dmcgovern
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Re:Holmfirth Festival: May 2006 - 2006/05/07 16:35
Holmfirth was the first invited show the group has done, and it was a great success. I'd had some doubts earlier on Saturday, the sound system was used by Silverwheel, probably the loudest folk band you are likely to hear, and I figured the mics would be well desensitised. The venue is a room above a pub with a small main area and an adjacent overflow area. However, fears were allayed, the show came over really well.
There were several new discoveries. Ian, Malcy and Paul worked up three previously unheard pieces from the new compilation CD (Famous People, My Pipe, My Boots, Milord and Family Grave), they are brilliant songs, it will be interesting to find out why they were never released. And as Malcy said, they could easily have been three other new songs. Secondly, Ian introduced a double bass player, Hugh Bradley. The songs he played on were immediately enhanced, hopefully he will be a regular at fests to come. And David Shaw-Parker, he with the Equity card, did the best On Again On Again I have heard done live. It was rivetting!
Since the show was part of a folk festival, people were coming and going, but I estimate there were over 150 at the peak during the second half. Some were not sure what they'd wandered into, but many were very taken by hearing Jake's music again for the first time in many years. CD sales were almost brisk, the number sold quite respectable.
I never fail to be impressed by the standard our singers have now reached, they have mastered the technique of keeping the tempo, yet making every line and word count. I think Jake would have had a curmudgeonly smile to himself, at the very least. There is certainly a sense of achievement that the aims of the group are being fully realised, with the recent release of all Jake's recorded material, and the increasing exposure of his work to the wider audience. That it was done by such a loosely organised but highly focused bunch of folks is also a source of great satisfaction.
David
Post edited by: Gordon, at: 2006/05/08 13:36
Post edited by: dmcgovern, at: 2006/05/09 08:15
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