Seth Lakeman - 26/3/2019

I had last seen Seth Lakeman at the Monmouth Music Festival a few years back and before that about ten years ago. I enjoy his modern take on folk and the enthusiasm and dynamism with which he delivers it. First up was Josienne Clark, singer songwriter with an interesting set of songs and a great dry line in chat. Comparing her music to that of Seth's ('footstompingly good') she described it as 'tearjerkingly sad'. She did moody electric guitar as well as acoustic and had a great voice. Seth's band was drummer, bass player and lead guitarist with him playing fiddle, guitar, a four string guitar(?) and banjo. The band was excellent - I was particularly impressed with the guitarist, Kit Hawes who was perfect for the band, never flashy but always adding to the band sound whether filling in, soloing or adding rhythm. After a number of songs I didn't know - presumably off the new album - the best of which was called 'Silver Threads' (or something similar), Seth played some songs from the excellent 'Freedom Fields' album. My favourite track, the supernatural 'White Hare' was in the set along with 'Colliers' which adds a rousing sing-a-long chorus to the tragic tale of a mining disaster and the excellent 'Setting of the Sun'. This was followed by another of his more well-known songs 'Poor Man's heaven'. All great stuff and they are all still circulating in my brain. I'm very glad I caught up with him again.

Aly Bain & Phil Cunningham - 27/3/2019

It was straight back to St Georges after yesterday's gig to see Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham and as usual they delivered a stunning gig. There is no better fiddle player than Aly and Phil is a master of the accordion and writes exquisite airs to boot. This was another masterclass and it was a privilege to be watching it from the best seats in the house. Three particular tunes come to mind - the one where Aly picks up his second fiddle with some strange tuning from a strange part of Scandinavia and plays a song in 21/8 time, the tune that is effectively a solo fiddle and the 'solo' effort from Phil that followed that. The solidity and subtlety of Aly's playing is astonishing, the speed and beauty of Phil's amazing. Always a joy.

Roy Harper - 12/3/2019

I was in two minds about this gig when it was announced - I had last seen Roy Harper in 2005 when he was still putting on a good show despite being in his mid sixties. However I had missed out on the 70th birthday tour and indeed the 75th in 2016 so I was worried that a gig in his late seventies would mar memories of the many times I had seen him in his pomp. I should not have been concerned. His voice is still strong, his guitar playing distinctive and apart from a couple of senior moments early on he remembered the lyrics (not always the case in his early days!). More than that the versions of what were mostly old songs were fresh and interesting and the backing musicians excellent. The band was large but never dominant - Roy's guitar and voice were front and centre throughout. The band included a subtle electric guitar player who played fill-ins and occasional pieces of lead, a drummer, bassist, trumpet player, cellist and the band leader who played fiddle and keyboards. In typical Roy Harper mode he said that the reason he had four guitars on stage was because he didn't want to keep tuning between songs and then of course he did exactly that. The song selection was superb. Although the stage time was close to two hours he only got through about twelve tracks because of the length of some of them. I was delighted that among those were the two I wanted to hear most namely 'Hallucinating Light' and 'Another Day'. Both were great versions as well. Pretty high on my wish list also was 'Don't you grieve' which featured early on. Also great choices were 'Highway Blues' a song I had not listened to for a long while and a stand out version of 'McGoohans Blues' - appropriate because that was the first song I had ever heard of his. It was at the Floyd Hyde Park gig in '68 when he was first on stage and basically just managed a long version of that song before falling off his stool. It was delivered with force and passion - pretty amazing considering his age. He also sang some stuff I didn't recognise at least one of which was a new song as well as a couple more songs I did 'Hors D'oeuvres' and 'Time is Temporary'. Of course he finished the main set with 'When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease' and the encore was a new song about how much he had enjoyed his life. Several days later the gig is still buzzing around in my head. I am amazed and very glad I made the effort to get to Birmingham. I doubt that I will see him again - it's a stupendous way to finish.

Mabon - 2 March 2019

Another opportunity thanks to the 'Nights Out' programme that subsidises bands to gig at village halls. This time it was Jamie Smith's Mabon at Catbrook. They are a great band to see mainly because they are excellent musicians but they also bring a nice ambience with clear enjoyment at playing in front of village audiences. The music is Celtic with plenty of reels, jigs and airs but with world influences with an occasional polka and the like. Jamie plays accordion, Ollie Wilson-Dickson fiddle, Iolo Whelan drums, Matt Downer Bass and Paul Rogers guitar. The gig was a sort of retrospective celeb rating the 20 years the band has been together so there was old stuff and new stuff. I enjoyed the dancing bear tune that featured both soulful and lively fiddle and accordion, the 'Drum and Breize' tune with its Breton influence, the polka, the frenetic 'Accordionist's Despair' and the encore track that started out as 'Foxy Lady' but morphed into something else and everything really! Great Night out.