Crescent Theatre Folkin' Great Festival Review

Yesterday the Crescent Theatre in Brum had an excellent day festival Folkin’ Good. It was a new festival of folk and acoustic music which had two stages, one in the bar and one in the main stage.

The music kicked off in the bar with a 20 minute set from The Velvet Underarm who are The Crescent’s acoustic house band. They were played a great set which ended with a good cover of Wagon Wheel.

At the end of that set began an afternoon of shuttling between the bar and the theatre. I really liked the system of putting the sets in the bar on to cover the change between acts on the main theatre stage.

The first act on the main stage was The Empty Can an indie folk band who mixed covers by the Verve and Elbow amongst others with their own material. A lot of their own material came from their second album Sonic Boom.

As the bar had limited seating the crowd in the theatre sat on the ends of rows ready to leg it through at the end of the main set. As we entered the bar we heard Ruth, Jimmy and Sue playing. The name was a little confusing as all three were women. They played some excellent Americana and our favourite number was Jilted which was a comedy number which seemed very fitting for three women of a certain age looking like they were rocking three very different looks from M&S. They were probably my favourite act on the bar stage all day.

A programme of music is not something you normally find at a folk gig but it was what Soundboard provided for their mix of instrumental and folky numbers. I have to say I found some of their set a bit pretentious but the music was excellent and the trio were incredibly proficient.

Then it was back to the bar for Ashland. This was a duo which saw Kathryn Marsh and David Sutherland (who is also in Kim Lowings and the Greenwood) playing some excellent numbers. This was my husbands favourite bar group and we bought the EP which says something about how we felt about it.

Part of what this event was doing was showcasing local up and coming acts. One of these was ChrisCleverley. He is a growing name on the national scene but comes from Brum and it was clear that in some ways this event saw him coming home to part of the folk family who had nurtured him. His music was good if generally a bit on the dark side but occasionally there was real humour there. Most of his material was his own but there were some covers in there.

We made our final venture in to the bar for Twenty B& H a duo who are very much new additions to the scene. They played well and were great but by this point the bar area was too small for the crowd and so it seemed like time to stay in the theatre between acts.

The next act on the main stage was my favourite of the evening. Kim Lowings and the Greenwood were an amazing foursome. Kim has an incredible voice and song writing talent as well as being really musically versatile and amongst the instruments she was playing was an Appalachian mountain dulcimer. Among those in the band supporting her was the immensely talented David Sutherland who was on double bass this time. Cuckoo was one of the songs I loved in her set. She reminded me very much of a young Eliza Carthy and I look forward to hearing much more from her.

The penultimate act on the theatre stage was Edwina Hayes who I think can best be described as a northern Joan Baez. She again played a good mix of her own material and covers (including numbers by Richard Thompson and Barbara Dixon). I really liked this singer with a captivating voice and a good stage presence. She would have made a good headliner.

Now, before I go into the real headliner I have to caveat what I am going to say with a few things. Firstly, the sound crew at the Crescent had put in a cracking effort all day and worked really hard. Secondly Francis Mallon who put this together had done an amazing job and the day had all worked really well. Thirdly I had seen Duke Special a couple of times at Greenbelt and he is a good musician who can really take a crowd with him. Unfortunately last night was not his night.

I think there are a few reasons for this. The first is there were some microphone and sound issues as he prepared to go on stage. The second was he didn’t really fit the event. Now, I know this is a difficult balance to get but often (not always) putting something more contemporary on after proper folk without some decent fiddle in it doesn’t work. I remember the same thing happening a few years ago at Cambridge Folk Festival when Divine Comedy played. People left because they just seemed weak in comparison to so much talented musicianship and they were somehow out of place. This is part of what was going on last night.

Also, the Duke is very good act in a festival field or a crowded small venue. This was not how it was working. To his credit he did move the crowd forward and invite them on stage to get some intimacy. I don’t know what then happened because we chose to leave because it was to be honest getting painful to watch. We were both of the feeling we wish we had chosen to leave straight after Edwina Hayes.

A great day though and really good value. We got 7 hours of music and a large number of acts for just £15 each.

There are a few things that I think could have improved it slightly:

1)    More seating in the bar area. This could have been achieved if the stalls had been located elsewhere (perhaps in the foyer of the building)

2)    More food options and something selling more “normal” food

3)    A more folky headliner

 

As I say though we had a wonderful day and heard some amazing music and will certainly be seeking out some of the music again. Looking to returning to The Crescent Theatre in a fortnight to enjoy their free acoustic night when I suspect we may hear some of the voices from the bar again.

