Review: Cambridge Folk Festival 2014, Part 2 Van Morrison.

As ladysmith Black Mambazo ended Brendan and I made our move to get to the front. Hundreds of people poured out and we poured in.We tried on the left first and then on the right but it was so crowded it was impossible to rejoin Dail and Evonne right at the front so we had to settle for a spot about fifteen yards from the front of the stage. While we were waiting for Van to come on we got chatting to a couple from Belfast and the ladies name was Anne McMurray who is a friend of a friend of ours Maurice Kinkead who does a lot of great work in East Belfast. She asked us if we were going to see Van in Orangefield soon. I'm not, but Brendan is. Anyway, what a small world it is.I hope Maurice will say hello to her from me next time he sees Anne. Van was due on stage at 8.25 for a seventy five minute set. The band shuffled on before that to tune up. Shana always looks beautiful but tonight she looked even more lovely than usual in a pink dress.It was the usual band of Alistair White, Chris White, Bobby Ruggerio, Dave Keary, Paul Moore and Paul Moran.

 I didn't recognise the first few notes and said to Brendan, "What's this?". Then Van came on and started blowing his saxophone and I immediately recognised Celtic Swing. The audience loved it, they were in party mood, out to enjoy themselves on the last night of the festival. The next song was Little Village which was great with Chris White excelling himself on the euphonium. Then it was one of Van's hits Whenever God Shines His Light On Me with Shana singing the parts that Sir Cliff used to do. The crowd loved this. A highlight for me followed, Someone Like You probably the second best known of Van's love songs but in all my history of going to Van concerts of 35 years I can't ever remember him singing this before. It was splendid with Shana joining in on vocals. At festivals you expect a bit of crowd involvement and most songs you accept it but during a beautiful ballad like this you would think people would listen. During this song a group in front of us were not even listening to the music but just prattled away to each other. Brendan couldn't stand it and tapped the ringleader on the shoulder and asked them in no uncertain terms to quieten down and have some consideration.Another Van classic followed Queen Of The Slipstream, I thought this was great and so did the audience.Van played some great harmonica on this song. If the audience liked that they absolutely loved the next one which was Baby Please Don't Go/ Parchman Farm.I didn't know anything about Parchman Farm so I looked it up on Wikipedia. It is an autobiographical song written by Bukka White about his experience on an infamous prison farm in Alabama. It was later recorded by Mose Allison with a different arrangement which i guess is where Van became aware of the song.

                    Then Van said, " As this is a folk festival, I'll sing a folk song". It was Dead Or Alive which is a Woody Guthrie song that Van recorded for The Skiffle Sessions album with Lonnie Doneghan. I bet Lonnie played at the Cambridge Festival a few times.Then it was the great Enlightenment which is a song I never get tired of hearing.Another great song followed Rough God Goes Riding. The next song though I could have done without which was Tear Your Playhouse Down which to me is one of the lesser of Van's lesser songs and in a time slot of only 75 minutes something like Here Comes The Night would have been a much better crowd pleaser.

The next song though was absolutely brilliant, Days Like This which delighted the hard core Van fans and festival goers alike. It was perfect with Van scatting along at the end and really enjoying himself. Next up was Moondance. The audience loved this when they recognised it. My only complaint is that when the time slot is so short there is no need to give all the band a solo. I know it gives Van's voice a rest but four minutes would have been long enough and they could have squeezed in another song without the solo's.A song which I heard ad-nauseam about ten years ago was next, Precious Time but I hadn't heard it for quite a while so I didn't mind and the Cambridge audience loved it so who am I to object.The whole audience sang along to one of Van's rare chart hits.They also loved Real Real Gone / You Send Me and Van seemed to be enjoying the party atmosphere because at the end he said, "One more time", and sang the last bit again. The Ray Charles Classic I Can't Stop Loving You followed with Shana trying to repeat the part that the Crawford Bell Singers used to do so well a few years ago. The audience went wild when they recognised the opening bars of Brown Eyed Girl which Van was almost obliged to do for this audience. He seemed to enjoy the audience participation and stopped singing at one point and let the crowd sing all the Sha La La's. I knew it was coming to an end now when Help Me began and during Gloria I was heading for the exit to avoid the crush but I did listen from the back. The crowd loved it and I think Van made quite a few new fans. There was no transcendental songs like In The Garden etc but I knew that wouldn't happen. It it was a most enjoyable evening in beautiful weather in a nice atmosphere and when I met up with Dail and Evonne we all agreed it had been a great day at Cambridge Folk Festival and the highlight had been seeing Van the Man.

