Updated: 20 Sept 2004 Part 2 - Second leg - 17 to 25 September
Benedictus
Witchwood
A Glimpse Of Heaven
Shine On Silver Sun
Cold Steel
Grace Darling
Autumn
Simple Visions
Oh How She Changed
Tears And Pavan
Ghosts
Blue Angel
If
Lay Down
The Flower And The Young Man
DAVID HALL ARTS CENTRE, SOUTH PETHERTON, 9 SEPTEMBER 2004
I was lucky enough to be witnessing my second gig of this tour and found that the previous performance last week in Torrington had set me up nicely to tune in to the arrangements from the new line-up.
It has to be said that I like going to South Petherton. An old Church and whilst the PA comes not from the top drawer, the acoustics and intimacy of the venue more than compensate. Oh, and its just 20 minutes down the road, saving loads of time on the road. The Acoustics last played here about two years ago and the reception then and again tonight, was particularly warm and enthusiastic.
No real glitches tonight other that previously mentioned and from the opening of "Benedictus", we were treated to what is now becoming the familiar set for this tour.
So what difference to report. Dave C has "new" box into which he plugs his guitar. Whether this was present for previous gigs? I know not. But apparently it opens some good possibilities, so over to you "techies" to investigate.
For some strange reason, (put it down to age I think ) I failed to mention "Oh How She Changed" in my Torrington review. So here goes. The recent electric tour once again highlighted the strength of this song in a live show. During that tour, Dave Lambert's vocals were a stunning alternative to the crashing tumbling sound that followed. How the acoustics create the same aura, with their line up is unbelievable. Dave once again delivered his opening unaccompanied vocal in majestic fashion like a choir boy at Evensong and with a setting to suit, before the instrumentation cuts in to totally change the ambience.
"Tears And Pavan" was dedicated by Dave C to Sue Wedlock, who had been brought to the gig by her husband Fred, as a "surprise" birthday treat. Just shows that even the "oldest swinger in town" still knows the way to a lady's heart. Now I call that a real birthday present and a treat many reading this, would be delighted if it was sprung on them.
In my early years I found that discos were a total waste of space and couldn't understand the attraction. Now I am told that one may have spawned "Blue Angel", so perhaps, I should give them a second look - but then again, despite the connection to this much loved song, I think not. I shall beat my future path disco less, unless of course NRG hits the clubs hard.
My overall view on the whole set was that it has melded together extremely well and seems to have matured, even since last week's gig. Chas seems to be settling in nicely to his role and his use of the twelve string plays an important part of the overall sound, switching during "Blue Angel" to a bass which he then uses to the end of the second set.
DUNSTABLE DANCE AND FOLK FESTIVAL, DUNSTABLE, 4 SEPTEMBER 2004
Benedictus
Witchwood
A Glimpse Of Heaven
The Flower And The Young Man
Shine on Silver Sun
Cold Steel
Autumn
Simple Visions
Lay Down
All I can say is that, like the term "pink is the new black," Chas is the new Brian. Okay, maybe that's not completely appropriate. But in honesty, the only other time I saw him acoustically was in a record shop performance in Toronto prior to the electric shows there and I felt Brian's absence sorely. At Dunstable, things had gelled--sound sucked, but the "new" AS feeling still came through. To me it appears as though Lambert has picked up what had been Brian's beautiful solo elements, injecting his own rock and roll feel in the process. That was what I thought I'd miss most of all with Brian's departure, that extra element that lifted the sound from mere strumming to a more dimensional feeling.
It was so bizarre to see them in what felt to me to be rural England--having to pass fields of sheep, pigs and cows to get there. But Dunstable rocks! Even the other performers were very, very good. (Of course my girlfriend's husband was rather bummed to be missing the England/Austria game--though they both ended up loving the show.)