                                                                                            

 

 

Lucinda Williams - The Ghosts of Highway 20 Reviewed

The Ghosts of Highway 20, Lucinda Williams’ latest album was number 2 in the UK’s first official Americana chart launched last month according to this article on the Americana Music Association Website. This reflects one guesses the way in which Americana is becoming a distinctly recognised and respected genre of music in the UK. However, there is a question mark about what exactly Americana is and who should and shouldn’t be included. According to an article on the Americana UK website the definition being used by the chart company “contemporary music that incorporates elements of various American roots music styles, including country, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass, R&B and blues.” Personally I think the definition should be ‘would BobHarris play them on his Radio 2 Country show?’ On the subject of Bob Harris it seems he is hosting his own festival in May, the Under the Apple Tree Roots Festival where you will be able to hear a number of acts which might well fit the definition.

Lucinda Williams is somebody who he does play but listening to The Ghosts of Highway 20 one senses where the blurred edges might come in. Listening to disc two of this double CD one was clear that Goth and Americana can actually be very close. I found this fascinating because it was clear this was essentially a country record but the feel and sound was not too far removed from listening to a stripped down version of The Sisters of Mercy.

The first disc has elements of this but also has more elements of blues in it too particularly in tracks like Doors of Heaven which is essentially a R&B (old definition) number.

Whilst not a happy album it is a moving set of songs several of them including Louisiana Story and Death Cake could be regarded as genuine songs of lament. If you like modern day Psalms which speak the truth of pain.

My own favourites on the album were Factory which has a real intensity to it and Doors of Heaven where as I say the gloom lifts in the music at least (although the words are still deep and Psalm like).

Would I recommend this album? Yes, but I would say it may not be to everybody’s taste. If you like throw away pop and candyfloss cheerfulness this is definitely not for you but it you don’t mind reflecting on the darkness and like more mature music go for it. Personally, I think it is a great album.

Looking at Williams I see she is over in the UK in the summer playing the Original Cornbury Festival in July where you will also be able to catch Wilko Johnson and Mavis Staples amongst others. I would be pretty sure there must be other gigs in this country to be announced, which I’ll certainly be keeping my eyes open for. 

Indie Girls taking it back to the 90's

Every so often you sit there listening to BBC Six Music whilst you’re getting on with the rest of life and you will hear something new and think, “yup, I like that”. For me it happened recently with Bruising. I heard it and whilst I didn’t think wow this is something amazing I did smile to myself and think, I really like this, it reminds me of a lot of stuff from the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s.

With the jangly guitars and distinctive female vocals I guess the two bands from that period Bruising most remind me of are Bleach and Sleeper. So there sound isn’t new, but how much is these days? What they are doing well is recapturing the sound of the previous generation.

Another new indie group I’m enjoying listening to is Spanish indie girl group Hinds who play the Hare and Hounds on 23rdFebruary. This gig is one they’re doing supporting the release of their new album Leave Me Alone which is out now. Hinds are a bit less jangly and bit more hippy trippy in places but they’re still fun to listen to. I think this interview and live set on Seattle based radio station KEXP via YouTube is good in showcasing their talent and giving some more info about them.

So that’s two recommendations for you this week both bands I think are worth checking out.

The Autistic Librarian Mixtape from True Mendous

I didn’t expect to buy True Mendous’s CD The AutisticLibrarian today. In fact this week I had expected to be buying David Bowie’s 25^th album Blackstar when it comes out tomorrow. However heading back to New Street Station today I encountered a busker whose poetry disrupted this week’s purchasing plan.

Hurrying along I caught the sound of a female rapper and she had my attention. I was ready to go and throw down a few coins when I saw she had a couple of CD’s for sale. I had no idea which to go for but listening to her as I hovered I decided either would make an interesting listen. As it happens I went for the debut mixtape, released in 2014, and left the most recent release the Whormonal Moodswings EP (which is available on i-tunes).

True Mendous is another of the talented young black female rappers I am discovering make up an important part of the Birmingham music scene. The vocals on this mixtape are as beautiful as the lyrics are hard. Her poetry tackles subjects such as the sex trade, child abuse, drug use, same sex relationships, unrequited love and teenage pregnancy in a head on way. Listening to this you realise you are encountering a hard core, urban, twenty-first century, feminist text.  

It’s not an easy listen but at the same time it is one which captures your attention. The story that unfolds within the 17 tracks is shocking and challenging. It has the same power that Eminem’s Stan did in that sense. Thus, in some ways there is a retro feel to this, yet in other ways it is fresh and different.