The End.

Review: Cambridge Folk Festival 2014. Part 1

It had rained heavily on Saturday at Cambridge Folk Festival but on Sunday morning when Dail, her friend Evonne and I set off from Dail's house in the pretty town of Stamford it was a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky so I was relieved I didn't have to pack my emergency poncho. It only took about an hour to get to the festival site in Cherry Hinton on the outskirts of Cambridge. This was the 50th annual festival and I had never been before but this year I thought I would make the effort especially as Van Morrison was on. When we entered the arena where all the stages were I noticed  how crowded it was compared to the Village Pump Festival the week before. The arena was hardly any bigger than at the Village Pump but there was about ten times the amount of people which meant that it was packed. What made it worse was that everybody seemed to have brought fold up chairs.It said in the programme not to bring chairs unless you were elderly,disabled or injured but people had ignored that and placed chairs to claim their spot. It was just a sea of chairs. At the Village Pump there was room to breathe but not here.

                                                                  Anyway, that was the only thing I didn't like about this festival. Everything else was great. We took a walk up to the front and  watched a bit of Sarah Jarosz who is a young American singer-songwriter who was accompanied by a fiddle player and a cellist. She was quite good I thought. Then we went to the Club Tent where they showcase new young musicians and there was a really good young English singer-guitarist on. I think his name was Luke Jackson . Dail wanted to secure her position right at the front so we went back to the main stage and got a place right on the barrier and Dail and Evonne took turns keeping this place for the next eight hours. Evonne and I went for a stroll and got a drink and we listened to The High King's.

They are a traditional Irish folk band and their set was mainly well known Irish songs but performed brilliantly. This is just the sort of lively music festival audiences love on a sunny day and they went down a storm. After that we got some food and rejoined Dail. Jason Isbell was on next. I hadn't heard him before but I had heard great reports of him and I must say I thought he was great. Some of the songs were really sad and touched a nerve but it was a great performance. He was accompanied on vocals and violin by his wife Amanda Shires who I think you will agree is gorgeous (See photo).The Oysterband were on after Jason and Dail and Evonne were blown away by them and afterwards couldn't stop talking about them but I didn't see them. I had gone for a walk.

   Strolling past Stage 2 I heard a fair maiden singing a plaintive ballad. "I know that voice", I thought to myself and had a look. Just as I thought it was the one and only Kate Rusby making a surprise appearance. I think Kate is wonderful and I'm going to see her in Bath in December so I stopped and listened to the rest of her set. She brought on Sarah Jarosz as her guest and it was really nice.

 After Kate's surprise appearance I walked on and I met Someone I recognised. It was none other than Chris White who is one of Van Morrison's horn players. I shook hands with him and told him that we had met before. It was in the pub after a Van concert at the Albert Hall. He said that he remembered me but he might have just been polite. I said I was looking forward to seeing Van later. He was friendly. I think all of Van's band are really nice people. I should have asked for a photo but I didn't think. Never-mind. Then strolling through the market area I found a tattoo parlour doing Henna tattoo's which last about 14 days. "I know, I'll get a Van tattoo", I thought. " Can I have a tattoo saying Van The Man in Celtic lettering please?", I said to the girl. "We don't do Celtic lettering", she replied, "This is your choices". "Ok, do what you think is best".I felt obliged to have one once I had sat down. Anyway, it turned out rubbish and a waste of money. I took a photo of it but I'm not showing you it. It will be gone in two weeks and good riddence.
                                                               After that waste of time I saw The Rails on stage 2. I had seen them in Bath less than two weeks ago. In Bath they were a two piece acoustic act but at Cambridge they were a five piece electric outfit and were great. I must get The Rails album because I really like them. Kami looked really cool in her shades and I filmed Bonnie Portmore which is my favourite of their songs (See video below) . Back at the main stage I tried to rejoin Dail and Evonne but it had become impossible so I listened to Julie Fowlis from a distance. Julie is a traditional singer from the Outer Hebrides. An internet friend Jez has often mentioned her so I had a good listen.She has an exquisite voice singing in the Gaelic. Very nice indeed.

