See also Part 2
Benedictus
A Glimpse Of Heaven
Ghosts
Face Down In The Well
The Hangman And The Papist
Alice's Song
Shine On Silver Sun
Autumn
The Winter And The Summer
Tears And Pavan
The River/Down By The Sea
Out In The Cold/Round And Round
Lay Down*
Hero And Heroine*
On A Night Like This*
* not Camberwell
HAZLITT THEATRE, MAIDSTONE, 6 SEP 2003 and UNION TAVERN, CAMBERWELL, LONDON , 7 SEP 2003
A slightly belated review of the two Acoustic Strawbs gigs I caught over the weekend. As well as not having had a fix of live Strawbs music since my Stateside trip, my curiosity was piqued by the reports on the numbers newly re-introduced into the set - "Shine On Silver Sun" and "The Winter And The Summer"
The second of these, opening the second half, of these introduces Dave Cousins on the mandolin he bought whilst he was over the pond, a lovely scroll-headed number, with a nice gentle sound, captured by the vocal mike rather than DI'd to the PA. For a man who said that until recently he'd only ever once played mandolin on stage, back in his college days, he coaxes a lovely gentle sound out of it, which fits perfectly with the gentle laid back tone of the piece, one of Dave Lambert's best compositions. One which I suspect will evolve as Dave's playing becomes even more fluid and confident. He has plans to use the mandolin on other songs, but not yet!
But the first - no-one said in their reviews that Dave uses the banjo for the song, so that was a big surprise for me, and not something I'd have predicted! But the arrangement works very well indeed, and captures the switch between the relatively calm verses and the boisterous chorus, where Cousins and Lambert manage to sound like the massed ranks of Strawbs United which featured on the original (if only they could get Chas up for those high notes, it would be complete).
New songs - "Face Down In The Well", premiered at the White Bear earlier in the year, has got tighter and better, and is sounding very good indeed. And, as a second encore after H&H (where time permits), "On A Night Like This" has also started to swing: sounding a bit less like "La Bamba", but with an obvious and affectionate nod in that song's direction, it's an upbeat Strawbs pop song, which, if the economics of single release ever allow it to escape, would make a good chart hit for someone.
Other highlights - "Autumn" remains excellent, as do "Out In The Cold/Round And Round" and "Hero And Heroine", on the last of these DL has started playing the bodhran in a different style using two beaters. "Shine On" takes the track count from H&H up to 4, matching BATS (with "Lay Down" - a welcome return after a short lay-off; "Tears And Pavan", "Winter" and "River/Down By The Sea" - "Flying" has been dropped in favour if "Shine On"). DBTS was, to my mind, a bit rough and ready at Maidstone, though it had smartened up by Camberwell. "Benedictus" remains the set opener, the sole survivor from Grave New World album; ditto "Ghosts". Back in are two from the Witchwood album - "Glimpse Of Heaven" and "The Hangman And The Papist".
The venues - about as different as two venues could get. Maidstone's Hazlitt Theatre , nice venue, reasonable sound (though Brian and DL's guitars were a little hard to hear sometimes; DC and his guitar were well upfront).
"Crooks On The Level Folk Club" at the Union Tavern in Camberwell is a relatively new venture, part organised by Travis T. Merle (who guested with the Acoustics at the White Bear earlier this year). There were floor singers - a 6 or 7 piece band called the Unknown which played a few bluesy numbers, and Travis T himself for 4 or 5. Big complaint about Camberwell though is that the organisers got timings badly wrong so that Strawbs fans (which included three sets of visiting Americans - Mike and Janet from NY and two couples from the West Coast - and two Swedes) were cheated of the last three numbers from the Acoustic Strawbs, with the set ending abruptly after "Round And Round". (Having run a folk club myself I sympathise, but having started late, perhaps they should have cut back the floor singers and resident spots.) Crooks has an impressive list of visitors for later in the season, including Wizz Jones, Derek Brimstone, Dave Peabody, Martin Carthy, Pete Coe, John Renbourn - I'll post details on the news page shortly.
Also in the audience was Rodney, formerly the organiser of the folk club at the historic Troubadour in Earls Court - following changes there, he's moved on to the Sols Arms in Hampstead Road, Euston (down near the old Capital tower), where he'll be hosting various acts including Paul Millns (this Thursday 11th, probably with Hud on drums); Wizz Jones (also), Terry St Clair, Tudor Lodge, Eddie Walker, Michael Chapman - again, I'll post details.