Now that freshness might be because since coming to Birmingham I have been rediscovering hip hop through artists such as True Mendous and Lady Sanity. However, I think that it is something else breaking through. In a world where there is so much debate about feminism and what it is and in a world where white middle class feminist narratives have tended to dominate this music gives something different. It shows how there is a new wave of young black feminism breaking through. This is the feminism/ womanism which comes not so much from the academy as from the street.  

So do I recommend it? Yes, get hold of her music and be challenged by it.  Oh and if you are wondering about the Bowie CD, I may still get it but not this week. I'm enjoying discovering truly new music too much.

Favourite Music, Books and Exhibitions from 2015 Revisited

So we’re coming to the end of 2015 and I am rounding off with a list of my “favourites” of 2015.

Best Live Act

Skinny Lister – saw them at Cambridge Folk Festival and absolutely loved them, as detailed in my review of the festival. Also really enjoyed their Down on Deptford Broadway album.

Best Album

This was a hard category. I was very tempted to go for a Skinny Lister double, but The Young ‘Uns Another Man’s Ground gets it primarily for the track “You Won’t Find Me on Benefits Street” but is overall a great album, which I reviewed here.

Best New Act

This year I have encountered loads of great new music. This has to go to Lady Sanity though. As this post on the Radio Six Music Introducing event at the Hare and Hounds says I was blown away by her. However, I have to say that Finch and the Moon were great too. Note I am not including Skinny Lister because whilst they were new to me Down on Deptford Broadway was their second album.

Best Festival

Cambridge Folk Festival was wonderful this year. Absolutely loved it. The Birmingham Literature Festival came in very close to this one and I was unsure whether to go for this one in first place. This post links to my review of my favourite Lit Festival Event.

Best Non-Religious Book

The Mistresses of Cliveden by Natalie Livingstone. This one was a bit of an impulse book and it really caught my imagination, as I made clear in my review.

Best Religious Book

Mission on the Road to Emmaus: Constants, Context and Prophetic Dialogue edited by Cathy Ross and Stephen Bevans. This was a deep book which is well worth more than one reading. This is my review from my other blog.

 

Best UK Exhibition

At Home with Vanley Burke at the Ikon Gallery. This was a full installation and it really caught my imagination, as the obligatory blog review shows. This category was a very close run thing with Provincial Punk by Grayson Perry which was on at the Turner Contemporary in Margate coming in as a close second. This was again reviewed on my other bin a post which also gives mention of Leonie Dawson's Life and Biz workbook which if it had a category would be my best self-improvement tool of the year.

Best International Exhibition

This has to go to the John Paul Gaultier Exhibition in Paris which was amazing. The post where I reviewed this is placed at the bottom of this page and again originally appeared on my other, personal, blog.

The Jean Paul Gaultier exhibition at the Grand Palais is both stylish and innovative, as one might expect from an exhibition this designer has a hand in. It mixes media involving photography and music as well as textiles.

It’s not your average exhibition, unlike the neighbouring American Icons. That exhibition which is on in another part of the same venue until 22nd June 2015 describes itself as “60 emblematic works from the SFMOMA and the Fisher collection (one of the world’s largest private modern and contemporary art collections, now curated by the museum).” To be fair it’s not bad containing some works by both Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein which I hadn’t come across in their retrospectives at the Tate Modern but it is distinctly underwhelming compared to the Gaultier exhibition which is an experience designed to draw the visitor into an experience.

There are photos and artifacts which reference Gaultier’s early life and influences but this is minimal because the focus is on his haute couture.

The sailor suit stripes are part of the designers own trademark look and are shown in a variety of ways, most strikingly by a manikin in a  jumper and neckerchief. This was no standard manikin though, as with several others it was an android programmed to speak to you as it displayed Gaultier’s face.

There was a Dr. Who feel to these manikins which, on occasion, were ready to make eye contact with you which Karl found unsettling.

As I said the clothes were the central focus of this exhibition and you were reminded of this as you moved into a room with a revolving catwalk. On one side sat a range of guests he’d dressed including Nana Mouskouri and Conchita Wurst. On the other stood a range of London Punks alongside Bowie and Boy George. This was pure beautiful art.

Wedding dresses, corsets and Madonna cones mixed with bondage style wear and more as you worked your way through an array of beautiful and challenging style.

The architecture of the building housing the exhibition was also used to maximum affect as you made your way up a sweeping stone staircase which was lit and had pumping music to a space where you could watch a film illustrating the sheer diversity of the models Gaultier used.

My one criticism was that on the whole the manikins did not reflect the diversity and inclusion the designer is famous for.

