Bellowhead 13/4/2016

I went to this gig based on a friend's recommendation and on liking an appearance from Bellowhead on Jools Holland a while back. It was a good call. The most striking thing was the sound which was very, very tight for such a big band (eleven band members most of whom were playing on every track) and also a great and unusual mix of instruments. The bass sound was a combination of a sousaphone and a cello, there were up to four fiddles playing and various other instruments came out such as bozouki, concertina, melodeon, oboes. Jon Spiers, the vocalist was also very good, a confident exuberant performance which was actually true of all of the band - there was plenty of energy and bounce in the show. I didn't know the songs which were folky but upbeat and it was a real feelgood set of songs and tunes played at a consistent level of excellence. The support was meh - a folky band called Mawkin who seemed to major on drinking songs. The one tune I really liked was ' a mediaeval French dance tune' which featured the fiddle player.

Seachange - 9/4/2016

This was a reunion gig to celebrate a significant birthday and it was amazing that 10 years slipped away so easily despite very limited rehearsal. If anything this was one of the best Seachange gigs with everyone razor sharp and focused. The energy and attitude were there in spades and hearing old favourites live again was great. Despite the venue being a small pub the sound was good with all the instruments coming through clearly. It was great to hear again the exuberant bass and drums from James and Simon, the guitar interaction between Adam and Dave, the distinctive violin from Jo and of course Dan's full-on vocals. Neil who joined the band after I last saw them was new to me but fitted in perfectly with the overall sound. My highlight was SF with Dave's shrieking guitar upfront but then Glitterball was great and actually it all was. It's a shame that was probably the final Seachange gig.