Review: Tiger Folk/Grand Union Folk at the Shepshed Watermill, Saturday 31st July...

There had been clouds all day, with a hint on the wind that we might get rain, but luckily the inevitable shower only hit late on and was mercifully brief. This was to be a unique event: organised between the Tiger folk club and the Grand Union with the co-operation of the owners Jeff and Kath, as a fundraiser for the ongoing refurbishment of the Shepshed Water Mill. An advance ticket job, barbecue provided, a tour of the restored mill and then music – an informal folk session, mainly unaccompanied, leavened with a smatter of guitars and accordion.

Venue: idyllic, to use an over-used word. On the backroad from Hathern to Shepshed, near to the M1 yet tucked away, folded into an older landscape, the ever-present swish of fast-moving tires a faint – and oddly soothing – soundtrack. What the writer Iain Sinclair calls 'motorway hymns.' A lot of work has been done here - refer to the web-site for more detail. Correction: a lot of hard work – restoring the mill has entailed much digging and humping, apart from the brain power to plan, the money to fuel the endeavour, the sheer will to see it through. When you meet the owners you get the vibe straight away. And it's not a dour cause, rather one carried through with enthusiasm and much good humour.

We got there early which gave a chance to wander round the grounds as the barbecue was being fired up. Yum. People drifted in as food was being made available – and a pleasant evening for al fresco eating. Then a tour of the project, narrated by Jeff, as a digestif.

We started to gather in the space allotted for the music. A small but high-ceilinged room, good acoustics. Intimate atmosphere, with the doors open to the evening at the back. Emcee for the night, Bill Wilkes, (GU4, Barrow folk club, all round good egg) decided that it was time to go and started singing one of his signature shanties – a strange experience with the water wheel of the mill still turning at my back before being shut down for the performance. The metallic creakings and splashing of water seemed to match the song, like marine sound effects. Synchronicity – the music meshing with an older technology, if you wanted to explore that fancy.

Bill always runs an informal but tight gig and a good balance of music was maintained. Not the least, perhaps, because this was not a hundred per cent hardball 'folk' crowd. A couple of surprises – the usually reluctant Ed, stalwart supporter of the Barrow Folk Club was coaxed into singing and how good he was, a light but supple voice, sure of its movement and no discernible wavering from nerves. More please. Going round the room performers acquitted themselves with their usual aplomb – some excellent singers here, of course, Farmer Dave, Corrine Male, Dave Walters, Joe Tormey and apologies to any I missed. They also serve: Karen Harris in good voice, dragged from her barbecue/cookhouse duties – as was Sheila Bentham, who essayed a story with a nice twist. Mr Bentham was late on parade due to his (and Ed's) sterling work with the liquid refreshments. His rendition of 'An evening in summer' seemed to select itself...

John Adams, with accordion and soft voiced song added to the variety – as did Mr Marmion – on bouncy form, his guitar abetted by myself. (Not having played together for a long time we had a rehearsal a few days before – somewhat on the conceptual side as ever, but I don't think I played too many bum notes).

Another milestone of the night – Mr Peter Burnham was apparently celebrating his retirement from the day job, (no doubt a move to derail the more clichéd hecklers, ho ho) and much cake was handed round. He performed solo, with his old partner Sheila Mosley and as one third of GU4, tonight minus Miggy Campbell. Sheila did the old McTell warhorse and a song I have uncordially hated for many years, 'Streets of London.' In the process making me realise that it is a much better song than I realised with a strong moral message that overrides the piety. Always a valuable experience to have one's prejudices confounded. Being such a good singer helps, of course...

But not a night to single out people as all gave of their best. This was very much a communal effort, coming together for a good cause - raising somewhere around £400, I believe – with excellent food and drink and to enjoy a variety of musics – mainly, but not exclusively traditional - under the broad 'folk' banner. A very good advert for two of our strongest local folk clubs which also proved that flexibility without compromise can pay off handsomely – take a bow, everybody. This is a superb small venue with a lot of potential for future events – so a good time to mention the next fundraiser. Saturday September 18th, Tiger Folk and Grand Union clubs again but a slightly different angle – 'Stories and Songs.' Jacket potato supper and real ale on tap for £7, which includes a tour of the mill and outbuildings etc. Tickets via email from John Bentham: the.benthams@ntlworld.com – note that there will be a limited number due to space considerations so book early...