What else.....spoke a bit to Chas afterwards, said not much more than hi to Dave. Could have but he was all over the place, I had the cold from hell after sloshing through the North Sea for 12 days and, to be honest, didn't feel like making the effort even though I really was tempted to kiss his feet for bringing "Blue Angel" back. Oh, yay, yay, yay. NICEST thing--totally blew me away--was that while I was talking to Chas, someone came over and said someone in the car wanted to say hi. It was Lambert. The guy was simply driving out and was good enough to stop to say hello. He so much could have just kept driving on and I wouldn't have even known he was there. Very nice of him.
pic by Dick Greener
The sun shone on the municipal organisers of Dunstable Folk and Dance Festival - the weather was absolutely beautiful - we were under a cloudless sky for sure -and the setting superb, a well designed little covered stage with an interestingly designed roof sheltered the bands from the downpour you'd expect at a British open air event (well certainly if Richard Thompson plays), but which was never even a possibility.
Got there about 3.00 in the afternoon and parked in the nearby Asda supermarket car park, to hear the sounds of accapella "Lay Down" soaring across the town - first thought, oh bugger, got the time wrong and missed it, but that's OK it was just the sound check, which sounded fine, rather better than the actual gig as it turned out. Off to the pub with the boys, only a 45 minute set so the setlist which they hammered out over a beer didn't include some of the new entrants, sadly no "Blue Angel" for Judi, and no "Oh How She Changed". What they did have time to play later in the evening was delivered with quiet confidence and aplomb - the couple of intervening gigs since Hampton Hill, with an identical setlist, has firmed up the show nicely, and evryone's feeling pretty relaxed.
Standout songs for me were "Flower And The Young Man" - if we thought it powerful with the two-voice line-up, it's stunning with the three-voices in concert; the accapella "hootenanny" start up on "Lay Down", and "Simple Visions", with Dave released from holding a guitar, and able to express the emotion of the song with his arm movements. "Cold Steel" is also a cracking live number, the driving banjo and guitar riff works perfectly, and the underlying menace of the pedals adds an enormous amount of atmosphere.
As I said, whilst the sound was pretty good for the other acts, it didn't do too many favours for the Acoustics - the left hand stack, which we'd found a front row positionin front of, seemed to be very boomy and muddy; walking round the field made the show sound a lot better and the right hand side didn't seem to suffer from these problems, so we obviously picked the wrong spot. Oh well, we were comfortable and settled, so we stayed (we being myself, Judi and her two friends from Enfield who'd brought her there, and Paul Brazier).
Speaking of those other bands - veteran folkie Roy Bailey, up first, sounded warm and sang and played well. A couple of his songs I really rated and will have to track down at some stage (there wasn't one CD in those he was selling which reflected his set and I didn't take the leap of faith this time). Apparently DC was at college with him (Bailey was a mature student, returning to academic life from a stint in the RAF).
The next band, "Mas Y Mas", (Spanish for "more and more" I'm told) were an interesting diversion; the lead singer Rikki Thomas-Martinez, singing fluently in Spanish (reflecting one half of his Welsh/Spanish parentage) throughout over a fine mixture of nylon string guitar, percussion and double bass. Thedouble bass player, Wayne Evans, with a little pointed goatee, was hugely energetic and stylish, and the percussionist Richard Kensington was equally talented. Well worth checking out for those with a penchant for world-flavoured music. Website is www.masymas.co.uk.
Mas Y Mas
After the Strawbs' set we watched a little of what would have no doubt been an excellent Oysterband set, but having seen them on the Friday at Trowbridge, I didn't really need to see them again so soon, so we headed over to chat to the boys before their departure (in time for last orders in Teddington I'll be bound) and then down into beautiful downtown Dunstable to find a bar and have a chat with Judi and Paul before ferrying them back to London.
A grand day out, as Wallace and Gromit would say ....
