Fairport Albert Hall fundraiser for Teenage Cancer Trust

[Snodin]

Great review - I like the Tom Waits connection - very apt, I'd say.  Anyhow, a few more piccies:


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[Snodin]

...and a few more:


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[Snodin]

You must be getting bored now so this is the last for now, just for me...

This is me with Beth Porter and Eliza (Beth is cellist on some tour dates; she also plays with Jane Taylor, a lovely singer from Bath):


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[Edthefolkie]

Thanks all for posting all your reviews and phots - beat me to it, we were feeling a tad secondhand this afternoon.

Thing is, it was my birthday yesterday so we pushed the boat out a bit. We met up with old friends Dave and Sheila in the Dove (Hammersmith) - my God haven't been in that place for over thirty years. It's still ace, look for it in the Boat Race coverage. After we'd crashed out in the Premier Inn we were up for more snackeroonies and actually boarded a bus and asked the driver how far down Chiswick High Road Carlucchio's restaurant was! In the end Dave's ineffable nose for cheapish food did its stuff and we hopped off at the right stop.

We crawled out of the restaurant after antipasto, lasagne and San Gimignano white and realised we'd better get a taxi as we'd never be able to climb onto another bus. Arrived early at Kensington Village Hall and found we'd got quite nice seats over to one side. Can't top other people's reviews so won't try. Only one embarrassing incident - Dave and I were retracing our steps from the bog when he remarked "Oh there's Peggy in the bar". So I did my binoculars round the eyes trick, wafted back a few feet and unfortunately Mr Pegg stared straight back at me. So we had to have a couple of Old Speckled Hens to recover before Fairport's set which was as everybody has said, excellent. After the gig we bussed/Disrict Lined it back to Ravenscourt Park and had a few more Speckled Hens in the hotel bar.

One thing - the big screen in the RAH made it possible to compare facial expressions - our party rated Seth Lakeman first by a mile, followed by Ric S, Gerry C and Simon N.

Off now to detox - getting too old for this lark    

[Emma Hartley]

Really enjoyed most of the Albert Hall gig last night. But I had a slight problem with the sheer loudness of it all... Especially during Seth Lakeman and Fairport. I don't know whether this was because they were the last two acts and my ears and brain were giving out or whether it genuinely got louder... I haven't been to the Albert Hall before: could it have been connected with where I was sitting - on the first row back from the stalls straight in front of the stage? Any reassurance that I'm not just getting old, gratefully received  

[billy]

I'll try and remember Eliza's set. Not necessarily in that order.

Little Big Man
Two Tears
Hug You Like a Mountain
Mohair
Mr Magnifico
britain is a car park

I can't remember any more, is that about half an hour's worth?

Thanks,that looks about right ! Did i hear Marianne Faithfull's name at the start of one of them ?

[Bob Barrows]

Really enjoyed most of the Albert Hall gig last night. But I had a slight problem with the sheer loudness of it all... Especially during Seth Lakeman and Fairport. I don't know whether this was because they were the last two acts and my ears and brain were giving out or whether it genuinely got louder... I haven't been to the Albert Hall before: could it have been connected with where I was sitting - on the first row back from the stalls straight in front of the stage? Any reassurance that I'm not just getting old, gratefully received  

Sorry ... you're just getting older ...  



I wasn't there
so you can safely take what I say with the proverbial grain of salt.  

[Edthefolkie]

Re the sound, we all thought Fairport's was OK but we definitely reckoned  there was something up during Seth's set, taking into account that LOUD is the way he does it anyway.

It sounded like the PA was being overdriven - the acoustic guitarist was decidedly mushy and the bass end of the spectrum ran the gamut from boomy to gross distortion. Power amp by Mr Sugar's Amstrad possibly?  

Mind you the PA looked nearly as big as Cropredy's and the RAH acoustic is weird anyway in spite of the fibreglass spheres. God only knows what Kasabian and the Stereophonics sounded/will sound like. Probably like the Space Shuttle taking off?  

[Anne Dunn]

Thanks,that looks about right ! Did i hear Marianne Faithfull's name at the start of one of them ?

Yes, I think it's Two Tears.

[Anne Dunn]

So does anybody know Guy from Oxford? (the man who texted Simon Mayo)

[Tim Fletcher]

Not very much to add to the comments above. We had a good time and thought that everyone concerned should be pleased with the whole thing. Some while (many years) since I had been to the Albert Hall and had forgotten how cavernous it is, and maps were required to find the bars etc. Loved the announcements for the stewards to open the doors but not to let any customers in.

We were to the side but far enough back to make it easy to see everything (Stalls H 4 31-34 for reference). The big screen was helpful but occasionally I found myself watching that rather than the whole experience. Rather liked the contrast between the Victorian architecture and the industrial sound and lighting rigs.

