Winter Tour reviews and photos

[bcfc dave]

Oh well, no review from Weston - Super - Mare yet so here goes......

It was very good!  (but the wind was cold, the sea was grey, the rain was wet etc...) the band were great, not so keen on PJ but that might have had something to do with the bloke sitting next to me, letting rip every 20 seconds. Horrible it was. Probably had a draught bass intolerance!

We moved seats (not sold out???!!!!!!??) after a while. PJ sounded better,and the air was more breathable!

Otherwise, a very enjoyable evening, as always.

[tarda (Gill)]

  Just back from Worthing and a few thoughts. I was ready to be critical as I am aware of a certain bias on my part towards all things fairportly ... but ...what can say but "flippin' fantastic!"
A flurry of snow greeted our arrival by the sea, a staffy pup on the beach was trying to catch it all but we still arrived encrusted. Met a few familiar faces - I apologise to anyone I didn't recognise. Almost persuaded an old friend to bring his tipi to Croppers. And settled down into the front row.

P J Wright seemed a bit unsure at first but I felt soon settled into his stride - first time I've heard him solo and I enjoyed it a great deal(the wind was all outside!). His CD will go on my birthday list.

Fairport played a fabulous set! At each song introduced I thought "great, fantastic!" and it was (- I had deliberately avoided set lists before hand as I don't like to know how far through we are!)
It seemed to me as if all on stage were having a good time - jokes seemed to passing between the chaps as of old. Peggy looked leaner and had a uncharacteristic bottle of water. Also great to hear Simon's rendition of Tam Lin. After the recent discussions on guitarists I was watching his style - seemed bl**dy brilliant to me! Gerry drummed up a storm - I particularly love Western wind. I really regretted not having my camera with me for one of the fiddle duets - I'll check the set list for the song (yes - I had the gall to ask for a set list, which was duly signed). Mr Tarda particularly liked Chris's new number "edge of the world" - me, I'm blown away by the whole thing. And Ric ...

Thanks to all the band for signing the set list and particularly to Chris for his mandolin encouragement - cost me a bit over the past year that has!

And so to bed. 

[Mag T]

Well said Tarda, am also just back from Worthing, saw you there, (behind you in the signing queue)
 Gig was unutterably fabulous. Words fail me...

[Jefferson]

Nice to see you at Worthing last night Tarda! - you too Steve (from Horsham). 

The Boys were in 'Fine Fettle' although Peggy did seem a bit subdued on stage (chatted with him later and he did seem some what knackered!).

A great set list - with more earlier stuff than usual perhaps - Sir Patrick / Tam Lim / Who Knows ...or was it me, or were the Band in reflective mode after the BBC Awards?

Chris's new one was different - 'Edge of the World' almost 'bluesy' dying to hear it again (any bootleggers out there last night?)

Unfortunately - I took my wife Jane for the first time to a Fairport gig .... and now she's fallen in love with not just Ric .. but Chris too! She said they just came up to her and started chatting to her. She says they are such nice people  - no egos or anything! (Where on earth did she get that impression of the Band?)

Bought the new 'Off the Desk' CD and sent her round to all to get it signed! So we all had a great evenings music!

p.s. Hope she doesn't get any ideas of coming to Croppers as that would really messup the boys weekend away! 

[psychofiddler]

A great concert in Worthing last night, with everyone in fine form. In fact, I thought it was one of the best theatre concerts from FC that I've seen in recent years.  Full of vitality. 

Simon was in fine voice and good humour.  And Chris seems to have really found his place in the band nowadays, singing with confidence and adding so much to the new material.  All together I thought they looked more relaxed and together than I've seen for quite a while, with some really tight playing.

The choice of material provided a really well-balanced evening, and I sensed they were enjoying playing, with renewed interest.  Yes, they're always good, I know, but I felt they'd cranked it up a notch or two on the coordination front, playing with renewed vigour.  (Like it was 'live' and 'now', man...)   

Overall I thought they all - Ric, Simon, Dave, Chris, Gerry - were one hell of a unit last night, and much more than the sum of the parts.  Fully functioning.     

The sound was also great - particularly clear and well balanced.  Rob does a great job.

[Tasha]

A great concert in Worthing last night, with everyone in fine form.


Overall I thought they all - Ric, Simon, Dave, Chris, Gerry - were one hell of a unit last night, and much more than the sum of the parts.  Fully functioning.     

Wasn't Peggy there?

[Steve]

I was there too (Worthing), and enjoyed it a lot. Except the snow on the way there 

Not much to add to previous reports, except to say Peggy looked to be fitting in again.

The highlight for me was Simon's WKWTTG. Splendid stuff.

The sound was better than before too. Have they got some new gear?

Nice to meet you Jeff. Spotted Tarda in the distance too (I was at the back, booked at the last minute...)

[Chris]

Overall I thought they all - Ric, Simon, Dave, Chris, Gerry - were one hell of a unit last night, and much more than the sum of the parts.  Fully functioning.    

Wasn't Peggy there?

[Amethyst (Jenny)]

A fantastic night at Newark..  all on great form and lots of friends there to meet too...

... just a pity my husband sent his messenger over to haul me away mid-chat

[johanna/ulla]

The Boys were in 'Fine Fettle' although Peggy did seem a bit subdued on stage (chatted with him later and he did seem some what knackered!).