But finally, a moment of pure magic, which as Mike Gebhardt who was with me commented, money couldn't buy. Sitting in the bar after the Maidstone show, DC spotted a rather nice grand piano over the other side of the bar. Off he goes, and proceeds to play one of the new numbers he's working on, which is likely to be recorded for a new Strawbs album to be released next year (new songs, full band - you heard it here!). Beautiful tune, great playing, a magical moment. I suggested that he should play piano on stage one day as he is perfectly capable of it, but Cousins demurred, and of course there's the difficulty of carrying round a keyboard instrument on any acoustic tour basis. So for now, a treat for a very few lucky punters who just happened to be around. Worth the trip from London for that alone.
THE RAM CLUB, CLAYGATE, 5 SEP 2003
What a wonderful experience to actually meet Dave, Dave and Brian in real life in a British pub and folk club! The fact that I had come all the way from Sweden caused quite a buzz, but there was also someone from Austria there.
I don't remember the whole set list, but these songs were played: "Benedictus", "A Glimpse Of Heaven", "Ghosts", "Face Down In The Well", "The Hangman And The Papist", "Alice's Song", "Shine On Silver Sun", "Lay Down", "Autumn", "Round And Round", "Hero And Heroine", "Simple Visions", "Tears And Pavan", "The River". This is not the actual order, and I might have left out a song, but I don't think so.
The way they handled their instruments was very impressing of course, but what striked me the most was Dave and Dave's voices. Honestly I was a bit worried after I'd listened to Baroque and Roll, but it proved to be no reason for this. Haunting and passionate is, in my humble opinion, an apt description of Mr Cousin's and Mr Lambert's voices, respectively.
Afterwards I got my album covers signed, and some photos taken of me with my heroes by a most helpful man!
I really hope to see them again!
Benedictus
A Glimpse Of Heaven
Ghosts
Face Down In The Well
The Hangman And The Papist
Alice's Song
Shine On Silver Sun
Autumn
The Winter And The Summer
Tears And Pavan
The River/Down By The Sea
Lay Down
Hero And Heroine
On A Night Like This
SOUTH PARADE PIER, SOUTHSEA, 31 AUG 2003
The Strawbs were the last act at a week long folk festival on the South Parade Pier, Southsea. There looked to have been some very good acts on, but I only found this out when it was too late!
There was a frustrating start. The Strawbs had done their sound check (which sounded good from outside). The support band Legacy only arrived a few minutes before the doors were due to open. They had a lot of problems with the sound, and didn't start until about 45 minutes late. They were an interesting blend of trad irish and jazz, and appeared to have a lot of local support.
The Strawbs didn't take the stage until 9.20pm, and the MC told us there was a strict curfew at 11pm. The band seemed happy and relaxed, and played a superb set. There was an initial glitch with the volume of the dulcimer, initially with no sound, and then extremely loud. DC quipped that they were doing the Led Zeppelin version of "Benedictus".
The new song "Face Down In The Well" was very atmospheric and I am looking forward to hearing a recorded version of this. BW did an excellent guitar piece in the middle of the song. "Alice's Song" was the best version I've heard: DC finally seems to have learnt the words! "Shine On Silver Sun" was worth the trip on its own. The mandolin on "Winter And The Summer" worked well. "Down By The Sea" was brilliant, and seemed appropriate as the ferries and cargo ships were passing close by. I confess I was not impressed by "On A Night Like This": it seemed rather lightweight compared to the rest of the evening, and made me leave on a slightly frustrated note, as "Out In The Cold/Round And Round" had to be dropped from the set due to the delays earlier.
The crowd loved the Strawbs. It was probably the noisiest Strawbs audience I've been in.
A very good evening. DC seemed happier and moving more freely than when I last saw him. BW played some sublime guitar. "Rugged" DL certainly took no prisoners, and I'm always amazed that his guitar and strings survive the evening intact.
Southsea, although I had seen the band in Scotland, this was the first time I have been overseas (well at least over the sea!) for a performance. The venue was at the end of the South Pier a slightly surreal location, but by the time the Band took the stage there were around 200 gathered to see the final act of the 2003 Southsea Folk & Roots festival.
Cross channel and local ferries glided effortlessly and quietly either side of the Pier in the line of sight as the last remnants of a sunny day dimmed on the horizon. Children with their fishing rods wandered to and fro and tourists with a quaint inquisitiveness gawped through the windows as curtains remained opened, often returning for that second look not believing their eyes, faces pressed against the windows.
