november 2007 live reviews

Tidal Fury – The Cavern Club, Liverpool - 16/09/07

Tidal Fury had played the superb Snooty Fox in Wakefield the previous Friday, Fibbers on Saturday supporting Toby Jepson and now on the Sunday they were to play a headline slot at the world famous Cavern Club in Liverpool. The wonderful people at F & J Travel at Rufforth had hired us an executive coach for the band and their fans, complete with a cave of death, and a fridge. Bon Scott, Phil Lynott and Bruce Dickinson serenaded us all the way to Liverpool and we all got there in plenty of time to have a nosey at the classic guitars, wall of fame and memorabilia in The Cavern Pub before sound check across the road in the club. Everybody playing that night had travelled from afar to play here. Rio Jansci from Norwich, Sidewinder from Leeds and Kinky Wizards from Bridgend in Wales. A special mention must go to Kinky Wizards, a drum and bass duo. The two brothers showed everybody in the room how to play drums and slap bass and I heard mutterings from another band that they didn’t really know how to follow that. They were superb and even in a room full of rock fans their music was really well received. Tidal Fury had already received applause from the other bands during sound check as our dancers had gone through their routine to “Dance Like You Mean It”. Tidal Fury opened with this and the audience saw the routine for the first time with the ten dancers from the York City Knights cheerleader team, and it all looked very slick. It was a great show. Tidal Fury did a half hour of high-energy rock, mainly original material with one ACDC cover in the mix, and they were asked back by The Cavern management. Musically, Tidal Fury are very good, their stage show is always full of posing, fast finger work and songs about sex, crazy women and luurve. Graham’s voice was beginning to crack at the end of the set, and at the end of a weekend of gigs, he could be forgiven for letting his normally high standards slip a little. FK Music Management even managed to bring everybody back to York. A good night for everybody involved.

words: lou sandles

The Yorkshire Garland Group Launch – NATIONAL CENTRE FOR EARLY MUSIC, YORK – 15/09/07

For one day only, the hushed ecclesiastical tones of the NCEM were transformed into the poshest-looking folk club in Yorkshire, courtesy of the Yorkshire Garland Group. For those not in the know, the aforementioned organisation is dedicated to the apparently simple aim of ‘making Yorkshire’s folk song heritage as widely and as readily available to the general public as current technology and copyright considerations permit, and at no charge’. I say apparently simple as, under the guidance of singers / collectors Steve Gardham, Ray Padgett and Ray Black, they are bringing Yorkshire song into the digital age. Supported by a 2006 Lottery Heritage grant, they are developing a website where you can download a selection of historic and contemporary recordings of songs native to – or widely sung in – Yorkshire, along with lyrics and information on provenance and variants. This two-year project will be completed in May 2008, but this gig was to celebrate the first selection ‘going live’ at www.yorkshirefolksong.net.
With both afternoon and evening sessions, the Garland was indeed gay (in an appropriately traditional sense!), with a good crowd joining in at every opportunity to fill the hall with song. Highlights were many. Jim Eldon, ‘the Brid Fiddler’, sang of the sea in a beautifully understated manner, deftly mixing humour with grisly tales of murder and mutilation to the accompaniment of some deceptively subtle fiddle playing. Three Score and Ten’s lively rapport with the audience made the hallowed surroundings feel like the local pub and their harmonies soared – and the touch of hi-tech digital harpsichord (really!) was a sight you don’t often see with traditional singers. Will Noble’s powerful delivery – particularly on ‘Walling Song’ – and John Cocking’s accompanying voice and selection of monologues blended together well, and the knockabout misrule of the Knaresborough Mummers is always welcome.
All the performers rightly deserve a mention, but the one act I couldn’t leave out, of course, is The Waterson Family. Sometimes referred to as ‘folk royalty’, the importance of dynasty was emphasised with the presence of Norma and Mike, whose influence on the 60s folk revival is immeasurable, and Eliza Carthy who, as well as continuing the tradition, constantly leads it into new areas. Along with Ann, Rachel, Eleanor and Marie (check out the booklet in their Mighty River of Song set of the family tree!), they make a tremendous sound, with songs like ‘White Cockade’, ‘General Wolfe’ (a York lad, after all) and ‘The Earsdon Sword Dance’ demonstrating the power that this material still has. ‘I can only sing Yorkshire tunes’, joked Mike at one point – were that the case, the day’s performances showed that he would still have a rich and varied repertoire to draw upon. A celebration indeed. Visit the website, support the project and join in the choruses.