TALBOT HOTEL, TREGARON, 3 SEPTEMBER 2004
As a curtain-raiser for our (even if we say so ourselves) rather sparkling autumn music season, the presence in our midst of these estimable veterans of the seminal English folk-rock scene was unbeatable, and the respect and affection in which they're held was reflected by a superb turnout of punters, with every chair occupied, all keen to experience once again that uniquely distinctive Strawbs sound. They weren't disappointed: Dave Cousins, Dave Lambert, and Chas Cronk were on top form from the get-go.
The hymnal 'Benedictus', with heartstopping trademark three-part harmonies, opened proceedings. The classic 'Witchwood' followed, with Dave Cousins' unmistakably wayward voice beckoning us into the sylvan depths of Savernake Forest; his favourite Devon village, Branscombe, was celebrated next in the stunning 'Glimpse of Heaven', featuring the kind of tempo/time-signature shifts that always marked out the Strawbs as the more 'progressive' band than their peers such as the Fairports ... Cousins switched to banjo for 'Shine On' (more scalp-tingling harmonies) and 'Cold Steel', on which Dave Lambert took lead vocal duties. The brave lighthouse rescue drama 'Grace Darling' and 'Autumn', a suite of shifting movements (with authentic wildlife effects summoned up by Lambert's guitar) completed the first set.
We've rarely seen a Talbot audience as engrossed and engaged as they were in tonight's second set, and Dave Cousins' theatrical presentation of 'Simple Visions', the yearning metropolitan love paean 'Oh How She Changed', 'Ghosts' (inspired by the war memorial at Indianapolis), the episodic 'Tears And Pavan', and the aching 'Blue Angel' (prompted by a visit by Cousins to a Honiton disco!) pinned the audience to their chairs. Add to those a glorious new song, 'If I Should Live a Thousand Years', and the haunting 'Lay Down', together with consistently sparkling guitar work from all three (not forgetting Chas's unobtrusively fleet footwork on the pedals), and it was clear from the happy expressions on all departing faces that the Acoustic Strawbs really cut the mustard ...
On a night when the escalating nightmare of the Russian school siege was prominent in many folks' minds, we could perhaps be forgiven for wallowing, with the help of the Strawbs' supremely evocative music, in nostalgia for a time gone by when things seemed, on the whole, rather better
Review and pix reproduced from what was the Cambria Arts website with their kind permission - photographer, Mark Pickthall.
THE PLOUGH ARTS CENTRE, GREAT TORRINGTON, 2 SEPTEMBER 2004
Firstly a history lesson. Great Torrington apparently (didn't see it personally, I'm not that old !) sided on the side of the King during the English Civil War despite the rest of the area following Parliament. Well tonight in town, was not one, but 3 Kings in the guise of version 2 of the acoustic band.
The second lesson, is that over the past 30 odd years each line up of the band has established its own style and etched many memories of the performances and entertainment delivered given over that time. Judging by last night's performance we have much to look forward to again.
There was a great anticipation travelling to the gig about how the change would reflect in the performance. It is fair to say that, yes, there is a different feel. Some songs were regularly featured on the last acoustic tour, the return of some longed for classics and the introduction of new songs from Deja Fou.
The trip down was classic "Glimpse of Heaven" - the rolling hills of Devon, fields neatly tied together with hedges and sun blazing down almost from an almost cloudless sky. How appropriate that this song, (not cloudless sky) was third in the set and the moment for me, that the evening took off.
Earlier a tiny problem with the dulcimer had required a second start for "Benedictus" and "Witchwood" gave the first opportunity following that, to hear the band in the new style. I have an ageing memory of DC playing 12 string, so the delivery of that rich sound now falls to Chas. Dave C now plays a few more lead guitar riffs/parts having had a bit of a sabbatical in recent times.
The vocal harmonies rang clear from GOH onwards and replicated choral feel to the next number "Shine On Silver Sun", which worked particularly well. "Cold Steel", the first from Deja Fou brought a foot tapping response from the audience and upped the tempo and a change of direction for the first set.