Would I recommend a trip to this exhibition? Certainly, indeed whilst we discovered this quite by accident whilst wandering through the city towards the Champs Elysees and Arc de Triumph I would say that for the true love of fashion and spectacle it may worth a trip to the French capital. This was one of the best curated exhibitions and certainly one of the most innovative I’ve encountered. Also in France you get the benefit of being able to take photos of these exhibitions if you wish, although this wasn’t the case for the David Bowie Is exhibition on at the Philharmonie De Paris  until the 31st May 2015.

The Bowie exhibition was what had initially prompted our trip, having missed it at the V & A but having been memorized it via event cinema. It was a good exhibition with a number of original song lyrics and videos of Bowie’s classics as well as costumes and other memorabilia but after the Gaultier exhibition it had neither the impact or wow factor it may otherwise have done. Indeed whilst technologically advanced in many ways it seemed dated compared to the manikins at the Grand Palais. The venue for the Bowie exhibition in an outlying part of Paris was interesting, yet it required a specific visit. Unlike the Gaultier this was never going to be one of those wonders you unexpectedly come across. 

Soul Food: More Art and Music in Birmingham

Pre-Raphaelite art, nativity trails, Martyn Joseph and soul boats have all featured in my most recent travels around Birmingham. I’ve been enjoying the soul food all of these have provided.

To give you a taste of this menu for the senses I start with a taster of what you can find just wandering around the city at the moment. The German Market is taking over most of the city centre and the stalls provide a picturesque walk down between Symphony Hall and Grand Central (New Street Station). At the far end by the Rep and the Library it stands under the shadow of a giant observation wheel and next to a seasonal skating rink. This all provides a picturesque wander around the city, particularly at night. Looking in the windows you can also find wonders such as the Teddy Nativity in the Cancer Research Shop. Then there is also the Bull in the Bullring which has been festively dressed.

The Nativity can also be found through art in the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. This trail through the free areas of the museum begins with a beautiful stained glass window Peace and Goodwill by Henry Payne. It was originally in the Methodist Chapel in Cradley Heath and as that place closed has since ended up in the museum. The sheet you use to guide you then takes you on to the work of Edward Burne-Jones, Arthur Hughes, Giovanni Bellini, Orazio Gentileschi and Adrien Isenbrandt amongst others. The Burne-Jones painting The Star of Bethlehem was particularly striking as was The Nativity by Arthur Hughes. The latter was the painting that most got me to stop and reflect on what insight the painting could give me into the bible passages which were familiar. Mary is very young in this picture and whilst not Mediterranean or middle-eastern in appearance there was something more earthy about her than in many other pictures.

Hughes nephew E.R. Hughes is the subject of the current headline exhibition at the gallery Enchanted Dreams. It focuses on his Pre-Raphaelite work and has a mixture of conventional portraits and more imaginative work which seems to mix the colour influences of the impressionists with the style of the Pre-Raphaelites.

Amongst his portraits of children one of Bell and Dorothy Freeman was particularly striking in its beauty. Another one of the portraits which was particularly beautiful was “Study of a Female Head”.  

The central part of the exhibition was Blue Phantasies, a series of paintings he made during the earliest twentieth century. There were three of these paintings which I found particularly beautiful. The first was “The Valkyrie’s Vigil” which was a wonderful mixture of purples and blues. The second was Wings of the Morning which was a beautiful woman flying in the nature of an angel. She represented the light which comes with dawn.  The final one which I loved was “Midsummer Eve” where a mixture of magical folk surround a fairy princess. This exhibition does cost if you don’t have a museums and galleries membership card, but as I have said before it is well worth the cost if you can get one. This was my second visit to the exhibition and no doubt not my last. It is a beautiful piece of calm amid a very busy city at the moment.

St. Phillip's Cathedral has completed their renovation work and has a great piece of community art by Jake Lever called Soul Boats in there. It is a piece which hangs from the ceiling and is well worth a look if you are in the area, and of course it is free to view.

Moving out of the city centre itself I have discovered the suburb of Kings Heath and the Hare and Hounds pub which is one of the significant smaller venues in the city. Tonight it hosts a BBC 6 Music BBC Introducing night, which we have tickets to – having been successful in a free ticket ballot – last night we paid to go and see Martyn Joseph.

This is not the first time I have seen this talented Welsh singer-songwriter (as detailed in my previous review of a gig of his) but there was something palpably different about this one. The anger and angst of the past was gone and seemed to have been replaced by an acceptance of himself. He was clearly aware of this change and at the end of the gig explained to the audience it is because he has moved into a new chapter of his personal life.