Agree that the sound went off during the evening, and wondered if this is just an effect of gear being shunted around and everyone being a bit rushed. I also thought that the charity aspect managed to keep on the side of being informative without being overly nagging, and the film was quite moving, especially the comment from the young man with the tumour the size of a house brick. Audible gasp and everyone remembered what the evening was about.

I some ways I think the highlight was probably Seth and his merry crew. It definitely seemed a case of "hey, we've got 30 minutes let's go for it". Cries of "we love you, Seth" and group dancing breaking out added to the atmosphere. Also liked the string ensemble that backed Kate Rusby which made her set different to the one on the tour last year. And welcome back Eliza!

The only real grumble was that it over ran a bit - and I knew it would. This meant that the encore of MotL was performed to a dwindling crowd as folks headed for trains etc. However, the chaps (and the others) all seemed genuinely pleased to be there. That apart it was great to see Fairport on such a stage performing songs old and new, a bit bigger than the one at the Union Chapel, and will be one of those events I will long treasure.

We got home after midnight and all we had to do was sit on the Piccadilly Line for a while so I can sympathize with those who had to make a run for it earlier. We also managed to spot friends across the hall and travelled home with them which added to the all round fun of the evening.

Will be interested to see if turns up on TV at some point.

 

[claire]

We really enjoyed it too, but I agree with the comments re. sound quality.  We put it down to the fact that we were sitting almost on the side of the stage - in the stalls to the extreme right as you looked at the stage.  In fact, we were so close to the sound desk that I could read Fairport's set list!  We had to crook our necks to look at the big screen and my son was fascinated by Seth's facial expressions - apparently he had very animated eyebrows!!

The lady steward on the door nearest to our seats was also enamoured of Seth - "That last guy was amazing!".

Also agree about the comments above re. the charity - that film was really moving, and the young girl Lucy and her family were sitting just in front of us.  We heard her say that she was going on stage every night this week.  I would be interested to know what her parents made of Bullet for my Valentine and Kasabian etc.!

[Ian_]

 
 It's a great effort by Daltrey to do so much   : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7967919.stm

[jaypeter (Peter)]

You must be getting bored now so this is the last for now, just for me...

This is me with Beth Porter and Eliza (Beth is cellist on some tour dates; she also plays with Jane Taylor, a lovely singer from Bath):

Elfin, ain't she? Plays with more bands than you can poke a stick at, I am informed. Somebody said the smaller stages at Glastonbury are organised entirely round Beth Porter's availability.

[AngieH]

Nice pics chaps.

Martin pardon my ignorance, but what's your connection with FC?  Was that you in the Queen's Arms with Simon and Peggy before the gig?

[jaypeter (Peter)]

Nice pics chaps.

Martin pardon my ignorance, but what's your connection with FC?  Was that you in the Queen's Arms with Simon and Peggy before the gig?

Ooooh where's the Queen's Arms? I never know where to go before the Albert Hall.

[AngieH]

It's a secret!  


Oh, OK then
http://www.beerintheevening.com/pubs/s/65/6520/Queens_Arms/South_Kensington

[Joss]

View from the Circle great, sound great, bar at our level sparsely populated so easy to get refills! Wonderful evening, thanks to all. Shame about overrun, had to miss MOTL in order to catch train.

[martin driver]

Nice pics chaps.

Martin pardon my ignorance, but what's your connection with FC?  Was that you in the Queen's Arms with Simon and Peggy before the gig?

Hi AngieH, yes it was, you should have come over and said hello  

[Angela]

Wednesday night at the RAH was a moving experience for me and my boys and one that we shall remember for a very long time.

It was marvelous to see Eliza back performing again, and as for Kate Rusby, well, I’ve changed my mind about her, she was brilliant and her performance was greatly enhanced by the fantastic string ensemble. Reg Meuross was lovely and I shall make sure I look out for him again. Seth was…well how can just one person with a violin make such an awfully loud noise! And Fairport, they were just wonderful, sounding superb and very slick.
 
For me, the evening was made so much more special by the TCT report shown at halftime which reduced me to tears.  It bought home the reason why these splendid musicians were performing and why we were there. They highlighted the frightening fact that every day 6 teenagers in the UK are diagnosed with cancer and some of the stories told by the young teenagers in the film were very moving indeed.

For me this was even more poignant as five years ago my niece died of cancer aged just 19. She was a wonderful, beautiful girl who helped me look after my boys when I went back to college and she was their favorite cousin.  Like one of the youngsters in the film, she was nursed in a main ward, with elderly patients and had no contact with anyone else near her own age and sadly she spent her last days in a side room of a hospice where she had no contact with anyone other than us and the staff.

I very much hope that the TCT manage to reach their target that by the year 2012 all teenagers with cancer will be treated in a specialist support unit dedicated to the care of teenagers.
A huge great big thank you from me and my boys to all the people involved in such a memorable evening.