Findlay Napier and Megan Henwood

Back to the House for the first time in many months to watch a man I'd long wanted to see live.
 Singer/songwriters Napier and Henwood met at a songwriting retreat and came together as the Story Song Scientists to record an EP and tour together.  As the moniker of the duo suggests both write lyrics that paint pictures of people and events, often with a personal slant.  For this gig the first half saw Findlay perform solo, followed by Megan, and a second half together as the SSSs.

Napier is the stronger performer of the two, with a wealth of well crafted songs, and shaggy anecdotes, often very funny, to introduce them.  He's got a powerful and distinctive voice, creates an instant rapport with his audience and I could have happily listened to him all night.  Henwood is less polished, more self deprecating, but still engaging and enjoyable, her softer tones a nice contrast to her partner.  Together they blend well, with complimentary guitar work and voices that harmonise well.  And the songs themselves are always of interest and have some decently catchy melodies amongst them.

Either alone of together they are well worth seeking out.

The Jellyman's Daughter

A return to the House for the first time in a long while, drawn there by one of our favourite bands.  I last say Graham and Emily back in April, at the launch of their excellent new album, Dead Reckoning.  Now they've got the vinyl version available and are touring again.

Once again they appeared as a four piece band, with Jamie Francis on banjo and, this time, album bassist Paul Gilbody playing the deep notes.  The setlist majored on their newer work, with a few oldies thrown in.  Memorable melodies, smart arrangements, Coe's virtuoso cello work and Kelly's powerful vocals define the JD sound and satisfy the ears.  Plenty of funny stories and comments in between songs.  As always Jellyman's Daughter deliver.

Support came from Americans Adrian & Meredith, a guitar, fiddle and vocals duo singing their own songs with a certain je ne sais quoi.  Decent musicians, adequate singers, the songs lack memorable melodies, but their zany style and daft sense of humour make them a very watchable live act.

Poozies

After a considerable length of absence it's back to the House once again to see a familiar name.  The Poozies have been the pre-eminent all female band on the British folk scene for 27 years now.  In that period the line up has changed several times, but has been a settled four piece for almost a decade.  Until now.  Still there are founding member Mary McMaster on electroharp and Eilidh Shaw on fiddle.  Gone is the accordion of Mairearad Green and guitar and gutsy vocals of Sally Barker.  In their stead come Sarah McFadyen on fiddle and banjo and Tia Files playing guitar.  And what a change that has made....

Three of the group took a turn at lead vocals and all are more than competent, with the childlike quality of McFadyen's voice being particularly appealing.  But this is now a band that's much more about the music than the singing. Files's guitar playing offers more complex rhythmic accompaniment than before, and the dual fiddles have created a new and exciting sound.  With less traditional material than before, and no looking back to the band's extensive back catalogue, this has the feel of an entirely new creation - and a big step forward.  A well balanced set, mixing songs and tunes, fast and slow tempos, differing styles of music.  Four performers happy to give something of themselves to the audience.  And a musical energy and imagination that brought constant surprise and delight.

A Highland walking song was transformed with Shaw's East European influences.  Sets of tunes combined traditional styles with an eclectic range of approaches.  McMaster's bass parts sound rockier than ever (something she clearly enjoyed).  There's originality throughout, with some great endings to numbers.  It's elevating stuff, with the sense of new directions to come.  And they're funny too.

The (old) Poozies are dead, long live the (new) Poozies.  Long may they continue to reinvent themselves.

Lorraine and the Borderlands

A local band usually draws a good sized crowd to The House, and Lorraine McCauley's outfit was no exception.  Singer/songwriter and guitarist McCauley originates from Donegal and her fellow band members hail from a variety of different backgrounds, so there are a lot of influences at work in the final sound.  There's Jonee Duggan playing accordion and glockenspiel, Nick Jenkins on fiddle and viola, the joyous Calum Ingram on cello, and Gordy Duncan providing the percussion.  With one album behind them, tonight was about the launch of a new single, Good Things, itself presaging a new album later in the year.

