And (thanks to the state of the art air conditioning in The Queens Hall), last night was perversely also very VERY cool ). Festivals aside it may be possible to get three talented Folk performers like Lauren South, Kevin Dempsey and Phil Hare together inside three hours, one after the other and under the same roof on the same night, midweek-but I've never seen it before anywhere. With the added bonus that all three are really nice, grounded people, supportive of each other and different enough in style and content to complement each other. Their talent, positivity and willingness to entertain radiated joy from the stage and into the auditorium.
Phil Benson and I ( aka Bits and Pieces-still a work in progress), began the evening with three songs designed to lighten the mood and a spontaneous version of Its a Long Way to Tipperary with which the audience enthusiastically joined in. This interesting combination had been triggered over a pub conversation about the overall body count in traditional Folk songs nowadays. Plus a shared concern over the tendency of some performers to marginalise Comedy and Music Hall tradition. We'd already had one public run through at Phil's Red Lion venue at Atherstone earlier in the afternoon. There, we had performed versions of Jollity Farm, If It Wasn't For The Houses In Between and Owd Sammy Shuttleworth. That latter one allegedly a Mike Harding composition-but quite clearly influenced by Music Hall and Vaudeville tradition. The Dave and Al Sealey format of Cosmotheka set the bar for this kind of material and we would not expect to emulate them-but undoubtedly they were (and remain) an influence.
Lauren South was a delight. She looked delightful: unflustered and composed despite the temperature outside and the fluctuating ones in the hall. She sang delightfully as she worked through some newish material, soon to be released on a long awaited solo album. And she played delightfully. Incorporating a competent technique on the Sruti box thanks to a foot pedal, and employing delightful tones on the guitar and fiddle. As Lauren continues to progress and grow she is developing a distinctive vocal style. For my money this puts her in an elite group of British female folk singers who can be identified within a few bars of first hearing. As a Folk DJ I get to hear hundreds in this genre. Lauren for me is up there with Kirsty Merryn, Kelly Oliver, Ruth Notman, Kitty McFarlane, Kathryn Roberts and Laura Ward.
Kev as he always does, paced the floor at the back of the hall like a prowling and predatory lion as his cameo appearance began to draw near. He always does this to psych himself up beforehand whether on tour in Europe or playing a half hour set at a local club which is virtually home turf. And once on he coaxed complex intros from the fretwork with popular standards like "Wicked Polly and the delightfully nostalgic "Every Time We Say Goodbye." What a gorgeous song and what a sophisticated vocal combined with elegant chords making the arrangement as sumptuous as a box of swiss chocolates
After an interval we got back under way as the evening was handed over to Phil Hare. I cannot think of anyone other than perhaps Keith Donnelly, to match Phil Hare for ingenuity, quality ad-libbing and nudging asides off camera. I think there are many on local and national circuits who think they can do this with their pre-rehearsed patter treading the same ground but few on the circuit imho can reach or surpass this level. There is so much in Phil Hare's armoury. At the heart of it, immaculate and delicate guitar playing as in "Music for a Lost Harmonium." A wicked sense of humour. Both in his off the cuff patter and banter in between numbers and as in the satire of "Ive Got My Country Back." Or his brilliant audience participation finale " Everyone's a Hard Man Nahhhhhhhhhhhh." In his energy, grimacing as he wrings every last note, every harmonic from his guitar and making it look effortless. ( Clearly no such things as the sweat rolled off him and a towel was used to mop himself down after each number).
He ranges through stand up, bluegrass, jazz notes, blues, boogie and folk with style and aplomb. There is a sensitive side to him too, epitomised in some of his superb vocals. Besides being an extraordinary guitar player Phil is a good singer "Will You Marry Me?" took the mood right down and clearly moved a few people.
For various reasons it was important to make this a good evening for Phil. He's not been well but has decided that the best way to combat serious illness is to stand toe to toe and scrap with it. It says much about the audience that there were three Folk Club organisers there last night and ten local performers (all of whom who have performed at NFC previously). Plus a number of people who were newcomers, drawn in by the billing and astonished by the performance level. "First time here. Absolutely brilliant! How do you do that?"
Thanks once again to Jane for sterling work at the bar, and to Rich for continuing to provide us (free of charge) with facilities well beyond those at some other venues. Thanks to those who came and stayed, and a special mention for Charlie. New to the mixing desk and supervised throughout by Ross, it says everything about his debut that no-one on stage requested any adjustment whilst performing.
Finally thanks to Ray Buckler, Sue Sanders, and Karen Jones for the photos and to Lauren for her videos uploaded to the NFC Facebook page.
