart Cara Dillon on the same bill as punk swashbuckler Ed Tudor Pole. It’s also a tonic to note the inclusion of Slim Chance – a pub-rock band whose five members were all fortunate enough to work with the late, great Ronnie Lane – and singer songwriter Judie Tzuke – best known for her 1979 hit “Stay With Me Till Dawn” – each of whom shared the bill with folk festival favourites Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span and Jim Moray. After a solo opener from the ever-pleasing Moray in Reds on Friday night, the legendary Scottish songbird Barbara Dickson gave a powerful, band-backed performance of such songs as her 1980 hit “Caravans”, Lennon & McCartney’s “Across the Universe” and a selection from her new album and tribute to Gerry Rafferty To Each and Everyone. She was followed by alt-country band Ahab who, despite getting a little over-miffed with a faulty DI unit, gave a typically energetic and entertaining performance before we all sloped off to our chalets for a bit of kip. After a hearty breakfast in one of the many fine food outlets on site, the tightly-bound winter festival-goer was offered a choice of shows that spanned no less than five venues. In The Front Room, Bournemouth singer songwriter Annie Winter raised a few appreciative eyebrows with an agreeable mix of self-penned songs and covers whilst, in the Skyline Pavilion, the Moulton Morris Men provided the festival with a welcome performance of traditional English dance. On the main two stages, however, one was able to flit between performances from Judie Tzuke and her daughter, Bailey Tzuke, who held the early afternoon crowd tightly with her gently mesmerizing self-penned songs. The Tzukes divided a single set to provide the festival with two of its best performances, leaving the audience wanting much more from each songstress. Over on the Centre Stage, former Big Country member Bruce Watson and his son Jamie entertained with a stripped-back acoustic set of lyrical gems such as “Hollywoodland” and “Dakota Sunset”, the latter painting a picture of the infamous New York building where John Lennon was killed in 1980. Afterwards, whilst Jim Moray and the Skulk Ensemble electrified the stage at Reds, Ed Tudor Pole’s equally outlandish and outstanding acoustic performance of such punk classics as “Swords of a Thousand Men” and “Throwing My Baby Out With The Bathwater” was the perfect conclusion to a vibrant afternoon of music. After dinner, an Open Mic session in Jaks provided a warm-up for a night of wide-ranging shows. In Reds, Cara Dillon’s typically ethereal presence gave way to a high-octane closing set from fusion band Edward II. A distinct highlight of the weekend, EII’s infectious blend of folk and reggae managed to lift both spirits and bodies. And whilst joyful jumping ensued in Reds, the Centre Stage line-up was concluded with a retrospective set from the Strawbs. Their engaging ‘history of the Strawbs in a dozen songs’ was preceded by a most endearing and meditative set from Take 3, consisting of Jacqui McShee, Gerry Conway and Alan Thomson, as well as a startlingly jubilant singalong with The Springfields. With original Springfields member Mike Hurst at the helm, the harmonic three-piece entertained with songs such as “I Only Wanna Be With You”, “Georgie Girl” and “Cottonfields”, giving the audience an opportunity to sing and reminisce unashamedly. The final day of the festival brimmed with headliners and, consequently, a few unfortunate clashes. Before Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span commanded their respective stages in what could be described as a right royal folk-off, The Blues Band’s Gary Fletcher teamed up with Feast of Fiddles member Tom Leary, providing a blues alternative to Irish psychedelic folk duo Tir Na Nog, who injected the festival with their unique brand of Celtic mysticism. This reviewer was left with no choice but to jump between the two like a folk festival flea before North-east songwriters Billy Mitchell and Bob Fox managed to pin me down with a genial duet performance of typically engaging songs and banter. Later in the evening, Somerset-based songwriter Reg Meuross managed to do much the same with his crowd-charming set of softly captivating self-penned songs and affable wit whilst Martin Joseph and Luke Jackson entertained the crowd on Centre Stage. And after a set of both beautifully sober and gloriously madcap songs from Richard Digance, St Agnes Fountain brought a little Christmas magic to Reds with their take on such carols as “I Saw Three Ships”, “Deck the Halls” and “Little Town of Bethlehem”, each lovingly embraced by the voices of Chris Leslie, David Hughes, Chris While and Julie Matthews – proof in the Christmas pudding that Skeggy is the place be if you want to end your folk year with a bit of magic.
My Northern Skies 