Perhaps most obviously categorised as folk, there's a broad mix of ballads, love songs, and sociopolitical observation.  Lyrically and melodically the songs, composed by McCauley, stand up well and there are catchy tunes and singalong choruses.  I was impressed with a new number, Rosscrea Robbery, written from the point of view of an inmate of the Magdalene Laundries which conveyed a heartfelt poignancy mixed with anger at the injustices inflicted on so many young women.

But it's less the quality of the songs themselves than the performance of them that marks this band out.  McCauley's voice has power and passion, a decent range and some imaginative phrasing, with the underlying warmth of her Irish accent adding a welcoming tone.  She's backed up some clever arrangements and excellent musicianship.  There's little in the way of solos from the accordion, the instrument mostly used as a filler to enrich the overall sound, and the minimalist percussion, and glockenspiel, provide their contributions to both rhythm and melody.  The fireworks come from Jenkins and Ingram, with both demonstrating lyrical beauty, jazziness and sheer energy, leaving you wondering why rock cello isn't more of a thing for it's an amazing sound.  The climax to the set comes from the rampaging Wild Green Nettles where a strong gypsy influence builds up to a storming finish.

A great live band, amusing and relaxed between numbers and very friendly in mixing with their audience.   I look forward to hearing the next album, with there being every sign that it will surpass their enjoyable previous effort.

Here's a rendition of the aforementioned Wild Green Nettles from the last time Lorraine played at The House.  Enjoy.

Locust Honey String Band

A house gig with American country and bluegrass trio Locust Honey.  Featuring Chloe Edmonstone on fiddle (and occasional guitar), Meredith Watson on guitars (and occasional fiddle) and John Miller on upright bass.  They provide a mix of both traditional and self-penned songs and tunes, a tasty slice of Americana.

Both singers have strong voices, Chloe's the more resonant, Meredith's the more expressive, and they combine to good effect on the harmonies.  There are no flashy instrumental fireworks, just solid professional musicianship tightly performed.  The arrangements are straightforward and effective, the tunes rousing and delivered with an obvious love for the genre.

For the first few numbers they appeared to be one of those bands that give little of themselves to the audience, just the odd brief intro to songs, but that changed as they got further into the evening.  Forgivable when they haven't had a night off in over three weeks of touring, but the enthusiastic responses of the packed audience seemed to feed them energy.  Well before half time they were engaging much more and providing a few laughs along the way.

Foot-tapping music, a bit of fun, what more can you ask for?  When the cries of 'More' came at the end they were entirely genuine and reflected the enjoyment of the moment.  Locust Honey are a live act well worth seeing.

Southern Tenant Folk Union

To the House once more to see a band I reviewed back in May.  Tonight the band were five members strong, with just the one guitarist, and Katherine Stewart now on fiddling duties.

The format was much as described in my previous post, right down to the audience singing along to a gospel number in the encore.  Always a great way to end a gig.  With a deep well of songs from their six albums to draw from, and some new songs from the seventh, which will be out next year, Southern Tenant cover a gamut of styles through country, bluegrass, folk and balladry.  Their lyrics tackle a wide variety of subject, but it's the more political numbers that stand out for their imagery.  Pat McGarvey never shies away from wearing his left wing heart on his political sleeve, and the band is all the better for that.  He also ensures that everyone gets a chance to show off their individual talents, and newcomer Stewart delivered a fine and lively set of Scots tunes for her party piece.

As enjoyable as ever and not to be missed if you get the chance.

Cera Impala and the New Prohibition Band

Back in the House again, after a gap of several weeks, and what a grin-inducing event to return to.

Opening proceedings was folk icon and Edinburgh songwriting legend, Sandy Wright.  On the occasion, he informed us, of his 65th birthday.  Accompanied by Sarah McFadyen on fiddle and banjo, and Joey Sanderson on cello, Wright (piano accordion), launched into one of his best known compositions, Steel and Stone.  Untroubled by any need to milk applause, the group segued on into another two songs before pausing to let the audience catch up.  This gig was never predictable.

