Stamping on your own toe: not the greatest idea in the world.

I’ve been quite lax when it comes to updating this lately (and that’s putting it lightly…) which is silly, considering that over the past few weeks I’ve been to some of the best gigs I have ever been to. So here goes one big old massive post that’ll take you through the last few weeks….if I can remember what number I’m on!

A Gig A Week #11:  Caravan Palace & Electric Swing Circus   23/11/12, Bristol

I’ve been getting into electro-swing recently – as one of my friends on Twitter put it, “It’s the best blend of old and new!”.  I absolutely loved the energy of these two bands on stage – and the atmosphere in the venue was incredible.  Scat battles, multiple costume changes, jive dancing…yep, this was definitely money well spent! I’m definitely hoping to catch both bands again and need to get myself to some more electro-swing events in London.  If you have any recommendations of where I should go/what I should listen to, please please post them in the comments!

This first video is worth watching for the seamless dancing-microphone catch-singing transition alone (at about 3:28)

A Gig A Week #12: The Urban Folk Quartet  King’s Place, 30/11/12

Phenomenal.  With added triangle.  Don’t think there’s a lot more I can say to that…oh, apart from the fact I was dancing so enthusiastically that I stamped on my own toe.   It’s really hard to find a video that really captures the energy and atmosphere of their live performance…so watch this instead. And go and see them live!  NOW!! (Well, not now. But when they have a gig near you…)

A Gig A Week #13: Hannah James & Sam Sweeney   Walthamstow Folk Club, 2/12/12

There’s not a huge amount more I can say about this duo – I reviewed them a couple of months ago but just had to go and see them again (and take my mum with me this time! I did promise, after all…).  However, since the last time I saw them, Hannah & Sam have been nominated for Best Duo and Sam has been nominated for Musician of the Year at the BBC Radio 2 folk awards – so congratulations to them both & best of luck with the awards!

A Gig A Week #14:  Lucy Ward  (with support from David Gibb & Elly Lucas) Green Note Camden,  3/12/12

I’ve mentioned David Gibb & Elly Lucas before, having seen them a couple of times at Towersey this year – I won’t say too much more now, as I’m hoping to make their London gig in January but they were a fantastic opening act for Lucy.

I’ve been trying to see one of Lucy Ward’s gigs for over a year now, and it was well worth the wait. Lucy had the audience captivated from the very first note until the very last – and even managed to fit in a request of “Santa Baby for Folkies” and a couple of Britpop covers. Not your usual for a folk gig, but then neither’s blue hair….

On a more serious note, Lucy is honestly one of the best – if not the best solo performers I’ve seen.  Incredible voice, fantastic stage presence and a brilliant way of putting a song across you that you hang on every single word she sings.

Brilliant.

I think that’s me up to date now…..

Belated Bellowhead Broadside Blog

First off, I just want to say that I am very, VERY proud of myself for the alliteration in the tittle of this…just a little bit of self-congratulation there. And also that I have been a bit quiet of late. Again. Must do better!

(if you’re reading this and you know me, you are hereby granted the right to nag. In fact… even if you don’t know me, nag away!)

So, back to it. i’m still (sort of) doing my ‘gig a week’ but haven’t quite kept up to date with it…I’ve seen The Robbie Boyd Band (#9) (link takes you to my review on Thank Folk For That) and popped up to Birmingham to see The Old Dance School’s triple bill with Lady Maisery and Gilmore & Roberts – a really fantastic gig, which was finished by an amazing one-off version of ODS’s track “John Ball” featuring all three acts. (There’s a video of it here for those who are interested…)

A couple of weeks ago I went along to see Bellowhead at Camden’s Roundhouse (#10) – I somehow managed to get to the front of the 2000 strong crowd & didn’t realise quite how many people were there until I saw a photo after the gig!

Bellowhead are always great fun to see live – and their current tour is a riotous rampage through their latest album, Broadside – which reached number 16 in the UK Official Album Charts (and number 1 in the independent album charts!). This gig was probably the best I’ve seen them, from opening song Black Beetle Pies to the inevitable encore of New York Girls – dedicated in this instance to Obama, who had just been re-elected as president of the USA. (Yep, I’m definitely a bit behind on this blog…)

I defy anyone to go to a Bellowhead gig and not dance. Even if it’s a seated one….

Charity, friends and a chimpanzee on a segue…

Right, I think I’m up to gig #7 now aren’t I!?  Very behind, once again, oh dear. Note to self: must blog more!

First off – I’m going to call last Friday & Saturday collectively gig #7.  Friday night was spent at a pub in Acton watching the fantastic Indigo Earth who I’m sure I’ve mentioned before & will no doubt mention again at some point in the near future….

Saturday was then spent working at Oxjam Clapham – an insanely long day, with some fantastic music running from midday until 5am! On the day we raised just over £4,500 which is incredible since it’s the first year the Clapham festival has been running.  I was working at Arch 635 – the rock & indie venue for the day and heard some really great bands. If you missed it…well, you definitely missed out – but keep an eye out and come along next year!

My top pick from Arch 635 was Battle of You – great catchy songs and a killer lead vocal. Can’t find a video of them on YouTube though…but here’s a snap I took on Saturday. If you didn’t make it down to Oxjam, please donate some money to help reach the £5000 target!

Zip forwards in time  to Wednesday of this week, and you’ll find me at The Forge Arts Centre in Camden watching more friends of mine – The Old Dance School.  I’ve known these guys from back in Birmingham & seen them go from strength to strength over the years. I rather annoyingly missed the very beginning of their set, but was very pleased to see the venue was nicely full when I got there!  Do try and catch them on one of their tour dates – I don’t think I’ve met anyone who hasn’t loved their live set…I might just have to go to their Birmingham date, especially since it’s a triple bill with the incredible Lady Maisery and Gilmore & Roberts!

