See also Part 2
NORTH SHROPSHIRE FOLK, WHITCHURCH, SATURDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2005
Benedictus
Cut Like A Diamond
Hangman And The Papist
Golden Salamander
Barcarole (For The Death Of Venice)
Ghosts
Autumn
Cold Steel
Shine On Silver Sun
The Antique Suite
Oh, How She Changed
Dragonfly
New World
If
Lay Down
A Glimpse Of Heaven
TOWER ARTS CENTRE, WINCHESTER, FRIDAY 9 SEPTEMBER 2005
Was I expecting this to match Poole? Well, probably not, but it came pretty damn close. The centre was full, for the return of band to this venue and another treat we had in store.
We were back to the 2 set format, again whoops of delight greeted the conclusion of a number of songs.
After a rather adventurous day, Lindsay, Carole and I had successfully negotiated the ring road and arrived early at the gig, which then seemed to fill with a number of band enthusiasts.
Didn't however, spot any other Witchwooders in attendance, despite constant stares and the cajoling of the rest of the audience to find if they had joined that particular party.
The setting of the venue is very intimate, but modern and very much a "front room experience", but none the less impressive for that.
Once again the whole gig was real perfection, with Dave C in great story telling mode, despite the somewhat oppressive heat.
"New world" received an outstanding ovation - the whole gig was a joy !!
Two tremendous gigs in two nights, what more could you ask ?? How about an orange juice for less than £2.40 !!
At Winchester we were treated to a 2 part set list. For me the sound here didn't have quite the near-perfect (nothing's perfect apparently) balance as at Poole. The auditorium is quite small and the lack of air-con or even ventilation made for a rather uncomfortable atmosphere. However our enjoyment was not marred. "New World" met with much cheering and applause. I've become quite addicted to Dave L's guitar bit (sorry, I'm not technical) in "Cut Like a Diamond". "Oh How She Changed" is a special song for me and the combination of the harmonies, Chas's pedals and Dave L's vocals left me quite rapt. "Cold Steel" is such a good song, and I adore Dave C's banjo.
This set works so well. Of course no setlist is perfect. I was sad not to hear "Simple Visions" which is one of my favourites.
It was good to see Louise and Bob in Poole and to have the chance to get to know them better. Of course this trip wouldn't have been as much lunatic fun and enjoyable without my two travelling companions Lindsay, still my trusty navigator despite the odd slip here and there (eg "Where's the map?"), and Nigel who made sure we didn't stray into the harbour.
Apologies go to the chap in the Winchester car park who caught us in mid-change of clothes, we know you didn't mean to. I'm still not really sure why he ran away.
Not a lot for me to add really, wonderful gigs that I would happily have travelled to the moon for let alone Poole and Winchester. The fluidity of playing made it seem as though the band must have been born with musical instruments already attached, and this set now seems to have gelled to perfection. I have to mention Dave Lambert's vocals in particular, not that Chas or DC were anything short of perfection either, but DL sang with such amazing delivery of his vocals, such beautiful sensitivity that seems to have become more and more apparent. If pressed hard I would probably pick "Barcarole" and "Cold Steel" as my musical highlights on both nights. Having said that .... "Ghosts" and "Autumn" were both totally stunning too. Love hearing "Dragonfly". I'll stop there as I've practically written out the setlist.
Great to have the chance to meet Louise and Bob again of course. (Bob was last seen flinging himself at a certain driver of the band and seller of merchandise, who shall remain nameless, for a parting snog in the car park). And Carole - how embarrassing of you to mention what happened in the Winchester car park. It did say "pay and display" though, so we were only doing as instructed. Glad you went for the "alternative parking" area - cars parked in boring straight lines all sticking out the same amount are so dull aren't they.
Cut Like A Diamond
Hangman And The Papist
Golden Salamander
Barcarole (For The Death Of Venice)
Ghosts
Autumn
Cold Steel
Shine On Silver Sun
The Antique Suite
Oh, How She Changed
Dragonfly
Lay Down
A Glimpse Of Heaven
MR KYPS, POOLE, THURSDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2005
This venue, a first for me, turned out to be a very pleasant small rock club.
The support were pretty good - The Worry Dolls - a female duo from Exeter who did lots of harmony stuff with backing of 12 string and 6 string guitar. A tad impressed, were the gathered throng.
Met up with Lindsay and Carole, after a small delay. Was also surprised by Bob & Lou who were planning to reveal themselves to me only at the last moment at the gig , before I got in first and spotted them promenading down the quay side in the early evening, before we sought solace in a local hostelry.
Onto the main event of the evening and I found that the new set is bedding in extremely well and although my running order may not be 100% correct I'm pretty sure it catches the essence of the evenings entertainment.