 I needed another drink and a cigarette and sat at a table outside the main bar. Who should I meet but Brendan from Dublin who I last met up with in Brighton back in February. It was great to see another die-hard Van fan. We watched Ladysmith Black Mambazo from a distance. I don't think Brendan liked them much and I wasn't all that bothered. I got a passer by to take our photo and we passed the time chatting about Van. Eventually Ladysmith ended and as thousands of people moved out we knew it was time to make our move. It was time for the legend they call Van The Man.

To be continued in Part 2, Van Morrison At Cambridge 2014.
                                                                                                         

The Rails Sing Bonnie Portmore At Cambridge Folk Festival 2014

Review: Richard Thompson & The Rails At Bath Forum, 23/7/2014

It was a week ago today that we went to see the great Richard Thompson in Bath but I have been so busy since I haven't had the chance to write a review until today. This is what happened.                                                       We caught the train to Bath at 2.10 because Jacky & Bill hadn't been to Bath for years so I thought it would be nice to show them around. We walked up Milsom Street and past the abbey and had a look at the river. Then we had a quiet drink under the shade of the trees at The Boater pub. After that we walked along the river as far as the cricket club. It was so hot that we sat down in a shady spot and watched a ladies cricket match for quite a while. It was really pleasant and quite appropriate because Richard Thompson is a big cricket fan. Later on we had some food at a pub near the venue and then it was showtime.

 I bought a Richard Thompson Acoustic Classics shirt at the merchandise stall and joined Jacky & Bill in our seats quite near the front of the nice art-deco style venue. The opening act were The Rails who are Richard's daughter Kami and her husband James Walbourne. They began with the brilliant Bonnie Portmore which I discovered via their appearance at Glastonbury and really like. ( See video below) They have an album out called Fair Warning and most of the songs from their 40 minute set came from that. I'm not sure of the titles of all the songs but I really liked William Taylor, Send Her To Holloway and a song called Lonely from a forthcoming Thompson family album featuring Richard,Teddy, Kami,James and Kami's mother Linda so that should be good. I thought The Rails were great and during the interval I had a quick little chat with them and they signed a flyer for me. They are on at Cambridge Folk Festival this weekend so I may get the chance to see them again. Also during the interval I asked a man at the door if there was any chance that I could have the huge poster from the foyer and he said he would find out.

   Then it was time for the main man. This is the second time I have seen Richard at this venue and he never ceases to amaze me with his skill on the guitar and his ability to sing brilliantly at the same time.This is the setlist. I hope I have the song titles correct.
Bathsheba Smiles
Saving The Good Stuff For You
Valerie
God Loves A Drunk
Johnny On The Sea
Fergus Lang
Vincent Black Lightning 1952
Sunset Song
I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight
Genesis Hall
Good Things Happen To Bad People
The New Me
I Read About Love
Three short pieces about World War 1
Wall Of Death
Persuasion
Dimming Of The Day
I Feel So Good
Gossamer Wind
One Door Opens
That's Enough ( With The Rails)
                                                   I think you will agree that is a very impressive list of songs. I really enjoyed God Loves A Drunk which I first got to know on a Norma Waterson album. The three short pieces about World War 1 were letters from soldiers verbatim which Richard has set to music for a project coming out in 2016 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle Of The Somme. It was great to hear the Fairport Convention song Genesis Hall as well because I am a big fan of Fairport. The last song when he was joined by The Rails is also from the forthcoming family album and was brilliant. In fact the whole concert was brilliant.