Joined onstage by Cera Impala and Dirk Ronneburg, we were given an eclectic mix of songs and some hilarious introductions.  As a quintet they were clearly unrehearsed, and it mattered not a bit.  The odd discordant moment only added to the sense of watching something unique, the essence of live performance.  Wright doesn't have the world's greatest voice.  But then neither does Dylan.  He does have warmth, imagination and humanity, and these more than make up for any technical imperfections.  He's a simple joy to listen to, and to watch.

After the break Cera and her band performed a range of new songs, many from their forthcoming album, Tumbleweed (and I'm looking forward to hearing that in the near future).  Mostly self-penned, her music is a mix of country, jazz, blues and a range of influences that reflects her international background.  The voice is husky, jazzy and sweet, her phrasing original and captivating.  A solo number with sparse ukulele accompaniment opened the set and was captivating.  Add in her finger picking banjo sound, and the sympathetic virtuoso fiddle of Doctor Dirk, plus the double bass of Sanderson, and you get the the New Prohibition sound.  Some beautiful lyrics and memorable tunes, thoughtful arrangements and rhythms to get the feet tapping.  The eccentrically talented Sanderson, on cello, double bass and cymbal (atop said bass), brings a vocal style that swings along a spectrum roughly bounded by Maria Callas and Tom Waits....

Above all this was a fun night, an event the audience felt drawn in to and won't forget quickly.

Himmerland

Jazzfolk?  Folkjazz?  I asked the guitarist what he classified them as and he opted for the safety of 'World Music'.  But let's forget genre stereotyping

Himmerland are a five piece band from Denmark.  Fiddle, soprano saxophone, guitar, electric bass and a hugely entertaining percussionist.  They play a mix of self-penned numbers and Danish folk tunes, songs and instrumentals.  The music mingles not just folk and jazz, but myriad other influences, not least from the contribution of the Ghanaian happily banging away on his drum kit who feeds African and reggae into the melting pot.

The musicianship is of a high quality and the arrangements imaginative.  There is an excellent mix of slow and upbeat numbers across the set.  Lead vocals are mostly provided by fiddler Ditte Fromseier who has a sweet voice and clear phrasing.  There were a couple of attempts to get the audience singing along and the one with the nonsense chorus succeeded, although we were less forthcoming when asked to sing in proper Danish!  The band enjoy interacting with the crowd and provide plenty of background information on the origins of each piece and even managed some decent jokes in English.  They were clearly enjoying themselves and that sense of fun was infectious.

So often the weak spot of groups with jazz pretensions are the bass solos, like tedious exercises in narcissism.  No such issue here.  Andrezej Kerjniuk from Poland was, for me, the stand out musician of the night, his solos and accompaniments wouldn't have disgraced Jaco Pastorius himself.  And so modest about his abilities when you talk to him.

For this gig they were joined for much of the set by Scottish fiddler Eilidh Shaw of Poozies fame.  That second fiddle added to the richness of the sound, and the band joined in her in some of her own pieces, including a wonderful tune from that great Anglo-Swedish band, Swap.

A memorable evening that brought a smile to everyone's face.

Joyous.

The Furrow Collective

A return to the house and some traditional folk music.  For too many people that phrase still conjures up an image of old men in big jumpers and the members of The Furrow Collective couldn't be much further from that outdated notion.  They're young, keep very busy with a wide variety of other bands and solo projects, but are all deeply steeped in the traditional music of their origins.

Two of the band come from England, two from Scotland, and they sing ballads from all across the British Isles, and sometimes beyond, with due respect for the originals, but bringing their own lovingly worked out interpretations.  You can see the passion they have for this music in their performances and the way they talk about it.

With Lucy Farrell on viola (and a brief bit of musical saw, Emily Portman playing banjo and concertina, Alasdair Roberts on guitar and Rachel Newton on harp and fiddle, all four take turns in providing lead vocals and adding a varied mix of harmonies.  All four are excellent vocalists from the sweetness of Portman through to the lugubrious voice of Roberts, and that rich variety

I know from past experience what  superb instrumentalist Rachel Newton is (see this review of The Shee from earlier this year), and the others all have fine reputation as musicians, but there was no showing off tonight.  There seems to have been a deliberate choice made to keep the arrangements simple and often sparse, presumably to keep the lyrics at the forefront of the sound, but it felt a bit frustrating knowing what they could be capable of and weren't delivering.