Ah yes !! The re-appearance of "Grace Darling", full of harmony and sound, really enjoyed that! Although maybe some of the audience who listened to the heart wrenching end to the story of the heroine may have been sobbing quietly in their corners at the emotional delivery. Again closing the first set was "Autumn", not this time following SOSS due no doubt to the need for the banjo on "Cold Steel". Strangely comforting to walk into the "Gents" during the interval to hear someone inside whistling "the winter long" - Happy days !
The second set picked up straight away with "Simple Visions" delivered without guitar by Dave C with Chas and Dave Lambert strumming away frantically. "Tears And Pavan" leading into "Ghosts" and the much awaited return of "Blue Angel" that a number have craved for some while. "Ghosts" naturally gave opportunity to Dave Lambert to demonstrate his expansive and aggressive style of play. "Blue Angel", what a treat. It worked really well and look forward to hearing this again.
The second track from Deja Fou was "If " and took the tempo and vocals down to very low and slow. The lyrics delivered clearly, but at times so softly that you wondered if Dave was actually breathing out during the delivery of that one.
"Lay Down", with the unaccompanied beginning, finished the set, before another surprise with "Flower And The Young Man" included as the encore.
The guys are off to Wales today - Who mentioned Sheep !!!
Benedictus
Witchwood
A Glimpse of Heaven
Shine on Silver Sun
Cold Steel
Grace Darling
Autumn
Simple Visions
Oh How She Changed
Ghosts
Tears And Pavan
Blue Angel (full version !)
If
Lay Down
The Flower And The Young Man
HAMPTON HILL PLAYHOUSE, HAMPTON HILL, 1 SEPTEMBER 2004/<
ISLEWORTH RUNTHROUGH, 30 AUGUST 2004Well, apart from it being Chas Cronk's debut with the Acoustic Strawbs, the big news has to be that the hardy perennial "River/Down By The Sea" has taken a rest from the setlist, to be replaced by probably THE most-requested Cousins epic of all, "Blue Angel". I honestly haven't lobbied on the R/DBTS front, though those on Witchwood know my views that there are plenty of other Cousins epics which should be given some showtime in its place for a while. And getting "Blue Angel" - which is one of them! - in its place is a double delight for me, as the song is one of my favourites.
Coincidentally, I had an e-mail from guitarist Miller Anderson the other day, just before I set off to join Dave and the boys to listen to an invites-only run-through of the set over in Isleworth on Bank Holiday Monday. I've always loved the original "Blue Angel" with Miller's wailing guitars, so, having forwarded Miller's e-mail onto Dave, I popped TWLS in the car CD for my journey and listened to it on the way through town. So when, in the second set at Isleworth, up popped "Blue Angel", a delighted grin spread across my face from ear to ear, and I sat back and listened to a highly spirited rendition from Dave Cousins of this splendid song. He toned down some of the vocal histrionics for the Hampton Hill show (perhaps he could get away with nudging the dial back up a little, IMHO), but it's still a tour de force. It's going to build I suspect as the tour progresses (just like the acoustic version of DBTS did), but a couple of observations for now: Lambert and Cronk show off this line-up's clear vocal strength, with spectacular harmony vocals (aahs) on the closing choruses; the initial guitar figure at the very beginning is nicely doubled by Cousins and Lambert.
The opening trio of familiar favourites ("Benedictus", "Witchwood" and "Glimpse") is well chosen to reflect that vocal strength, which was apparent over in the US on that tour when DC, DL and Chas stepped up to the mics. Whilst hitherto DC and DL have done a tremendous job in the acoustic line-up delivering what on record were big choral harmonies, the addition of Chas's voice really makes a huge difference. And, a surprising encore, but one which I think worked very well indeed - "Flower And The Young Man" is stunning vocally, as is "Lay Down" which, as for the US tour but not the UK, opens with an acapella chorus.