The importance of his Welsh identity continued to be central to his set. It was good to hear Please Sir as well as Cardiff Bay and Dic Penderyn (The Ballad of Richard Lewis) – that latter of which kicked off his set.

These older numbers were not the only ones which audience members were familiar with. He went back to the early days with Friday but Sunday’s Coming. There was debate amongst our group of when we first heard it. Having looked back at the sleeve notes in Don’t Talk about Love: Martyn Joseph Live ’92-02 it seems that that track goes back at least to the early ‘90’s.

Amongst the older stuff there was also Kiss the World Beautiful which was resurrected on last year’s album of the same name which was put together to support the Let Yourself Trust, which Martyn has founded to support small grass roots projects in the UK and abroad.

The Luxury of Despair was also a song on the Kiss the World Beautiful CD. This track has also made it on to the new CD Sanctuary. Much of the rest of the set was material from this new album. There was a moving track called Her Name is Rose which was about his mum and celebrating her 80^th birthday and Girl Soldier was also very moving.

His current single off Sanctuary is called I Searched for You which had a catchy sing along chorus.

The venue was quite intimate and suited this type of folk gig well. That combined with there was a bit more music and less chat than in some gigs meant this was one of the best gigs I have seen him play over the last 29 years, and there’s been a few. 

Gadding about on a Budget in Brum

As regular readers will know I have recently found myself living in Birmingham on a somewhat limited budget. My husband is a student presbyter which means we are now living in a vicar factory. He is becoming trained whilst I am learning to be a “clergy spouse”.

I’m discovering there are a range of strategies one can engage for surviving this.  Mine is to escape the environment as much as possible and to enjoy this city fate, God or the Methodist Church (take your pick) has landed us in – on a budget.

This involves looking for a mix of free events, cheap events and ways to save money over the year. Birmingham is the sort of city which enables this. Here are some of my tips of what is coming up and what you might be able to enjoy as well as good ways to find things.

Visual Art and Galleries

In Birmingham many of these are free. You can look round the main Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery for free as you can the Barber Institute of Fine Arts and the Ikon Gallery.

The Ikon’s current exhibition Fiona Banner’s Scroll Down and Keep Scrolling is free to access and is one of the things you can enjoy on October 30^th if you take advantage of the Art Bus between 5 and 9pm. It will be going between the three galleries already mentioned and the mac Birmingham. There will be introductory talks and refreshments at each gallery. The Art Bus is part of Galleries Night where a range of galleries up and down the country will be opening their doors late. In Birmingham visitors can also visit the Parkside Gallery which will be hosting Punk Rock So What. It is on until 13^th November. Really looking forward to this exhibition and the art within it. Not sure if it will have any textiles or not, but Punk produced some great art.

There are also various bits of public art you can find in the city. For example outside Snow Hill Station there was a range of photographs I saw when wandering about last Saturday.

The Custard Factory is also worth discovering to see what they have going on, at the moment it includes a giant mural I believe.

Whilst much of this is free, encouraging you to give the donation you can afford and so allowing all to enjoy there are some things going on which make a charge.

The Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery currently has Enchanted Dreams: The Pre-Raphaelite Art of E.R. Hughes. This beautiful exhibition which has a range of late Victorian and Edwardian art is on until the 21^st February 2016. The entry charge for this is £7 for adults (full price and free for children), but if you are going to visit the gallery regularly you can get membership for £25. This gets you into everything for the year, and £42 for a joint membership. You also get 10% off in the Edwardian Tea Room within this as well as entry to a range of other galleries owned by Birmingham Council including the Museum of theJewellery Quarter which has a £6 adult entry.

This means that you can find the money to pay out for the pass you are going to get a number of good days out from it.

Music and Laughter

There is so much going on in the city from big venues to small pubs that there is something for everybody, whatever the budget.

If you are on a budget look out for open mic nights, which there are now web sites specifically advertising. The Crescent Theatre has a range of affordable shows on offer and on November 2^nd they have a free night offering a range of music. You are advised to book in advance for this one.

The Glee Club in Birmingham has a range of music and comedy acts for a range of budgets. On November 1^st they have a Rough Works showcase of local comics which is £4 entry.

If you are into classical music then it is possible to see some really high class stuff on a regular basis if you can get to the Friday lunchtime concerts at the Barber Institute.

The Birmingham Conservatoire also has a range of affordable high quality jazz and classical events including Monday lunchtime show cases.