And what entertainment it was. The sound system of the club was absolutely superb, allowing the full range and power in the sound to be showcased and reach the audience without a hint of distortion or imbalance. Make no mistake this was one of those very special gigs - moving one member of the audience to tears of joy, yes and several times, as the gig progressed.
It was a night that also certainly seemed to be thoroughly enjoyed by loads of the audience who sang along or mouthed the words to many of the songs. One was so carried away, that after their early bout of rather staid "head banging" during the rest of the gig, had by the time we reached "Lay Down", reached such a fever pitch it took him into a full scale dance routine. OK I had seen this sort of thing before, but usually with the electric line ups, but tonight, his enthusiasm was continued right into the encore, "Glimpse of Heaven" - yes - "Glimpse of heaven"! It certainly drew a smile or two.
OK I could write loads more. Suffice to say the arrangement of "Barcarole" was out of this world and Dave Lambert, delivered on vocals the final verse of "The Antique Suite" with a slow yet very deliberate angry interpretation of "I was hurt in Normandy etc." . It brought whole new spiteful meaning to the lines - superb !!.
As I said it was a special night for those fortunate enough to be there.
And ah yes, the gig even made me forget the time I had spent on that harbour wall, waiting for my faithful travelling companions to arrive.
"That was the best yet!" We all agreed as we jumped to our feet to cheer and applaud Acoustic Strawbs at Mr Kyps in Poole. A truly remarkable evening. Cousins' voice clear, strong and haunting, Chas making his magic look so easy and effortless and Lambert excelling on his Dean. The sound system was absolutely spot on.
"The Antique Suite" is now at an all-time peak. "Ghosts" was the best I've ever heard acoustically. "Hangman and the Papist" is a piece which always demands full attention. This was performed with utmost intensity and precision. The impact was such that there was a moment's silence before resounding applause broke out. "Barcarole" is an inspired addition to the setlist, "All her fault" said Dave L after the gig as he nodded towards Lindsay.
Benedictus
Cut Like A Diamond
Hangman And The Papist
Golden Salamander
Barcarole (For The Death Of Venice)
Ghosts
Autumn
Cold Steel
Shine On Silver Sun
The Antique Suite
Oh, How She Changed
Dragonfly
New World
If
Lay Down
Simple Visions
Witchwood
THE RENFREW FERRY, GLASGOW, SUNDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2005
When The Strawbs last played here earlier on in the year the heavens opened and Glasgow suffered one of its wettest days of 2005 (quite an achievement!). Thankfully this time the weather god was in a good mood and we were grateful for glorious sunshine, though Dave C moaned that it was 'a bit humid' (there's no pleasing some people!!) I had travelled up to Glenfarg, near Perth, to see the band play on the Friday night - a thoroughly enjoyable evening - and was looking forward to my 2nd gig in 3 days.
I had forewarned Dave C that the venue had moved to the other side of the River Clyde after being out of comission for a few months due to a refit thanks to a generous Council Grant. The money was well spent as I hardly recognised the place - all gleaming chrome and pine floors - instead of rusty bulkheads!
The setlist was the same as that played at Glenfarg except that we were treated to 2 encores - 'Simple Visions' and 'Witchwood'. The standard of instrumentation is consistently wonderful and the songs still sound as fresh and vibrant as ever. I love all the little anecdotes between songs which help make the evening so enjoyable. Dave let slip the plans for a boxset containing some unreleased material. Can't wait. I can only wish the band well for the rest of the tour and hope it's not too long till we see them north of the border once again. Perhaps the 'electrics' next time?
Photo from David Preston
Benedictus
Cut Like A Diamond
Hangman And The Papist
Golden Salamander
Barcarole (For The Death Of Venice)
Ghosts
Autumn
Cold Steel
Shine On Silver Sun
The Antique Suite
Oh, How She Changed
Dragonfly
New World
If
Lay Down
Simple Visions
THE BEIN INN, GLENFARG, FRIDAY 2 SEPTEMBER 2005
Another blistering evening with the Strawbs at the Bein Inn and again not disappointed, setlist varied from earlier this year and the famous Cousins voice in top form as usual, magnificently supported by Cronk and Lambert (would have said Chas and Dave ,however didn't want some innocent to come across the website and think the Strawbs had that awful pair in the band).
The music as always was wonderful and the musicianship top drawer, these guys were born with their instruments and the love of music apparent. Always nice at these smaller venues to have a chat with Band. Afterwards, lucky enough to have a lovely chat with Dave Cousins who is still bristling with ambition and enthusiasm, gave an insight into Strawbs history and the good and bad times.
