Moseley Folk Festival

[DanJennings]

I don't mean to dash your hopes guys, but I saw Swarb's Lazarus last year, and 'Swarb' is getting on a bit, and not as good as he used to be...

[symon]

Well, he has had a double lung transplant! But, yes I do see what you mean. However, each time I have seen ove the passt two or three years he has got better and better. His tone is a bit scratchy, but his speed and fun when playing is still there and increasing. See him with Martin, they still have a fire that can only come from friends who have been playing together for a very long time.

[DanJennings]

Right!
Day 1 has come and gone, not the most inspiring opening day of a folk festival, but some noteworthy people seen.

Circulus were good as always, if you've not heard them, check em out: prog rock with medieval instruments and suchlike.

Mary Hampton: never heard of her before, some pretty songs, some a bit wail-y for my tastes.

Frida Hyvonen: Now this one was a bit of a revelation, she plays piano and sings, backed by two other swedish ladies, one playing drums and the other switching between bass guitar and cello. Quirky lyrics about chimney sweeps, scandanavian stereotypes, and one song which sounded very much like it was about having sex with a pony.

Saint Etienne: played the Fox Base Alpha album in its entirety in sequence, sounded great, even though it seemed a little bit like the singer didn't want to be there.

[DanJennings]

I'm not sure who's even reading this thread, oh well it's vaguely cathartic for me anyway...

Day 2 was excellent, although mainly because of one band.

Wolf People were very good, sort of psychedelic blues type stuff, they really reminded me of a band from the 70s, the name of which escaped me then and continues to do so. They had a bit of funk to them too, at times reminiscent of Little Feat.

Drever, McKusker, Woomble - nothing special in my opinion, apparently one of them is from Idlewild (the band not the place)

Right, now we come to the highlight of the festival so far, COMUS. Wow. Mind boggling, exciting, note perfect, amazing. I like First Utterance, but it was nothing to seeing them live. Crowd pleasing set, 'Drip Drip' 'Diana' 'Song To Comus' 'The Prisoner' 'The Herald' and a new song. Unbelievable.

Vetiver - Very pleasant, sort of soft folky americana.

Beth Orton - I'm afraid I wasn't very keen on Beth, however a lot of the crowd were, although I suspect a lot of them bought their tickets specifically for her. Didn't really like her voice, a bit wavery, and thought her songs were a bit dull.

oh well, roll on day 3 which promises to be the best day of all

[Beechwoods]

I'm not sure who's even reading this thread

Me! Thank you. Carry on

[Alex_UK]

Me too! - shame Beth was rubbish - I went to middle school with her, and I was better than her in the school choir until my balls dropped

I didn't even realise Saint Etienne were still kicking about so off to Spotify them now!

[DanJennings]

Me too! - shame Beth was rubbish - I went to middle school with her, and I was better than her in the school choir until my balls dropped

I wouldn't say she was rubbish, just not really my thing, I like her stuff with the Chemical Brothers, so decided to give her a try, but never mind.
It's a shame Bert Jansch wasn't there, poor ol bugger's still ill, and he was meant to be high on yesterday's bill.

[DanJennings]

OK! The final day of the festival has ended, and it was a cracker!

You'll note that this day was VERY folk, compared to the other days.

The first act we properly watched when we got there and settled, was Jim Moray. I've liked this guy for a long time, because of his innovative folk crossovers on his albums, but today was a stripped down show, just him solo, switching between a guitar and a piano. Lots of obscure folk songs, and some not so obscure (Sweet Engand / Two Sisters). Really special, highly recommended. Nice chap too, met him afterwards... very short fellow

Next up were Adrian Edmondson and the Bad Shepherds. A real surprise, I thought this might be a fairly awful novelty act, as their act is basically 'punk songs in a folk style'. I was pleasantly surprised. They mashed up punk songs with traditional folk melodies and instrumentation, Edmondson can carry a tune, and is surprisingly adept with a mandolin! The band is excellent, but then again, one is an irish fiddle champion, and another was in fairport and tull! The songs they covered included 'I fought the law', 'down in the tube station at midnight' 'once in a lifetime' and 'god save the queen' Met them afterwards too, nice blokes.

Next up were Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick. I completely agree now with the comments above about the chemistry between the two. Naturally they played a load of traditional folk songs and reels and hornpipes. Swarb's tone was a lot better than the last time I saw him, although he still struggled a little on the really fast parts, but I'll let him off

Cara Dillon was next, not heard her stuff before, and I must admit she has a lovely voice. As the lady herself admitted, the songs, mostly traditional folk, with a few of her own thrown in, started off depressing and got progressively more so! But such is folk. Not mind blowing, but certainly pleasant, Cara seems like a very likeable person and has a great stage personality.

Jethro Tull. well, obviously I'm going to say they were great, it is the 8th time I've seen them after all. The sound was spectacular, the band were tight, Ian Anderson is still eccentric albeit with much less hair. The setlist was a surprise, 5 songs off Stand up, most of which I'd never seen live before, Farm on the Freeway, a couple off Roots to Branches, the best version of Bouree I've ever heard, and a pretty hefty (heftier than usual) portion of Thick as a Brick. and obviously the classics.

all in all, a great day, and a great festival, I have some crappy pictures if anyone would like to see them

[Alex_UK]

great "sit reps" Dan, sounds like you had a great weekend. I'd like to see some piccies!

[DanJennings]

The Main Stage



Comus



Roger Wootton from Comus



Bobbie Watson From Comus



Jim Moray



Bad Shepherds