Festivals

I am learning to keep my eyes open for festivals in Birmingham. Some like the Birmingham Weekender are free whilst others like theBirmingham Literature Festival involve a cost.

Now, this is where you have to make a judgement call about what you can afford and what you are likely to want to attend. I invested the £60+ in a ticket for the literature festival because there was lots I wanted to see and I knew with my limited budget I could just about manage this outlay and for it I could see far more of the festival than I would have been otherwise done. I know not everybody has this option, but if you can it is one worth considering.

The upcoming festival in November I am looking forward to is Shout: The festival of queer arts and culture which goes on from 12^th – 22^nd November. Some events are free whilst others have a cost involved.

Amongst the free events is an afternoon at the mac on 14^th November between noon and 5pm. There will be music, film and more going on. The thing about these festivals is they have a range of stuff going on and you pick what meets your budget.

Other Stuff

Birmingham Cathedral has been celebrating its 300^th anniversary this year. As part of this they have been putting on a range of lectures. We attended one on Saturday where Dr. Kate Isles was talking on Women in Birmingham during the 18^th century. These lectures cost £4 but are of a really high standard. Again the Cathedral also has odds and ends of free stuff if you want to keep your eye open.

If you are a film buff on a tightish (but not really low) budget I really recommend the Cineworld Unlimited Card to you. For £16.90 you get the chance to go and see any standard 2D film and get 10% off food and drink. After the first year you are upgraded to Premier membership and get a higher discount off food and drink. This means if you go for the £1.50 flavour of the month of the ice-cream (which you still get a discount on) things become a lot more affordable, especially if you take your own drinks, etc.

Then there are public spaces like the Library of Birmingham you can go and enjoy, as well as borrowing books in. These provide spaces you can sit and chill in which get you out of home. There are also loads of parks and public spaces to enjoy in Brum.

Travel wise work out what your travel will be per week to sort out the cheapest forms of travel for you. For me, because of my job, it is a zone 1 and 2 West Midland travel card. This enables me to get in and out of town from where we are but it also enables me to pay £1 for my husband to get in and out of town with me because we have a travel card.

A final idea is join a reading group and if there is not one nearby start one. I have been one as part of the last few churches I have been part of and have started one up for my neighbours in the vicar factory. If you choose books which have been out a while and which libraries will have too you can make these affordable.

 

 

 

There are loads of other things which people could tell me about and I hope they do. These are just a flavour of the things I've found out about whilst I've been here through keeping my eyes and ears open. I've really found out how the internet is your friend when you move to a new town.

As you can tell I am enjoying myself in Brum. My advice on how to survive becoming a “(trainee) clergy spouse” is to go and enjoy yourself. A new location is the gate way to a new adventure and getting out by yourself doesn’t mean being by yourself. 

BLF 3 - Reflection on Romany Story & Song and Somewhere in Between

So Tuesday saw me pop back down to the Studio Theatre in the Library of Birmingham for another night of lit, making use of the Literature Festival Pass I had purchased. On this occasion it was music and words - firstly from Sam Lee and Richard O’Neill with Romany Song and Story and then from Lauren Kinsella with Somewhere in Between. I came home with a head buzzing with thoughts, trying to make sense of the evening where I had very much felt both the insider and the outsider. As a result this piece is longer than a review would be and is much more of a reflection. Some of it will be descriptive of the event too because I want to distil the key things I heard.

To put my reactions to the Lee and O’Neill event in context I am not Romany but I am the child of a story teller. Over the years I have spent time at various festivals both as a child and adult listening to others chat and tell stories around campfires and tables; over morning coffee and late night whiskey and wine. Therefore this event which was chaired by Pete Lawrence who is co-founder of The Big Chill festival was one I was naturally attracted to.

Looking round it was noticeable the audience was smaller than on previous evenings and that there was a slightly different mix to it. It was more exclusively white and less clearly middle class whilst not being visibly working class. I suspect this may be in part because the evening’s events at the Library clashed with Cooked Up at the Ikon Gallery where a new short story collection was being discussed.

There was a palpably different tone to the evening. This event was not sponsored in the same way. When introducing and outlining the way the evening would work the chair didn’t seek to give their own mini-lecture rather he simply explained and then settled into the background. There was also not the shadow of the academy hanging over this event as there had been previous ones I’d been to. That is not to criticise the academic and intellectual nature of the other events, which I have really enjoyed, but it is to say this one was different. There was not that feeling of the academy and arts establishment seeking to maintain dominance either through coming in as “the experts” or using the event to seek to incorporate the activists.