Review of 'The Big Sing' featuring GU4/Steve Thomason at the Grand Union Folk Club, Monday, 14th July, 2008

We went to Grand Union Folk Club Monday last with high expectations – and were not disappointed. It's an older crowd, in the main, strictly Old School down the line vocalising tonight, no instrumental accompaniments. And none the worse for that – the title of the gig was 'The Big Sing,' after all... And they do not sing any bigger than here – a club noted for its audience's vocal talents, where performers are always buttressed mightily on the choruses and harmonies by the power, passion and depth of feeling round the room. A democracy of voices, indeed, that frequently blurs the distinctions between guest and audience. As tonight: the billed acts, GU4 and Steve Thomason, come out of the rotating floorsingers in an organic move, tall waves rising and falling into a rich sea of sound to create a seamless evening's music. The gamut of the Tradition was on display – from songs of the sea to songs of the land, songs of work, sport and pleasure. Tough times to good times, with what I have previously termed 'The Arc of Loss' inherent in the hard-dogged, problematic journey of our island music as it moved through the various revivals to the present day somewhat backstepped tonight. For this was a joyous celebration, sung out with fire, emotion and at times ferocity, a night where it would be unfair to single out any individual performers. In their own various ways they were all good – and it is rare that I would make that statement, given my often ambivalent relationship to the tradition down the years. Rather than empty gesture, channels were opened to the past, creating a autonomous zone where, for a couple of hours and a small effort of imagination, you stepped outside of time to experience the link to long dead ages and manners. A democracy of voices – not in the sense of a flattened-out banality but an area where the stronger aided the weaker to attain some rather wonderful aural grace, however brief the duration. You might gather we had a damn good time...

Noted in passing: GU4 now have a MySpace site here... which gives a small flavour of their music... and oddly enough, for such a quintessentially English musical bash, it was Bastille Day, Le Quatorze Juillet... Marchons, Marchons...

Review: Keith Kendrick/Sheila Needham plus Sheila Mosley/Pete Burnham at the Soar Bridge Inn, Monday, 28th January, 2008

More singing... after the choir gig last Saturday (see previous post), off to Barrow on Soar, just outside God's Little Acre for my first visit to the Grand Union club. It will not be the last...

The performers booked for tonight: Keith Kendrick and Sheila Needham backed by Sheila Mosley and Pete Burnham, the latter pair whose work I know well, the former more by reputation (although I saw them at a private party the other week and was mightily impressed). Keith Kendrick, of course, is a stalwart from way back and I'm not sure how I've missed seeing him - although my interest in folk music waxes and wanes, to be fair, plus living out of the area for so long. But at this club, a simple performance, in the sense of artist/audience, is never likely. Given the staggering firepower of the singers who make up the audience, participation at a high level is always the order of the night. At several points during the evening, I closed my eyes and concentrated on picking out all the individual voices and timbres, male and female, which stood out of the collective song, most of whom I know from around and about. An interesting exercise... yet the individual talents all combine for the collective whole - no grandstanding here...

Bill Wilkes started with an Australian song about the First World War that I didn't know - surprisingly, as I get wearied with the continuing vocal bleat about WW1, when the band is always playing bloody 'Waltzing Matilda.' Cynical, perhaps... But tonight -a fresh look at the old slaughter - fascinating. The quick parade of floor singers, all good, led inexorably to the first spot of the night from Kendrick/Needham. Kicked off by a version of another song I usually loathe (but see my review here for the Cantamus gig where they produced a new take on an old hate that turned my ears round, as it were) which now breathed new life, buttressed by consummate concertina playing and the fine harmonies and individual performance of Sheila, he proceeded with a light touch throughout, taking in some serious old skool - 'Crow on the cradle,' Sheila's romp (complete with audience physical participation via various hand gestures) through 'Why does a winkle always turn to the right?' - to more varied fare, moving through what I term the 'Arc of Loss,' the register of hard times and pastoral yearnings that make up the bulk of the English folk canon. Via songs of passion, (personal and set against the wider backdrop of history - Chartism, tonight) and reminders of maritime heritage -'Sailor's Prayer.' Oh - and a stunning version of Cyril Tawney's 'Sally free and Easy,' which combines both the sea and thwarted love - 'took a sailor's loving, for a nursery game.' A song that many sing but few do justice to - tonight, their stark harmonies, with Sheila holding a run-on note into each verse for Keith to bounce off, signalled a sharp musical intelligence at work. A questing re-invention is always taking place, as I see it, invigorating even (over) familiar material spliced to more unusual songs - 'My Own Heart,' by Adrian May - which I hadn't heard before. The whole transmitted with good humour and deceptive finesse...

This is just an off-the-cuff review, I was not planning on doing a write-up as such, took no photographs either, and only a few undecipherable notes - the Leffe was biting by then... it was supposed to be a night out with the crew on a long-overdue visit... but I enjoyed it so much... nice to see Sheila and Pete as well, who gave some old favourites, Ms Mosley's clear high and slightly frail voice with an echo of Shirley Collins perhaps (hailing from the same part of the country) riding smoothly alongside Pete's lilting ring - South and North East combined. Not forgetting the mighty vocal backdrop of the audience - they really add something to the evening, making it a unique experience to come here - crying out for a live recording, Bill?