Since I bought the first ever Strawbs album all those years ago it was interesting to hear that Dave C had wanted Ron Chesterman to pose naked on the cover instead of the "salad" version, wise counsel prevailed, thank goodness. Hopefully the punishing tour schedule wont burn the guys out as we want them around for a long time yet.
On a final note to the Band, thank you for fitting in "If".
Benedictus
Cut Like A Diamond
Hangman And The Papist
Golden Salamander
Barcarole (For The Death Of Venice)
Ghosts
Autumn
Cold Steel
Shine On Silver Sun
The Antique Suite
Oh, How She Changed
Dragonfly
New World
If
Lay Down
Hero And Heroine
PENRITH PLAYHOUSE, PENRITH, THURSDAY 1 SEPTEMBER 2005
A quick 70 mile dash up the M6 last night saw us arrive in Penrith in time for a quick natter in the bar pre-gig with Ali, Graham Smith, and Ian and Sandra Stobbs..nice to see you all. Neil from the Beeb phoned to say he was on the way, and indeed joined us later. The venue is a nicely fitted out small theatre, with a great PA system, and an excellent mix was provided by the same soundman from Burntwood, who clearly knows how to mix this lineup to perfection, great job. Dave C was on sparkling form vocally and in storytelling, and dropped in some funnies that set him and the band off giggling at one point.
I like the "Benedictus"/"Cut Like A Diamond" segue, "Cut Like A Diamond" is as close in terms of sheer power as you can get to Electric with an Acoustic lineup, Dave L thrashing that beautiful blue Dean with amazing force....at the other end of the scale, Barcarole is wonderfully gentle, with subtle picking from all three, underlined by Chas's mood setting pedals. "Dragonfly" is also a lovely gentle rendition, and paints a vivid mental picture with its haunting melody....and "The Antiques Suite" is now a real tour de force, note perfect and a grand epic.
Cut Like A Diamond
The Hangman And The Papist
The Golden Salamander
Barcarole
Cold Steel
Ghosts
The Antique Suite
Dragonfly
Lay Down
NATIONAL PHYSICAL LABORATORY, TEDDINGTON, WEDNESDAY 31 AUGUST 2005
This evening's "workshop" show proved to be a highly entertaining and off-beat evening's entertainment with the Acoustic Strawbs. For those who have seen one or two shows in their time, it was something suitably different; for those who play, it was an absolute must. As I fall into both those categories (camp follower and guitar anorak), you can imagine I was well pleased.
The show focussed on the new additions to the set, debuted at Leicester's grand cathedral gig (from all accounts one I'm sorry I missed). If you'd asked me in the 1990s if I'd welcome "Cut Like A Diamond" back to the set I'd probably have given you a blunt answer; but of late it has occurred to me that it would be nice to hear it again. Dave and Brian experimented with a slow version in the late 90s, but with the dynamics available with Lambert's percussive guitar and Chas on bass, that would have seemed to be a missed opportunity. And they did it proud, with all the verve and power of the electric version. This will go down extremely well, particularly in the US/Canada. DL is back playing the blue Dean guitar presented to him by Ron Lindeboom, and I think it sounds far better than the Washburn.
"The Hangman And The Papist" is back, with added e-Bow (some great background from DL on the eBow), as is "Golden Salamander", improved with additional vocals from DL and Chas, as well as choral sounds (which DC unkindly referred to as "milk bottle noises") from Chas's bass pedals. As they went, they explained in a very open way just how the arrangements of these songs for acoustic purposes was built up. The enjoyment involved in adapting these songs in this way was apparent - DL interjected at one point that they have to be very good songs for this to work (audience applause) and DC commented back later that working with his two colleagues on this was a joy (more audience applause). Sounds hokey, but it was that kind of evening and you wouldn't find any dissenters in the crowd on either of those two statements.
Another surprise, "Barcarole", again with added choral stuff from the bass pedals. This will be spectacular after it beds in a little. "Cold Steel" a welcome return to the set - and an opportunity to explain just how this unlikely but very palatable marriage of rock riff and banjo picking came about. When Chas's 12-string acting as mandolin, plus grungy bass pedal noises are added, an irresistible mix.
DC throughout had been referring to the various tunings (DAGDAD and beyond, partly developed by comparison with the banjo tunings he used way back when) which each song used. With the next song "Ghosts", they used the opportunity to explain how the Acoustic Strawbs sound is built up across the three instruments. And the next song, a particularly fine "Antique Suite" gave DC an opportunity to use three different tunings in one song, though he worried that his second pint of Old Rosie cider might lead him adrift. (Aside: Tony Grimmer at the NPL does run a bloody good selection of ales - one day I must find myself there without the car so I can work my way through them! November 26th perhaps - the forthcoming Christmas party gig). It also gave DL the opportunity to explain how the important thing in arranging for Acoustic Strawbs is knowing what to leave out (though Van Gogh and impressionists got mixed up in this somehow, not certain how!!)