During the event we were told something of the lives of Sam and Richard. Richard who is 53 talked about the changes he had witnessed within Romany life as a result of wider changes in society. As he spoke it made me think about things I had not thought about before including the impact of the 60’s building programmes on traditional ways of life.

Richard talked about the way in which stories were passed down whilst his family were making things. He also talked about the power of storytelling to bring people together. Within this section he referred to “Squegs” his word for all of those who feel like square pegs and who don’t quite fit in and how stories can help them. He then went on to tell a family story about how his great uncle had faced prejudice but not responded with the same kind of response and the impact of that. Within this he was showing how stories help pass down basic principles which do not change from age to age.

Sam then spoke about his own growing up life as a song collector and folk singer. He had grown up to a Jewish family in London and had his own story of separation as a result. He came from an green perspective talking about the relationship between story and song and the natural world.

Within his discussion of the folk collecting he said he was attracted not by the folk revival but rather by hearing the recordings of the original songs and he wanted to talk to those who had recorded them to find their stories. As part of this he has set up the Song Collectors Collective. His aim, he said, was to help a silenced community have the opportunity to be heard.

Richard then went on to paraphrase Bruce Springsteen when he said we live in a world where there are 200 channels but nothing on and stories are still relevant because they have something to speak into a society where this is real struggle for survival going on.

Pete moved the discussion on by talking about the Kerrville Festival in Texas and the power of the campfire. This led on to a really interesting discussion of the campfire and self-made entertainment. As they reflected on this I thought of the scene before me and the role of discussion as performance. It can sometimes be a competition and at other times it can be a clearly be a discussion of mutual respect. This was very much the latter and respect was extended to the audience as well. We were not considered the other in this setting.

The discussion then moved on to the passing down of tradition, which it was argued everybody has a duty to do. Richard then spoke about the way older people declutter and how in the travelling community generally people only travel with what they need. The most valuable thing in the world is your memories and they are what travel with you everywhere. They help you connect with people.

Respect for elders and for their stories was central to this event and what was being said. This related to the handing down too. The evening ended with Sam, who regards himself as an interpreter, singing The Moon Shone on My Bed Last Night which had been passed on to him. His performance of this song which he just leaned forward and sung was beautiful, haunting and wonderful.

This event hit me somewhere deep inside emotionally which art occasionally can. It also made me reflect anew on what it means to be a Methodist Local Preacher and part of a church community made up primarily of our elders. Is part of our role to gather their stories and pass them on as well as continuing to pass down the stories of the bible? It also made me reflect on my role within a faith community when Richard said, quoting somebody I didn’t catch, “tradition is tending the flame not worshipping the ashes”.

Then it was over and I was left with my enjoyment of the event. Seeing one of the people running the BLF I went over to enquire about something which had been bothering me since the night before when my ticket had been queried by somebody on the door – should I have some kind of lanyard type pass rather than my dog-eared ticket which was getting more worn by the day? The answer was yes and I discovered it was waiting for me at the box office. I realised that what I had taken to be an email advertising the festival, and so deleted without reading before the start was actually something which had been vital information. Due to deleting an email and emptying the trash so it was not retrievable I was not getting the full experience of the festival, which as a pass holder I was able to. For example I have no knowledge of extra events for pass holders which I guess related to that email.

Again this made me reflect. How much these days depends upon expecting and trusting emails? Do we dismiss too much by looking at the subject line of emails we don’t expect and making assumptions as to their use or otherwise?

Then we got to the second event Somewhere in Between with singer and composer Lauren Kinsella. First off I want to say that the quality of this was absolutely top class and the musicianship and acting was wonderful. However, art is a matter of taste and subjectivity. There is also a certain level of being able to fit in with the norms of the audience.

The evening began with a poem read by Peter Campion who had a wonderful Irish lilt and a suitably nonchalant manner in the telling of An Accommodation by Simon Armitage.

Then began the music. Now I have to say I like the more commercial end of jazz rather than the avant-garde. The first set of music was at the intersection between jazz, hippy and prog rock. This is probably as far away from my personal taste as you can get without veering into classical which I really struggle with. There were also unintelligible noises being made whilst clouds went across the back of the screen making it incredibly hippy trippy.

Now as I say the musicianship was wonderful and of the highest standard but Kinsella’s singing reminded me of the stranger bits of Bagpuss, a programme which had freaked me a bit as a child. I could imagine her as Emily.

The seriousness of the audience during a really funny poem was something I struggled with too. I wanted to laugh at this poem because it was clearly intended to be enjoyed and giggled at, but I couldn’t because I was in a very serious audience where it was clear this was not the done thing. On the basis of the above I decided to leave in the interval not because I felt as alien in this performance as I had felt at home in the first of the evening.