That was because he did a jam session with Clive Bunker till late (or early in the morning) 

[Tasha]

Overall I thought they all - Ric, Simon, Dave, Chris, Gerry - were one hell of a unit last night, and much more than the sum of the parts.  Fully functioning.     

Wasn't Peggy there?

DOH 

[Matthew]

 

Overall I thought they all - Ric, Simon, Dave, Chris, Gerry - were one hell of a unit last night, and much more than the sum of the parts.  Fully functioning.     

The sound was also great - particularly clear and well balanced.  Rob does a great job.

Funny.  I thought the sound was much better when I saw them at Preston Charter Theatre (with the fire alarm evacuation half way through!) than it was when I saw their latest tour at Blackpool last weekend.  To me, the vocals got a bit buried in the mix and the PAN settings were not quite right to resemble the on-stage layout.  Might have been where I was sat (front row upper circle) but the Grand is very good acoustically so it shouldn't be hard to make the sound good from any position.

Having said that, the sound on the 'Off The Desk' CD is superb (as are the performances).  I love the material on the CD as well and much prefer listening to that than hearing the band perform classics like 'Matty Groves' and WKWTTG which are so indelibly associated with Sandy Denny.  The show I saw wasn't Fairport at their absolute best anyway, but I thought the Liege and Lief classics were (in performance terms) the weak points of the show, whilst some of the newer songs (particularly those from the brilliant 'Over The Next Hill') came off well.

Picking up on somebody else's comments about Chris Leslie settling into the band, I actually think his vocals are much better than Simon's at the moment and I would have liked to have heard more of him in the gig I saw.  He is a brilliant musician (as is SN of course) and I think the band could make even more effective use of his considerable talents.

Matt.

[Andy]

I think you have incorrect expectations over Matty and WKWTTG. Sandy's gone, has been for years and the band have a perfect right to play those and others from their past repertoire.

I think Norms vocals are quite superb and that he is the glue that sticks their sound together.

Chris' vocals are great, but usually lighter. His musicianship and writing is a superb addition to the band.

[Matthew]

I think you have incorrect expectations over Matty and WKWTTG. Sandy's gone, has been for years and the band have a perfect right to play those and others from their past repertoire.

I think Norms vocals are quite superb and that he is the glue that sticks their sound together.

Chris' vocals are great, but usually lighter. His musicianship and writing is a superb addition to the band.

Please don't think I am suggesting they shouldn't play those songs - of course they have the right and, whilst the Sandy Denny period was, for me, Fairport at their very best, I think its all too easy to forget what a short period it was in relation to the history of the band.

Neither is it my intention to belittle or criticise SN's immeasurable contribution to the band.  After all, he is one of the longest serving members and is a fantastic musician in his own right.  I'm merely stating my personal opinion about the most recent performance I saw - I do not harbour the misapprehension that anyone shares my opinion.  I'm just very fortunate to be in the middle of a run of excellent concerts - a brilliant set by Richard Thompson in Blackpool on 6th Feb; stunning performances by Dave Cousins, Dave Lambert and Chas Cronk as the Acoustic Strawbs at Morecambe Platform on 8th Feb; a brilliant concert by Maddy Prior + Carnival Band in Preston before Christmas etc. - and I enjoyed the FC gig the least out of all of them, whereas last time I saw them I thought they were absolutely spectacular (Preston, probably 2004 but correct me if I am wrong).  Lots to look forward to as well - Tull tomorrow night, Electriic Strawbs in Sheffield and Penrith in June, John Lees' Barclay James Harvest at Manchester and Leeds in November, and The Moody Blues in October, with rumours of Steeleye playing Preston towards the end of the year as well.

Neither am I belittling the hard work, committment and long term contribution Fairport Convention has made in its long history.  They are a national treasure.

[Rozza]

I share some of your views Matthew. I was at the St Albans performance a couple of weeks ago, and although it was an enjoyable evening it wasn't the best Fairport night of recent years. For instance Simon's performance of WKWTTG was somewhat strained, and Chris's of I'm Already There seemed to be just a run through with little variation in the singing. There wasn't much repartee between the band, which I put down to the banks of empty seats in front of them. As I said, a good night but not a classic.

[Mix (Mic)]

Cannock, last night.
Fairport were on fire, rocking, and as far as I could tell, happy as a pig in muck. 
I saw them in Cambridge and I thought they were great.... to my ears, last night they were even better!!!
and...
YAY!!!! Matty's back!!!!

Mic

[Marky]

Agreed. Best gig I've seen 'em do for a while. Loved the new arrangement of "Tam Lin," the key changes to facilitate Simon and Chris' vocals added even more drama to it 

[mikec]

I admit to never having seen Sandy sing with FC  but for me WKWTTG has a life all of its own when I hear her sing it. And if you don't agree then just listen to Many Ears to Please to see what I mean. Simon sings the song extremely well but for me its Sandys song and she just lifts it to a different level for me. Apologies Simon if you read this.

As for Matty I was very happy not to hear it on the acoustic tour last year (for the first time in ages). I thought it needed a rest and a longer one than it seems to have been given. 

[Chris]

Here's a couple of photos from Warrington....

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Chris]

And a couple more to be going on with.....

[attachment deleted by admin]