Apart from that, the night had not started well, the sound system for the opening act, Legacy, was not at its best, failing microphones and feedback galore, a real shame and having had the benefit of some cracking sound quality at recent gigs, left a little concern for the rest of the evening.
Unlike Pete, I had been told there was a 10.30 finish, (something to do with the tide - I wondered?) and with an anticipated 9.10 start, a shortened gig in prospect. The play list for the evening did not include "Flying", "New World", "Out In The cold", "Round & Round", "You And I / Remembering" or "Flower And The Young Man", all stalwarts of recent acoustic gigs, but the evening was no less enjoyable and the introduction of new numbers brought a fresh feel to the night.
Fortunately, the sound problems did not return en masse, except for the opening blip described by Pete. The only comment I could make beyond this was that perhaps it was a little light on the bass end of the scale, although in a funny way this little faux pas only seemed to add to vocal contribution from DL, particularly on Ghosts where we could have been 25 years back - superb rendition.
Part way through the gig a strange event, a blue transit drove up the side of the pier - "on a road to nowhere" I thought as there is not a lot beyond the end. ("Absent Friend" would may be have been an ideal song to accompany the event, but fortunately it turned round and no need to summon up the spirit of "Grace Darling" for a late evening rescue)
10.30 came and went (the band only started at 9.25) and with the water gently lapping our toes, "Tears And Pavan" took us into extra time, followed by "The River", etc and the final song "Lay Down". By then an enthusiastic were demanding more and encouraged by the compere raising a single finger it was time for one more. A blistering "Hero & Heroine" and the audience once again demanded more and the new "On A Night Like This" finished the evening.
The evening had turned into one of real joy after an unpromising start and "Shine On Silver Sun" was a great delight. "Face Down In The Well" is of a quality that we have been well used to over the years with harsh vocals, melding perfectly with words so softly spoken and is one that I hope we can enjoy for many years to come.
Good to welcome back "The Winter And The Summer", this has been a pleasure for over 30 years and only thing missing from it was perhaps the soaring keyboards of recent electric tours, but its a great song and good to hear it live again. "Ghosts" has already had a mention and this was splendid.
Brian alternated between his usual Gibson and a new guitar, that I cannot remember him playing before and perhaps it was the new one that was promised recently. Perhaps some one with better technical knowledge than me could check this out, but my eyesight was not good enough to pick up the full detail.
Benedictus
A Glimpse Of Heaven
Ghosts
Face Down In The Well
The Hangman And The Papist
Alice's Song
Shine On Silver Sun
Autumn
The Winter And The Summer
Tears And Pavan
The River/Down By The Sea
Out In The Cold/Round And Round
Lay Down
Hero And Heroine
On A Night Like This
HAMPTON HILL PLAYHOUSE, 30 AUG 2003
Hi all, just returned home from the gig at Hampton Hill. What should have been a trip of less than 2 hours each way took over 3 1/2hrs there, and 2 1/2hrs back, I think we caught every traffic jam south of London !! Luckily we had gone early to spend the afternoon walking in Bushy Park, just behind the theatre, where we watched a magnificent stag roll in the mud of an almost dried up pond, and the leaves starting to fall from the trees. The words of "Autumn" coming to mind as we sat in the last warm rays of sunshine.
The theatre itself is modern, only about 4 years old, and for tonight's show, apart from the small upper balcony, was almost full. A surprise audience member tonight was Chas Cronk who seemed to enjoy himself. I was pleased to find the theatre using one of my earlier photos of the band on their advertising, and promptly acquired a copy !
The sound, we thought was very good tonight, with all three guitars coming over very clearly. The highlight was the inclusion of the two new songs that the band premiered at the White Bear earlier in the year, and a new version of an older song.
During "Ghosts" DC had a temporary "frog in the throat" and couldn't get the last couple of words out, much to the amusement of DL, who asked Brian to check if he still had a pulse, saying if Dave died he was in the will. As Dave started to introduce the next song, the new "Face Down In The Well" he went into one of his excellent stories about the time after his fall during which he had to use a zimmer frame. He commented that no one had any photos of him using it, but Brian said " that's what you think !" to which Dave replied " well you're certainly NOT in the will"
Another unexpected inclusion was a brand new version of "Shine On Silver Sun", and the return of the ever popular "Lay Down" Also a surprise was Dave C on a very exotic looking mandolin on "The Winter And The Summer " which he assured us he would get better at playing, saying he couldn't get any worse !