And if great live music isn’t enough, there’s talk of chimpanzees on segues and some truly incredible joke-telling………….

 

Some coins have 3 sides…

It’s been an odd couple of weeks. I’ve sadly parted ways with my band (boooo),  got my Masters results (yaaay!) and re-started rehearsals with The Stamp Collective (yaaaay!).  And I’ve even managed to go to 3 gigs (very different) in between – hence the whole 3-sided-coin analogy in the title…I’ve just completely forgotten to blog. Silly Lizzi, a slap on the wrist will be duly given to myself for that!

So: the past week has seen me totter off to Camden twice  – the first time to see the fabulous Lady Maisery  on Monday 1st October for gig #4  (eek, I really am behind…)  who enchanted the audience with their singing and diddling (click through to a wiki link if you don’t know what diddling is!).  Hannah, Hazel and Rowan’s voices blend beautifully – seeming to become one single voice when they sing in unison. A flawless gig, featuring a bansitar (“half a banjo, half a sitar and a bit o’vase), gorgeous harmonies and a serious lack of farmers ( although there were apparently a couple in Islington …) 

Gig #5 was the reason for my second trip to Camden of the week – this time to jump back across the other side of the spectrum to see Man Like Me  (supported by The Other Tribe, who were my main reason for going along.) In all honesty – there’s very little I can add to my previous post about The Other Tribe – they’re still fantastic, they can still get a crowd going…it was just a shame that their set wasn’t later in the evening so they could have had the bigger crowd. But y’know what? Just go and see them live. They’ve just announced their own headline tour – no excuses, now.  And as for Man Like Me – well, I went to the gig having only heard a few of their songs on YouTube…and left humming a couple of them. It seems I struck gold too – this was apparently their only gig with the full band line up.

And finally, gig #4 – last night I saw the Treacherous Orchestra  at Cargo, Shoreditch.  I first saw them at Sidmouth Folkweek over the summer and have been hoping to catch them again ever since. The energy these guys have is just incredible – 15 minute long tune sets and around an hour and a half of playing without a break? Myself and my friend were exhausted watching them. The venue should have been packed to capacity – but hopefully there’ll be another London gig sooner rather than later…

Right.  I’m off to another gig now. No rest for the wicked, eh!

Fiddling & Diddling: A Gig A Week #3

Hannah James & Sam Sweeney with support from Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker

Folk On Monday @ Green Note, Camden, 17/09/2012

I was definitely back in my comfort zone on Monday. And what a comfy comfort zone it turned out to be! For any Londoners who haven’t been, The Green Note is a lovely little vegetarian restaurant that hosts gigs in the evenings – well worth a visit (especially on a Monday!).  Up until now, I haven’t really mentioned support acts at gigs I’ve been to, but it would be verging on criminal if I didn’t talk about Josienne & Ben’s opening set.  On record, Josienne has one of those voices that tugs at your heartstrings. In live performance, it’s simply heart-stopping. They opened with “Silver Dagger” – for some reason the song I associate with Josienne & Ben the most (alongside her self-penned song “Done”).  The majority of their material for this set was trad folk song – including a ‘flirtation’ with “Flash Company” (and a very successful one at that!) and a beautiful rendition of “Who Knows Where The Time Goes?”. Stunning, absolutely stunning.

As if that wasn’t enough top-quality music for one night, along came Hannah James and Sam Sweeney. We were treated to about an hour and a half of anecdotes (how many of us can claim to have a 93 year old relative who knows what a Nintendo Wii is, let alone owns one!), intriguing trivia (apparently Alan Titchmarsh has written erotica…make of that what you will!), clog dancing and, of course, phenomenal music.  “We released an album in April and we’re going to play you all of it…well, except one track” announced Sam as they took to the stage.  They kept to their promise – with a few extras added in too (namely half of their earlier album!).  And there began a whistle-stop tour of tunes and songs interspersed with chatter from Sam. And by whistle-stop, I mean whistle-stop. With Hannah on accordion, clogging and vocals (and ‘diddling’ (singing instrumental tunes) on “On Yonder Hill There Sits A Hare”) and Sam on violin, viola and Hardanger fiddle (a Norwegian traditional instrument), the duo had the audience captivated from the very first note. Which is hardly surprising…I feel like I should go into more detail, but I’ve been sitting here for quite a while to no avail. It was just far too good a gig. My personal highlights? “Ploughboy’s Dream” featuring some pretty impressive viola-strumming and, by the tiniest of margins, Sam’s solo set.

You’ll just have to go and see them live for yourselves.  And I’ll just have to add viola and hardanger fiddle to the list of ‘instruments I want’ (along with accordion, flute, cello, concertina……)

Set lists

Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker

Silver Dagger
Green Grow The Laurels
Flash Company
My Donal
Red Red Rose
Brigg Fair
Who Knows Where The Time Goes?

Hannah James & Sam Sweeney

Battered Hake Polka/Jack’s Maggot
Gaol Song
Sportsman’s Hornpipe  (Clog)
How Do You Do/Gallons Of Cognac
William Taylor
On Yonder Hill There Sits A Hare
Hole In The Wall

–INTERVAL–

Parson Upon Dorothy/Dolly
The Farmer’s Cursed Wife
The Ploughboy’s Dream
Bagpipes/Mount Hills  (Sam Sweeney solo)
The Lay Of The Land (Clog)
Dick’s Maggot/Dog Leaps Stairs
The Young And Single Sailor
The Bonny Miller/Strike A Bell

Encore: The Falmouth Packet