TalkAwhile - The Folk Corporation Forum

I trundled through the leafy lanes of posh Essex last night to see our very own SftBH perform live at Chelmsford's Cramphorn Theatre and it was well worth the journey.

All I had previously heard was the excellent second album and some very positive word of mouth on this board.  Well, let me tell you that live they are an absolute revelation.  It's great to see a band who combine tight and solid professionalism in their music with such warm and relaxed intimacy amongst themselves, and totally involve their audience.  The band for last night's gig comprised a total of seven members, drifting in and out, swapping instruments and providing a beautifully textured backcloth for the songs with the central unit of James, Shane and Gibbon laying down the core.  I know how hard it is to manage one or even (wow!) two people playing together, so my respect for the discipline and balance involved in getting so many things consistently right knows no bounds.

The songs themselves were tremendous, each one well-crafted and displaying considerable wit and dexterity in both lyrics and the musical mix. Helen's Waste of Angels is a heartrending showstopper, and the rest of the band generously and sympathetically allowed her to shine with one of the best songs I've heard in recent years.  Bike, Anti-Bike, the glorious Big Dipper, Fragments and Not that Kind of Girl, Lets Do It Country all featured from the first two albums, plus Special Kind of Love which Shane introduced as the first in a new genre of Country Transvestite Death Murder Ballads.  They also previewed some great new numbers which will all feature on the forthcoming third album.  I particularly enjoyed Don't Fear the Reaper, slightly reminiscent of All Along the Watchtower and available as a single - go buy it folks, Twinkling Lights, a left-field play on Dickens' Christmas Carol, and a James epic about nationalism whose title I didn't quite catch.

It was also good to discover that they are just as nice in person as the people I've got to know one at a time on the board.  I drove home singing and am still humming Waste of Angels as I type this.

In an over-hyped musical world where glamour passes for talent, it would be nice to think that a band this good would somehow, some day, get the kind of recognition that their ability deserves.  We can live in hope.

Thanks for a great evening guys.  Catch them at their summer gigs and more importantly, roll up as loyal Talkawhilers to see them in Higham Ferrers on 23/24 September.

David

You've certainly got me eager to see them live, mate.

I`m sure I just saw Tony Winn on the telly sitting on a park bench with a paper of sorts in his hand -----Some advert  on Sky Sports . SftBH banjo player moonlighting  whatever next . Elton John working in B&Q ?. Oh how the mighty fall.  [;-) ::)It was deffo him ossifer .

You did....blimey, well spotted that Pastie! It's an ad for a magazine called 'This Week', in which Tony plays a 'trendy tutor' who has to share his copy of the magazine with a squirrel on a park bench. Tony (or rather 'Ellis' - his own name was already taken at Equity) Winn is an actor, you know. There are many strings to his...erm....banjo.

Many thanks to David for such a glowing review btw, we had an excellent night and went home exhausted.

I've been meaning to catch this band live for ages now- especially as I live in the region, and hearing so many positive reports Thanks for the latest  review David- it made my mind up, to finally make the effort. Will go down to that pub somewhere near the A12 in Essex on the 17th.June.

A snap.

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....and look at the horn on that bass.... :o
For the benefit of the partially sighted, La Mulley has turquoise painted toenails. Not sure why I paid attention to that. But still.   

I'm please to say that SfTBH will be featured on "The Banburyshire Brolly" podstation.
(Following David's glowing review.)

Jules  :)

'Big Dipper', please, Mr. Banburyshire.

Thanks awfully

Peel

Can we have a link please Jules.

ta

MikeC

Hoping to get a minibus from the village to go to the Swan at Great Totham Beer Festival which features SftBH. (unless folk want to stay in to watch Ghana v Czech Republic or some such football b*****ks).

Cross Essex transport doesn't exist otherwise :)

That's the gig on the 17th.June?  I'm driving down, after meeting step-daughter for lunch at Uni. of Essex in Colchester that afternoon. Driving and beer festival? Hardly a good mixture, but saves messing about with public transport and taxis to and from Chelmsford rail station. Might well be a case for sleeping in the car that night though, to save even starting the engine to drive home......

Unfortunately I'm going to miss both that one AND the one on 1st July at Ipswich as we set off for France on 17th and don't get back till the evening of the 1st.

Buck your ideas up, James and Skirky - plan these things a bit better, can't you??

But at least in the first week away I'll be learning how to write songs properly courtesy of Mike Silver.......

The Banburyshire Brolly podstation is at http://www.banburyshire.com (http://www.banburyshire.com)

Cheers,

Jules  :)

Thanks Jules. Have downloaded the last 2 and will listen later.

cheers

MikeC

Bit off topic but Pipa, my sprog asked me to check out a database she was doing for her IS GCSE
amoung the names were all of the blue house crew and a few more odd musicians.
lets hope the examiner has heard of you, could be an A*

Why is this database full of odd musos?