Some instrumental fireworks might have helped lift the overall performance which, whilst always enjoyable, felt a little slow paced.  The one more up tempo number they included only came at the end of the second set, and more variety would have helped the overall feel of the gig.  Although there was some unintentional relief when Emily suddenly brought fruit into the lyrics and all three women ended up with the giggles.  It might have meant the disintegration of the song, but it was the kind of  memorable moment you can only get from live music.  Between numbers the comments from the band are often amusing, sometimes informative, and they engage well with their audience.

Despite lacking any real spark of excitement this was a very enjoyable night.

John Doyle

It's been a few months since I was last at a House concert and it felt good to be back, especially as tonight's act was one of the greatest musicians to come out of the Irish tradition.  Doyle rose to fame as the guitarist in renowned Irish-American band Solas and has worked as collaborator and producer with many stars from the folk world.

This solo performance had him playing both guitar and a guitar-bodied bouzouki, both with incredible virtuosity.  Most of the set was given over to songs, with a few tunes thrown in to the mix. he's an excellent vocalist.  The tone of the voice isn't particularly distinctive, but it has a pleasing sweetness in the higher notes and his phrasing is inventive and original.  It's sign of a vivid musical imagination when even the most hackneyed classic such as Wild Rover comes out sounding hot off the press, the rowdy drinking song transformed into an emotional ballad.  John can also knock out some pretty decent songs and tunes of his own, with the beautiful Liberty's Sweet Shore standing out as a fine example of the craft.

Doyle, with his boyishly infectious grin, engages well with his audience.  He can tell a good story and provided plenty background information to the songs, with laughs along the way.  There's plenty opportunities for the crowd to join in on choruses, a sea shanty that was new to me being a highlight for building up a swelling sound in the room.  And out of that crowd, to play a set of whistle tunes and sing a song, came the legend that is Cathal O'Connell.  He might be looking a bit more frail than of old, but he still whistle up a storm.  And it was impressive to watch Doyle pick up on tunes he hadn't heard before and develop accompaniments that were much more than a few simple chords.

And it's that guitar playing that will be my principle memory of the evening.  I would have preferred a few more tunes at the expense of some singing, because watching and listening to those digits dancing across the frets was a source of joy, but that's quibbling.  A fabulous performance and a performer not to be missed if you get the chance.

Andy Cutting

Once again to the house, once again to see a musician we've seen many times before, in a variety of line ups, but never playing solo.  Andy Cutting is a squeezebox player.  In much the same way you'd say that Mark Knopfler can strum a bit.

Cutting explained why he wouldn't be singing (he's dire) and gave us an explanation as to why the two beautiful instruments he was playing, artworks in their own right, were not melodeons, despite common usage of the term.  The pedant in Andy insists they must be known as Diatonic Button Accordions.  And then he pulled up his third instrument for the night, a smaller, scruffier cousin to the other two.  This time an actual melodeon, which only has one row of ten keys for the melody.  All of which might have been quite tedious to listen to from many a performer, but Andy's charm, enthusiasm and humour are too engaging for such an outcome.

And that's part of the joy of a Cutting gig.  He's full of fascinating trivia, will tell you about the origins of the tunes, the people he's played with, places he's had musical experiences.  There's the tale of how he came to make one of those Diatonic Button Accordions (he's got me at it now), or the Swedish music workshop where the fiddlers outnumbered the box players by fifty to one.  All told in a measured, self deprecating style, with Gallic shrugs and expressions, and a way of making you feel in on the joke.

All of which is just bonus material because the focus is on the music.  English Morris, Scandinavian Polskas, Quebecois fusion, Andy brings a wide range of sources to his set list and his own tunes (which he insists he doesn't 'compose', he just 'makes them up).  Cutting is a craftsman of the variation, each melodic line subject to minor transformations that keep the simplest of themes alive.  Simple but beautiful.

A soft voice, a relaxed musical style and a gentleman.  A gentle way to spend an evening.