                                                       As we left, the man on the door was waiting with my huge Richard Thompson poster. It will cost a fortune to frame it but I'll get it done in due course. We caught the train at about 10.45 and got home in time for a last drink in the Ludlow and a chat with my friend Jacquie the landlady.What a perfect day it had been.

The Blues Band at the Village Pump Folk Festival 2014

Review: Baka Beyond At The Crown, Bathford 10/7/2014.

 I had a wonderful evening at The Crown in Bathford last night. This is what happened. It was one of my internet friends Brian who told me about the gig. He is friends with Baka Beyond. I had heard the name but never heard the music. However i have always liked the Afro Celt style of music so I really wanted to go. I told my friend Jacquie about it and she said she would drive. As soon as Jacquie finished work we set off. It was a nice warm evening and as we drove through Sally In The Woods towards Bath the countryside looked really lush and green. How lucky we are to live in such a nice area. Soon we arrived at The Crown. I have passed this pub countless times but never been in. The staff were charming and our waitress had dressed up for the occasion. We both opted for the stuffed mushroom tartlettes and salad which was delicious. I think the pub gave some of the proceeds from the evening to Baka Beyond's charity which is good of them. After eating we chilled out for a while in the bucolic surroundings of the garden until the music began. Eventually we could hear the band starting up so we went inside. The bar was crowded by now with the cream of Bath's bohemian intelligentsia some of whom had cycled out from Bath which isn't far away. I'll just tell you a little bit about Baka Beyond. The band were formed after the singer Su Hart and guitarist Martin Cradick visited the Baka people in Cameroon in 1992. They founded a charity called The Global Music Exchange and the royalties from the music are used for projects to support the Baka culture and way of life.(Click on  picture at the base of the page for more details).

I think there were six musicians in the band tonight of various nationalities. Su on vocals, also drums, bass, guitar, violin and a cool dude on bongos and other drums.There were other instruments as well but I don't know what they are called. The music was great, really happy and infectious. As well as being a great singer Su is a great little dancer as well and encouraged the audience to join in. The place was jumping. Some of the songs were in French which is the official language of Cameroon.I really liked the African style guitar sound which reminded me of a band I used to like years ago called the Bhundu Boys from Zimbabwe.I can't tell you the names of the songs because this was the first time I had ever heard this group but I hope it won't be the last.I did film one song but sadly it came out a bit dark and didn't really do the group justice but the sound is good and you can see it below.

 During the interval I introduced myself to Su and said hello from Brian and she immediately knew who I was talking about.She said to say hi to Brian and tell him about the Canadian tour in August. She was really nice and I asked her for a photo and she obliged.I bought a CD from her called 'After The Tempest' which I am playing at this very moment and really enjoying. Highly recommended. Jacquie and I left before the end of the performance because it was getting late and I thought Jacquie deserved a well earned drink back in her pub The Ludlow Arms in Westbury after a long day and being kind enough to take me to Bathford. So thank you very much indeed to Baka Beyond, The Crown at Bathford, Brian for telling me about it and Jacquie for a most enjoyable evening.Lets do it all again soon.

Baka Beyond: The Crown, Bathford, 10/7/2014.

Shelagh McDonald,The Lady Who Vanished.

Kevin is a musician friend of mine. He sent me the Trees album a couple of years ago that I hadn't heard for 30 years. Kev phones me up occasionally and we have chats about music and one evening I mentioned to him about Annie Briggs and Vashti Bunyan and Kev said ,"There's another great singer who disappeared as well, Shelagh McDonald,she used to live in Bristol and she was good, check her out". A few days later I remembered what Kevin had said, so I looked on the net to see if there were any Shelagh McDonald albums available and there were three, The Shelagh McDonald Album, Stargazer and  Let No Man Steal Your Thyme which was a double album comprising of her first two albums and other earlier recordings, demo's and out-takes, and that is the one I opted for. A few days later the CD popped through the letter box.