We were also unusually treated to two songs as the encore instead of the standard one, the second being the other new song,"On a Night Like This" with a subtle alteration to the start, which lessened its likeness to La Bamba. Dave C likened playing new songs to jumping off a cliff without a parachute, and they said it could be the end of their careers. Dave C joked his career ended years ago, and Dave L said "wait for me "
Despite our horrendous journeys, we had a great night, and really enjoyed the additions and changes to the setlist. In fact, we'll even be back for more in Maidstone next Saturday, (luckily a bit nearer to home) - just got a week to fill first !!!
Setlist from Dave's own, hand written list, supplied by Sue Holton:
Benedictus
A Glimpse Of Heaven
Ghosts
Face Down In The Well
The Hangman And The Papist
The Winter And The Summer
Alice's Song
Shine On Silver Sun
Tears And Pavan
The River/Down By The Sea
Out In The Cold/Round And Round
Lay Down
Autumn/The Winter Long
On A Night Like This
THE POKEY HOLE, NETHERSEALE, 29 AUG 2003
The Pokey Hole is a very welcoming and lively music club based at the Rugby Club in Netherseale. The friendly atmosphere convinced the band that now was the time to debut some new song arrangements.
Martin Jenkins, a renowned mandocello player and singer, with Bert Jansch and Whippersnapper on his CV, provided a commendable support set. He was ably assisted by his son Ray, an accomplished guitarist with a style and stage presence uncannily similar to that of Kevin Dempsey, who was one of Martin's colleagues from the old Whippersnapper days.
A long support set plus a break for raffle sales meant that Strawbs did not take the stage for their single performance until around 10:00pm.
The volume of DC's dulcimer was initially deafening in "Benedictus", prompting various hand signals, and Brian's recently acquired Takamine classical electro-acoustic nylon strung guitar was a little lost in the mix. DL soon suffered the same problem, but as always the sound balances were gradually sorted out during the performance which was as stunning as we have come to expect, but was further enhanced by the new material.
Brian's Takamine, used alongside his Gibson, really came into it's own during "Tears And Pavan", and also in DC's brand new song, "Face Down In The Well", which combines a beautifully melodic tune and arrangement with very dark lyrics. DC's spoken intro to this song somehow produced some inappropriate laughter from the crowd, who were expecting another joke as the serious subject matter was explained.
DC produced a mandolin to play along with DL's "The Winter And The Summer", an excellent arrangement of a wonderful song which I last heard performed at Hounslow in June 2002. "The Hangman And The Papist" was performed with exceptional energy, "The River", "Out In The Cold" and "Autumn/The Winter Long" stood out as perfect performances. "Shine On Silver Sun", newly and meticulously arranged, is guaranteed to be another interactive anthem in the Strawbs set. You cannot fail to sing along with it.
A DI box failure during the encore led to a minute's delay and meant that Brian had to resign himself to playing the Gibson instead of the Takamine for "On A Night Like This", prompting DC's comment "a good job he can afford two, isn't it?"
Once again, the band fully deserved their deafening applause. Another triumphant night enjoyed by all.
Benedictus
A Glimpse Of Heaven
Ghosts
The Flower And The Young Man
Alice's Song
Flying
Autumn
Tears And Pavan
The River
Down By The Sea
Out In The Cold
Round And Round
Lay Down
Hero And Heroine
On A Night Like This
NANTWICH FESTIVAL, 23 AUG 2003
I went to Nantwich, and both the Strawbs and the ISB were absolutely brilliant. See to the right for setlist for the Strawbs gig (I might add that some of these song titles are approximate, as I hadn't heard them before)
This was the third best gig I've been to this year (after Yes and Peter Gabriel), and the best acoustic gig I've ever been to. I hope the guys manage an electric tour in Britain next year, as I'd love to see a full line-up of the band play live.
Benedictus
Tears And Pavan
Ghosts
Glimpse Of Heaven
Flower And The Young Man
Alice's Song
Flying
Hangman And The Papist.
Autumn
Out In The Cold/Round And Round
The River/Down By The Sea
Hero & Heroine
Lay Down
Simple Visions
WHITCHURCH MUSIC FESTIVAL, 3 AUG 2003
Having spent the previous day at Sidmouth for their global event, this was a much more parochial event, but, taking in the final day of a 3 day event Whitchurch was to prove another memorable experience.