From the new album Deja Fou, both selections "Cold Steel" and "If" are excellent for the acoustic line-up. "If" comes up later in the second half, and is one of the three on which Chas plays bass. A fairly spartan arrangement, suiting the song down to the ground, giving Dave a real opportunity to air that expressive ballad side of his voice to full effect. Even on first hearing, with that banjo riff alongside Lambert's guitar, "Cold Steel" sounded like a natural for acoustic performance, with my only concern being how DC could play the mandolin as well (I may have said something coarse about with a broomstick being available he cold have swept the stage at the same time!). With Dave giving the mandolin a rest on this tour, in fact Chas's 12-string fills in that sound register really rather well, the doubled up strings, with a little chorus added, giving a nice tinkly sound, or when gentle chords are played, something akin to an autoharp (think the chords in "A Glimpse of Heaven" as recorded on From The Witchwood). Lambert sings extremely well on the song, and it's a fine addition to the set and the bass pedals add a lovely "synthy" undertone to the song which really suits it, though getting the volumes right on the pedals might take a gig or so: slightly too quiet in the first half and spot on in the second at Hampton Hill; non-existent in the first and overpowering at Isleworth. But well worth persevering IMHO as it adds a new texture and lots of interesting new possibilities for this line-up ("Semi-Acoustic Strawbs" perhaps ?)
The pedals also feature significantly in a new Acoustic Strawbs selection from the repertoire - "Oh How She Changed" which had returned to the UK line-up's set this summer, with DL seamlessly picking up Tony Hooper's lead vocal. In its acoustic clothes, Dave switches from his new red Gretsch guitar (his obvious pride and joy) to the black open-tuned Gibson to play the harmonics, Lambert and Cousins trade vocal lines with Chas playing 12-string and adding a convincing strings part via the pedals. Another one I'd have said was a non-runner for Acoustic Strawbs - even back on the first album it had a huge production behind it, and when resurrected by the 1983 line-up it became a huge rocker with sparky Willoughby guitar all over it. But it works extremely well here and builds to a real climax.
The new 12-string has a very full sound (DL may need to turn up his lead parts to compete - not the usual state of things at all!) and gets a good workout with "Simple Visions" a (Cousins/Cronk) co-write from Deep Cuts, which opened the second half, Dave C sitting on the stool singing his heart out with expressive hands a-waving; rocking along with Chas on the 12-string, and Lambert alternating between lead lines which sound as thuogh they've come straight from the vinyl, and thickening the sound with his power chord playing style.
Apart from chordal backing on the 12-string, Chas is also playing quite a few guitar riffs on the 12-string - in "Ghosts", "Witchwood" for instance. I don't think I've seen him play that way when playing 12-string with Cry No More, so as a big 12-string fan (I always used to love it when DC switched to the Ovation 12-string) I'll be watching this technique closely over future gigs. Dave Cousins has picked up the guitar part in "Tears And Pavan", taking it back very much to its original recorded version as on Bursting.
Slight surprise is that Chas plays acoustic bass on relatively few songs, whereas I think I'd expected more. Certainly, having seen "Lay Down" with three guitars (Isleworth) and two guitars and a bass (Hampton), the latter was certainly the better of the two, with a melodic and inventive bassline rocking along much more convincingly. The two Daves don't need a third guitar for the dynamic instrumental strums in that song and the bass is far preferable.
All in all, an hugely enjoyable debut at Hampton, with the inevitable nervousness and rough edges experienced at Isleworth (inherent in launching a new line-up to an audience with high expectations) already largely smoothed away. Should add that the sound at Hampton Hill is superb, with every vocal, every part, every nuance being perfectly audible !! As well as being close to home for Cousins and a good family and friends venue, it's a perfect place to start off what I expect will be a superb tour.
Now, where's that copy of Two Weeks Last Summer .......
PS. Forgot to mention another welcome re-entrant, "Grace Darling", great to see that back again.
No photos with flash allowed at Hampton Hill (shame) so here's a pic of the Isleworth runthrough, 30 August 2004. For a few more pix click here.