 The first thing I noticed on opening the package was how nice looking she was, the elfin mystical looking long haired hippy chick of the early 70's. Opening the accompanying booklet I was amazed to see the list of great musicians who played on her albums, it was the glitterati of the British folk/rock scene of the time. Richard Thompson, Keith Christmas, Gerry Conway, Andy Roberts, Keith Tippet, Gordon Huntley, Pat Donaldson, Dave Mattacks, Danny Thompson and even Katie Kissoon on backing vocals plus lots of others. What an line-up of talent. Also the notes told the  story of Shelagh up to 2005 when this compilation was released. Not a lot is known about her early life except that she came from the Edinburgh area of Scotland. She discovered a talent for singing and playing the guitar and when she left school in the late 60's she left home and headed for Bristol where she soon made a name for herself playing in the clubs of Bristol's thriving folk scene and she began an on off relationship with singer Keith Christmas. Soon her talent was spotted and she headed for the bright lights of London and a record contract. Her first album received lukewarm reviews but her second one Stargazer was a hit with critics and a growing following of fans. Karl Dallas one of the leading music journalists hailed her as the new Sandy Denny and she was compared to Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell. Just when she seemed set for fame and fortune, her world began to fall apart. One fateful night she took a tab of acid and the experience left her a psychological mess. Even weeks later she was still suffering from horrible hallucinations. I have every sympathy. British LSD in the 70's was the strongest in the world up to Operation Julie in 1977 which took it off the streets. To borrow from Allen Ginsberg I saw some of the best minds of my generation destroyed by LSD. It always seemed to be the sensitive, creative types who suffered the most. In desperation Shelagh headed back to Scotland and did not contact any of her old friends and for 33 years up to the release of this compilation cd and the sleeve notes being written nothing was heard of her. She had completely vanished.

So,  I put on the first cd and the opening couple of tracks were not that impressive to me. They were early recordings from a radio series called Dungeon Folk.However when the third track called Mirage played then I was really impressed.She had made the transition from folk singer to folk-rock singer. That whole side was really good, but CD 2 went from really good to quite stunning. It is a mini-masterpiece,As good as Fairport Convention, Pentangle, Nick Drake or any of the luminaries of the folk rock scene of the time. The production by Sandy Robertson is quite superb as well. Every track on the Stargazer album is brilliant. The lyrics of Liz's Song almost suggest she was planning to disappear but that could be just a coincidence. Some tracks like Odyssey and The Road To Paradise are like progressive rock. I would have loved to have seen her with this band in concert, that would have been really something. Sweet Sunlight is a beautiful song and her voice is exquisite. Stargazer, the title track speaks for itself . I particularly enjoyed Canadian Man which has a real Joni Mitchell influence. Good Times has some great funky saxophone, Dowie Dens Of Yarrow would have graced any Sandy Denny album. Spin, and City's Cry are also great. The latter with the unmistakeable sound of Richard Thompson's guitar reminding me of Fairport's album What We Did On Our Holidays.I can't praise this album enough.

I looked on Wikipedia to find out more information and discovered there is one final twist in the tale. When this album was released in 2005 it prompted an article about Shelagh in The Independent by Charles Donovan. This led to similar copycat articles in other papers including the Scottish Daily Mail. In November 2005 Shelagh read the article and turned up at the newspaper office to tell her story. She revealed that after her bad acid experience she had totally lost the ability to sing and she had worked in a department store till 1981. Then she met a hippy bookseller called George Farquhar and they adopted an itinerant lifestyle travelling around the Scottish Islands and abroad and eventually lived in a tent, camping wherever they could. She told the newspaper that her voice had returned and she had started writing songs again. Since that visit to the newspaper 5 years ago though nothing else has been heard from Shelagh and she has disappeared back into the mists of obscurity from which she had so briefly emerged.

 I'm not expected Shelagh McDonald to rekindle her career now but it would be great if more people discovered her music and realised what a great talent she was. I urge you to listen to the song 'Stargazer',the choral ending is quite brilliant. Also, thank you very much to Kevin for telling me about Shelagh McDonald.