Arriving early afternoon, first act was Keith James who did a really good Nick Drake tribute set. Melancholy but good. The following act was more like an AOR karaoke and having turned up to see some live music was not what was wanted. The informal singarounds the previous day were some how more meaningful.
A long hot afternoon was followed by a long hot evening and the evening hall event started at 6 pm with Treebeard followed by Tony McPhee of Groundhog fame, who no doubt, following my recent posting on Witchwood, made several references to Jo Anne Kelly.
Come 9 p.m and the act I that really I had come to see took to the stage, the audience that numbered up to 100 for the previous acts swelled to more than double that number as the festival drew to a close. The sound had been really good during the afternoon and it was a real shame that it took a couple of minutes to sort out the feed from Brians guitar. I felt really sorry, not only for Brian but also for the sound guys who had done a fantastic job during what I had seen during the rest of the afternoon and evening acts. The light show was also one of the best seen at an acoustic event. The problem once resolved, never re-appeared and we were treated to an outstanding musical and visual experience as the band took the festival by storm.
Opening with "Benedictus", the set moved smoothly through "Tears And Pavan", a fantastic version of "Ghosts", "A Glimpse Of Heaven", "Flower And The Young Man", "Alice's Song", "Flying" and then, in place of "New World", the surprise inclusion on recent UK gigs of a fantastic "Hangman And The Papist".
No interlude this time as the set moved swiftly onto "Autumn", drawing comment from the rear of the audience - "hey that really sounds like seagulls". "Out In The Cold" is now almost the highlight of the show and leading into "Round And Round" saw a tremendous audience reaction.
"The River" and "Down By The Sea" and then into "Hero And Heroine", which, vibrant to the extreme had the standing ovation demanding more. Not to be disappointed we were not treated to the usual encore, but a double encore with "Lay Down" followed by "Simple Visions". Dave's hands expressive as usual and seemingly complimented by a lady in the front row who seemed to be spelling the words of the songs with her hands during the whole of the evening.
A set without break lasting almost two hours left fans, audience and the band happy and looking forward to the next time when the whisper is that there will be some new delights to savour. Fire works ended the evening but they were not a patch on what had happened in the previous 2 hours.
Arrived at The Testbourne Centre at around 5-00 pm after a two and a half hour journey in the beautiful sunshine. A very good turnout to the show, nice room and good lighting and p.a. Treebeard were on there when we arrived, they were very good, reminded me a bit of Jethro Tull on occasions.
Strawbs came on at around 9-00 pm and did a 2 hour set without a break. They put an excellent show on yet again. They seemed totally relaxed and at ease. "The Hangman And The Papist" went down very well as did "Down By The Sea" and "Simple Visions". They had a couple of standing ovations and did 2 songs for their finale, to I must say a very appreciative crowd of all ages , including Nigel Bennett's son Duncan who is 12 yrs of age, knew the words to all of their songs, and was thoroughly enjoying the evening . It was extremely hot in the room so the lads did very well considering the heat. Had a chat with the lads outside and some friends, before making our journey back,Wonderful evening.
Good day out and excellent value - 8 bands for 14 quid. Good beer at only £1.50 a pint and good value hot dogs and hog roast.
Got there at 1.00pm. Long wait for The Strawbs as the were headlining and came on at 9.10pm. Excellent set, slightly shortened as, instead of the usual two 60-minute halves, they played 1.75 hours straight through. No "Who Knows Where The Time Goes" or any Dave L material.
Some technical problems with Brian's guitar having no pickup at the start and Dave L's seeming to have PA problems when he was giving it some stick, particularly in "Round And Round". Dave C seemed to have a bit of a cough which wasn't helped by the amount of smoke coming up from the occupants of the front seats. None of this detracted from my enjoyment of the show.
Although nobody said they would, the guys did come out after the show and chatted with us for some time. Good to see Dave C do a little jump at one point. He has now been given the all clear from the hospital following on from his broken pelvis last year. Dave L said he is getting some more solo shows lined up, possibly in the autumn and next year. That'll be good. He also said the band are now getting bookings for 2005 which is good news for future tours. Dave C said they would be putting some different songs in the set later in the year including a bluesy version of "Where is this dream of your youth?". Sounds good.
And thanks to Nigel and Duncan and Bob and Lou for turning up and giving me somebody to talk to.