words: oz hardwick

ACOUSTIC GATHERING II – PEASHOLM PARK, SCARBOROUGH – 16/09/07

Peasholm Park looks beautiful. Headliner Chris Helme is singing the gentle “Pure”, his fragile voice floats above flickering candles. “Blinded By The Sun”, a song he wrote for The Seahorses sounds refreshing, stripped down to just guitar and voice....
A.G. 2 starts perfectly with 15 year old Alastair Schmuck making perfect Sunday afternoon listening. Deep vocals and agile finger work from Phil Latham sounded divine, while Whitby’s Alex Kirby’s playing is infectious and entertaining. The sun’s shining for cello and guitar duo The Producers, their tender songs move effortlessly as dragon boats glide past the stage. The Pieces; a superb local duo, Jon Neaves and Ed Preston win over the crowd with inspiring close harmonies, competent musicianship and fantastic songs. A little older are Adams & Greaves, whose voices gel softly together on John Martyn’s “May You Never”; it’s a heart warming sound.
Billy Neilson is an interesting songwriter. “Too Emotional” keeps the crowd guessing as it twists and turns through rhythms and unexpected chord changes. Further proof of local talent comes from blues singer/guitarist Tom Townsend, the ever rhythmic Jess Hutchinson and Ollie Banks, whose songs have extra depth with the addition of congas, cello and musical saw. Amaya Huntley sings like an angel. Captain Ant’s visuals take effect on screens behind the stage, but grey clouds gather as Carl Woodford opens with “The Love Laughter And Money Show”. The rain holds off until the appearance of opera singer Vicky Wright; accompanied by pianist David Pearson, poignant versions of “He Was Beautiful” and “I Dreamed A Dream” warm the spirits of the drenched audience.
From Birmingham, Vijay Kishore has an extraordinary voice which could silence a football crowd, while Hayley Hutchinson’s vocals are as radiant as the rainbow which appears for fellow headliner Tasmin Archer and the audience sing along to “Sleeping Satellites”. Equally as soulful is Jess Gardham, with a voice reminiscent of Tracey Chapman. Tom Hingley counts us down to “Saturn 5”, one of the best songs he ever sung with The Inspiral Carpets and the crowd is taken on a further nostalgic trip with “Dragging Me Down” and a stirring version of Ben E King’s “Stand By Me”.
Summer may nearly be over, but AG 2 once again showcased our area’s talent. Thanks to all the performers, volunteers, sound crew, stage hands and event organiser Steve “Whiskey” Dickinson.

words: david wright

York National Poetry Event - CENTRAL Library, YORK - 04/10/07

From the furthest corners of the kingdom they gathered, balladeers with silver tongues and hearts of pure virtue. Well, maybe that’s a bit of a poetic description, but certainly this was a large event where three different York-based poetry groups as well as the occasional straggler (like myself) all met upstairs in York Library to celebrate National Poetry Day and share our work. Throughout the course of the evening a few dozen poets stood up to read about two poems each, most opting for the light-hearted poem whilst some ventured to more darker subjects. Oz Hardwick and Miles Cain (the organiser), performed a duo, Miles on acoustic guitar complementing Oz’s atmospheric ‘Storm Crow’. Though the theme this year was dreams, topics ranged from the Loch Ness Monster to lepidopterologists, from being pre-menstrual to Nietzsche. This event gives you a good idea of the ‘poetry scene’ in Yorkshire, some were professional poets with published collections whilst others just enjoy writing poems that make themselves and others smile.

words: henry raby

ACOUSTIC SUNDAY - JUNCTION, YORK - 30/09/07

Several months in and the Acoustic Sunday night at The Junction is still in it’s consolidation stage. It’s well promoted, the format’s good – four acts, each not under or over playing to the candlelit room – so maybe it’s just that two of tonight’s bill were not known in York at all which limited the turn out. This show was also a little lob sided. Let’s pretend I have four hands. On one of them we had the duo Fragile who conjoured a pleasant sound yet lacked sparkle - save for ‘Loving By Numbers’ which was significantly one of their shorter and more punchy pieces. On the other hand we had Garron Frith who played smooth original acoustic pop: emotive lyrics sitting on top of well-worn chord progressions showed that his material could successfully be marketed. On a third hand (!) we had Ripple, by-passing the PA and presenting their A Capella a capella. Worth a try but the vocal balance would have benefited from mics and a mixer to represent each singer equally - and their largely World/Politically biassed set did prove a little heavy, not thought provoking as intended. And on the fourth hand (how many!) we had Pete Mitchell - and what fresh breeze of something innovative and cheeky was he. Usually playing with Los Yobos, tonight Matthew, he was flying solo and original for the first time in a long time and he gave a lyrically deft and melodically strong performance. He also showed that he was the kind of performer with a well placed sense of humour - a bonus in a potentially introspective songwriting genre. I cdid feel that I’d have liked more of him and Garron and shorter sets from the rest. As I said though, the format does work and with consistently strong line ups I’m sure this wooden boat will float.

words: dean saint john

ALPHAWAVES – FIBBERS, YORK - 28/09/07

From only working in the York music scene for 7 months, i have already got to see how closely woven a network it is, how the bands, musicians, promoters and venue staff are all, really, like one big neighbourhood. Friday night @ Fibbers for the Alphawaves album launch was another of the moments i realised York is not a city - its a big village!
The Alphawaves are very well-known round York, and though Fibbers wasn't bursting at the seams - you could tell by the atmosphere that the people that were there - were there for one unanimous reason - a territorial appreciation for our local heroes - The Alphawaves.
On sitting down to write this review - i typed in Alphawaves into Google, simply out of curiosity... i just thought how fitting their name was...
ALPHA WAVES are predominantly found to originate from the Occipital Lobe (at the rear of the brain) during periods of relaxation - representing the visual activity when the brain is in an idle state. Dunno bout you - but i regularly listen to the Alphawaves when relaxing.... so ... perfect.
The Alphawaves music is refreshing and carefree, they resist clichéd lyrics, they tell stories about life situations and characters which have childlike portrayals of emotions, this really shows through in their live performances as they push the boundaries of music and poetry.
They almost seem to sing and play with the emotions of the subjects they write about in their songs. They are a band infused with influences of different styles and genres, they have adopted playful Bluetones-esque melodies which are then injected with grungy guitars to give their songs a dark, bluesy edge.
Tonight their set was heartfelt and honest, they sang with appreciation for the eyes and ears in the loyal crowd - who are by now arm in arm swaying and singing along to the famous "Marbled Quiver".
Their new songs loved as much as the old - generations of York gig-goers celebrating the long-awaited album debut of "Animation Cell" - delivered flawlessly and undeniably passionately live!
I love having such talented musicians on my doorstep... i always plan to see the Alphawaves for as long as i live in York, in my opinion they are an integral part of ensuring the history and the future of the unsigned music scene here in York will not be forgotten.

words: annie albericci