Postscript.
                There is a very happy ending to this story. I received a message yesterday from a fan of Shelagh's to say that she is playing her first official gig in 40 years next week in Camden Town.That is brilliant and I wish her every success with that. I hope it leads to more dates.The gig is sold out apparently and I found out too late or I would have loved to have seen her live.

Shelagh McDonald

Otway The Movie, Review.

It was a windy and rainy day yesterday and I was trapped indoors and starting to get depressed. "How can I make today interesting?", I asked myself. Then  John Otway posted on Facebook that there was to be a screening of  'Otway, The Movie' at the Little Theatre Cinema in Bath that very evening followed by a question and answer session with the man himself. I knew I had to go, so I phoned up my friend Dave and he wanted to go as well I  booked two tickets. I spent the afternoon kicking my heels because Otway has been part of my life for nearly forty years ( See previous stories below). I met Dave in the pub and we caught the 6.38 train to Bath.                                          We had time on our hands so we went for a drink in the Grapes pub in Westgate Street until it was show time. In all the years I have lived in this area I have never been to the Little Cinema before and I must say it is a wonderful little venue, hidden away up an alley way off  Westgate Street and the seats are really comfortable.

While we were waiting for the doors to open Otway himself arrived and I took the opportunity to take a couple of photos with me and Dave. He also signed an album for me and we had a little chat. He seems genuinely interested in what people have to say and takes the time to speak to them. I think that is why he has built up such a devoted fan base over the years. I told him about previous times I had seen him. The first time was right here at Bath Pavilion in 1978 and he remembered it which surprised me because he must have played thousands of gigs since. I also told him about the time Kim and I went to his 50th birthday party at the London Palladium. Kim used to love Otway and it made her night when he gave her a kiss on the cheek at a gig in Frome a few years ago.

Then it was time for the film which Otway introduced. He said that we had to listen out for the one word that was the reason that when the film got its certificate it can't be seen by unaccompanied children under twelve. The film begins with Otway returning to his old school in Aylesbury to talk to the kids about how to make a career in the music business. It then chronicles his whole career which is portrayed as one disaster after another. There is a lot of footage of his legendary concert in Aylesbury market square in 1978. I was there on that memorable day. There is also the London Palladium concert where the fans conspired to give him a hit record as a birthday present. I'll never forget that night sitting in the pub listening to the chart being announced and 'Bunsen Burner' going straight in the charts at number 9. Then Otway coming over to the pub and standing on a table to the cheers of the fans.

 I won't tell you all of the film but it was really enjoyable and I know the rest of the audience enjoyed it because there was a lot of spontaneous laughter and applause throughout the screening. There is one thing that slightly niggles me though is because the film has the sub-title of  'Rock And Roll's Greatest Failure'. I disagree with that because John Otway has had a long and successful career and brought a lot of pleasure to many people. The other thing that is overlooked is that he has written some great songs and has a body of work to be proud of. I think his first  album with Wild Willy Barrett and the follow-up 'Deep And Meaningless' are great albums by any standard. I would put them in my favourite 50 albums of all time. Songs like Geneva, Gypsy,Josephine,Place Farm Way and many more are songs to be proud of and show that he is a great singer-songwriter.

After the screening there were questions and answers and I asked John if he was doing Glastonbury this year and he is. I can reveal that he is on in the Cabaret Stage on the Saturday and also the film will be shown in the Cinema Tent. Dave and I left before the end because we wanted a quick drink before catching the train. John did ask though if anyone noticed the one word that barred unaccompanied children from seeing it. I thought it might be Willy but actually it was Twat. Now that Otway has made a film I wonder what the future holds for him. I think he should definitely be given the freedom of the city of Aylesbury because through his songs he has put his home town on the map. Also if his fans can get together and give him a hit single why can't they start a campaign to get him in the Queens New Years Honours list for services to music. He deserves it more than most of them. Anyway, thank you very much John Otway for a great night out in Bath.