aliasmacalias
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Re:Holmfirth Festival: May 2006 - 2006/05/09 22:41
This is a slightly fuller version of my thoughts with a couple of days' perspective - although it is hard for me to be objective.
I think that I can say without hesitation that, particularly in the second half, it was the best show which we as a group have done (I exclude York from this because (a) it wasn't a show and (b) it had an emotional subtext which sets it apart).
*All of our performers were on their very best form.
*David Shaw-Parker made it along and was righteningly good.
*John Watterson came along for the first time since York and was even better than I remember him.
*A lady at the front who had been singing along with gusto accosted Tony Cima at the end and demanded (and got) his Jake T-Shirt.
*Hugh Bradley had emailed me before hand: he has learned Alan Williams' double bass lines to a large number of Jake's songs and sat in on number of songs. You would never know that we'd only known him for an hour and he is likely now to become a permanent
feature. The addition of the double bass alone raised the standard of the performance/sound. Hugh also did the sound and borrowed my guitar to turn in a cracking "Jumble Sale"
*Hugh and David Shaw Parker did a version of I Stayed Off Work Today in the first half which was so good that if I'd been on a seat I would have fallen off it. Personally, it forced me consciously to raise my game for the second half. Their "On Again" in the second half was breathtaking.
*We had an absolutely cracking folk festival audience who laughed uproariously and set up the kind of positive feedback which lifted all of us for the second half. People had travelled to Holmfirth specifically to be at the show and the front of
the room was full an hour before we started with people who didn't want to run the risk of not getting a seat at the front. One bloke was crying with laughter and overwhelmed by hearing the songs again.
*Many people commented how good it was for them to hear Jake's songs live again.
*Many people were in the hall when we soundchecked the ensemble version of the Bull; I asked them to remember the chorus for later - and boy did they! A room full of emotionally charged fans and wandering folkies with no inhibitions about joining in raised the roof with it for the show closer.
On Sunday afternoon we had an extra 25 minutes or so on the main theatre stage. Again this went down very well - I was off the stage for most of it watching the audience, many of whom had no idea who we were or who Jake was - and they were guffawing with the best of them and, again, gave hearty participation to The Bull. As we left a local folk club organiser asked for details if they wanted to book us.
We also had a specific request from an audience member to arrange something in Kent which I'll try and inverstigate - if anyone reading this has any ideas then please contact me.
It was a great weekend - and what's more one of the other performers was a woman I last saw in 1979 when I was at University with her then husband.
Ian
Post edited by: aliasmacalias, at: 2006/05/09 22:46
Post edited by: aliasmacalias, at: 2006/05/10 11:01
I got boogie, boogie, in my socks |