Brigid Kaelin and Diana de Cabarrus

Off once more to a House gig, and two singer-songwriters on tour together.  Kaelin is from Kentucky, de Cabarrus is based in Edinburgh but has English origins.  The American played guitar, ukulele, piano and piano accordion.  Oh, and one more instrument I'll come to later.  Diana played guitar and bohdran.  A cellist completed the line up.

It would hard to come to come up with a single word description of the style of music.  We got ballads, country, jazz, a Jacques Brel number and one lengthy piece from Ms de Cabarrus which veered close to 70s prog rock, if you can imagine such a thing being delivered from acoustic guitar and cello.  Both women have pleasant and melodious voices, if lacking any great distinctive qualities, and write interesting lyrics (with the American's humour shining through).  Overall I preferred the tone of the British singer, and her arrangements were generally the more imaginative.  Brigid was at her best on the piano delivering some of her jazzier numbers.  Meanwhile the cellist added colour and depth, but gave a curiously unsmiling performance, almost as if she was on autopilot.

It was a fun evening, made more so by that extra instrument I mentioned above.  Kaelin provided the highlights of the night playing instrumental versions of Yesterday, Somewhere Over the Rainbow and, as her finale, Loch Lomond on a 26" saw.  Worth the money for that alone.  We left smiling, singing and happy.  What more can you ask for?

Kris Drever and The Theory of Everything

THERE'S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO DISPLAY GENIUS

To avoid any possible confusion, Mr Drever hasn't resolved the great conundrum of the universe.  Not quite yet.  No, this post contains two reviews for the price of one. The Orcadian musician on his first solo tour in many years. And the story of Stephen Hawking, as portrayed by Eddie Redmayne.

KRIS DREVER

If you're not a folkie you may not have come cross Kris Drever.  If you are then you'll already know what a star the man is.  I might as well be honest here, Kris has been one of my favourite musicians since first discovering him almost ten years ago, and I write this as an unashamed and totally enthusiastic fan.  The venue was the flat in Edinburgh we go to regularly for House Concerts (and which will be sure to feature prominently in future posts) and there was nothing going to keep me away from seeing one of my heroes perform in such an intimate setting.  (Not even a crucial hockey match at Murrayfield!)

Over the years I've seen Kris play a role in many line ups.  Most frequently as one third of the incredible Lau, but also in duos, trios and as a leading light in the folk supergroup Drever, McCusker, Woomble.  He has produced many fine recordings including two great solo albums, but this was the only chance we've had, since our first sighting of the man, to see him perform by himself.  He did not disappoint.

A mix of the familiar and the new.  There were traditional ballads, a selection of songs from his own CDs, one from his Lau persona, and several that he is trying out on this tour before they appear on his next solo album.  All delivered with humour, imaginatively phrased vocals and inventive guitar accompaniment.  The new album should be a cracker and I'm looking forward to hearing his recording of Capernum, a cheery number dealing with Edinburgh's dark side.  I also loved the lyrics of a piece he'd only just written, marking a particularly unproductive day at home - sounded like the soundtrack to my life....

I could, just about, understand that Kris' voice might not be to everyone's taste.  There is a nasal quality some might dislike.  For me it's utterly distinctive and totally disarming, and I'm sure he could sing the telephone directory and make it entertaining.  Ok, I'm biased.  What a great evening.

Here's Mr D doing what he does best.

THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING

A biopic of Stephen Hawking, starting shortly before his being diagnosed with motor neurone disease, and telling how he, and his wife, dealt with that adversity and produced one of the most brilliant minds the world has seen.  I can't vouch for the authenticity of the portrayal, but the physicist himself has said that it was like watching himself at times and he was moved by the experience.

While the film has it's share of 'Hollywood' moments, to improve the dramatic flow, it is largely understated and this allows the performances to shine through.  Eddie Redmayne is superb as Hawking (and well worth his Oscar for the role), giving genius a human exposition and showing personal flaws as well as the man's incredible will to succeed in his chosen field.   There's plenty humour too, with the physicist shown to have his cheeky side, something that he has allowed his voice synthesiser to aid rather than hinder.

Definitely one to see.