Another new one, "Dragonfly". Had been uncertain about this and had wondered if the dulcimer might get two outings, but no this has been re-arranged for guitars, as they explained - Chas was doing all the work changing chords like crazy, DC playing not many different chords in a tuning, and DL adding the "dulcimer" melody part on eBow. Deceptively simple but stunning in execution. I said to Paul Brazier (who used to see the Strawbs at the White Bear back when they played this the first time round (if they did), "Did you ever expect to see Strawbs play Dragonfly live again." "Yes," he said, "I saw the setlist before they played it on Monday." (Not what I meant , but what the ...)
Finale was "Lay Down", what DC referred to as the "chuggy" version, with a good rock vibe. No encores sadly (run well over time), though the bodhran was lurking beneath DL's seat - an indicator that "Hero And Heroine" is not wholly abandoned.
The mixture of highly skilled musicianship, verve and the tasteful arrangements, with an extraordinarily laid-back approach to laying bare the "secrets" of their approach to "acousticking" up the Strawbs rock-based back catalogue and "rocking" up the folky material is irresistible and the relaxed atmosphere at the NPL, to some extent is to do with the home crowd and the home venue, but which was definitely accentuated by the relaxed nature of the show, was delightful.
I hope very much they sprinkle a few of these across future tours - guitar nuts need to be there, but, whilst of necessity fewer songs get played, the insight into how they work their magic is unforgettable.
Got home at 1.30pm, after dropping Lindsay and Carole off. Wanted to pick up the guitar and retune it. Too late. Arghhh...... !
The workshop gig was a highly enjoyable evening, totally informal and great fun. IMHO it is definitely worth attending one of these if you get the chance even if technical talk usually bores you rigid and makes you wish you were having a filling at the dentists instead. I think one of the aspects which interested me most was how little the technicalities seem to matter to the band members themselves – it seems they just "go for it" and if something works, great, if not they try something else until it does. That's what I consider innovative - thinking outside the box and all that - it definitely has something to do with the reason Strawbs caught my attention in the first place, that lack of being afraid to try something new and different.
There was, of course, a ton of amusing banter from D, D and C, together with anecdotes, reminiscences and explanations of the humble origins of songs, interspersed with the songs themselves. I've been hoping to hear "Barcarole" given the acoustic treatment for ages and was delighted to have that opportunity at last; "Dragonfly" was another special delight for me, I've always loved that droney, hypnotic feel to the song which seems to conjure up the heat of summer days when your thoughts just drift off somewhere.
I think someone decided there were too many Witchwooders in attendance to cram into the usual photoshoot, NPL gigs are starting to get like one of those loooong school photos with so many of Nigel's badges in circulation now – great to see so many familiar faces and others that weren't yet familiar but are now, if you get my drift. Err right, moving on, what can I say but a brilliant evening all round, sorry I'm too tired to write more but I absolutely cannot go to sleep without mentioning what a nice top Chas was wearing.
Benedictus
Cut Like A Diamond
Hangman And The Papist
Golden Salamander
Barcarole
Autumn
Shine On Silver Sun
Cold Steel
The Antique Suite
Oh, How She Changed
Dragonfly
New World
Lay Down
A Glimpse Of Heaven
CASTLE PARK FESTIVAL, LEICESTER, MONDAY 29 AUGUST 2005
It was definitely a case of 'round and round we go' trying to single-handedly navigate Leicester's dreadful one-way system, both entering and leaving the city. At least the Cathedral spire was something to aim for!
The support act was David Wyatt, a local singer/songwriter who was very enjoyable, despite the drums being rather too loud when his band joined him on stage.
The lads opened with the very apt acapella "Benedictus" and then came the first surprise of the evening - an absolutely rocking version of "Cut Like A Diamond" with Dave C in full cry. This was followed by a new arrangement of "Hangman And The Papist" and the welcome return of "Golden Salamander", which I think I last heard at the Edinburgh Festival in 2001.
Surprise number two was the performance of "Bacarole (For The Death Of Venice)" which Dave C introduced as never having been played live before. Absolutely beautiful, suited this acoustic line-up down to the ground. "The Antique Suite" was particularly moving and beautifully played and I think enhanced by the Cathedral acoustics.
The final surprise was "Dragonfly", played without the dulcimer (or recorder). Dave L played ebow throughout and it sounded eerily mesmerising. The set closed with two more very fitting songs in "Lay Down" and "A Glimpse Of Heaven".
A completely magical evening - one of those one-off performances never to be forgotten.