Bonfire Radicals Review

On a dismal Monday night I was one of the few who had ventured out to catch the Bonfire Radicals, a 6 piece folk outfit, playing in the bar of the Crescent Theatre in Birmingham. The quality of the hour and half set they played in this small venue, which is a bit like stage 2 of The Stables if you’re more familiar with that venue was high and it was really sad not more people had come out to hear it.

The stage was perhaps a little too small for this group who upon first sight look like they may have been formed in a school staff room. There was very little room for them to move about which was a pity as I think at times the jam feel that the two wind players had going on could have been developed further through the band if space had not dictated they effectively stood in two lines with the women at the front and men at the back with the drum kit somewhat dominating. Another problem was that the central mic at the front was necessarily high obscuring the somewhat vertically challenged lead singer.

Their opening tune Albino Peacock had a bit of a “Kentish country garden”  feel to it but I was glad to see that even with the small audience the band appeared to be really happy to be playing together.

Throughout the set it became clear that the band were playing a lot of their own material and they all contributed to the artistic process although Trevor the bass player and the fiddle player (whose name I didn’t catch) had written most. One of the running themes during the first half of the set was that Trevor had written a number of tunes inspired by place names in the vicinity of Stratford Upon Avon. The first one of these they played was Snitterfield. This had a beautiful wind section where the clarinet and recorder players were making some beautiful harmonies. Listening it felt you were almost drifting down the river on a summers day listening to it.

In this early part of the set the sound levels weren’t great and the bass and drums obscured Michelle’s vocals when she set aside her recorders to sing. As she began to sing the song moved into having a slightly melodramatic 80’s goth feel which was not unappreciated. The 3 women at the front all had angelic voices but again these were overpowered by the back line’s prog rock.

Lucy Hampton’s Wedding Day showed what a fresh, clear and glacial voice Michelle had & the sheer quality of great fiddle playing on display from the relatively young player.

Winter and Bonfire were perhaps my favourite tunes which turned into more hard-core dancey jigs where the players were bouncing off each other. There was unfortunately not enough of this faster stuff in what was a quality first half set which continued with a French set with a twist and a Left Hand Reel before moving on to the brilliantly named “Another Cup of Tea” and “Garlic and Brandy” – jigs which will be available on their new album due to be launched early next year.

The shorter second half had a couple of memorable moments including when Michelle played both descant and treble recorder together and Andy, the guitarist, played his instrument with a screwdriver in order to get some really atmospheric sounds. This was in the style of late 60’s, early ‘70’s trad folk where the emphasis was on strong, haunting vocals.

One of the recurring things I really liked about this band was the way they built up a layered sound on a few numbers. This produced a really strong and quite distinctive sound particularly when Michelle and Katie the wind players changed instruments within this to further enhance the layers.

Towards the second end of the set the Bulgarian influence which is within the band came through, partly in an unpronounceable number which in Bulgarian means little girl and also through Katie’s use of the Bulgarian kaval which is an instrument similar to a flute.

The drum seemed largely incidental apart from in Captain Frogbeard where the drum came to the fore.

I was somewhat dismayed at the end of the set when they played Coffee Countdown, written by Katie, and the Balkan Divorce Dance that they had not played more of this type of slightly anarchic Eastern European folk more. They were really good at it and I believe that it has much more to offer an audience than some of the more prog rock blandness which crept in at times and was only saved by the quality of the musicianship.

So was it a good night? Yes. Will I seek out this band, who I only discovered through typing in Google “music in Birmingham 5^th October” again? Definitely. Will I go to more stuff at The Crescent, a venue I only found via the same entry on my internet search? Oh yes, this arts centre style venue has a studio theatre which puts on a range of things and if last night was anything to go by whilst the bar prices are a little on the high side the ticket prices are very reasonable. 

Greenbelt Preview

Having downloaded the Daily Diary for Greenbelt here is my pick of the festival from Saturday to Monday, for some reason Friday evening appears to be missing from the document, which is a bit disappointing.

I’ll start with music and the Glade Stage on Saturday – Martyn Joseph is hosting The Rising there on Saturday afternoon. For those who aren’t familiar with this it’s where this talented and very established member of the folk community talks with other musicians about their work and influences. Both Martyn and the performers he is talking with play a bit too.

One of those Martyn will be talking to is Scott Matthews who has a smooth yet fairly melancholy voice. If you like Gaz Combes album Matador my guess is you’ll like to hear this this act.

Later on MOBO award winner Zara MacFarlane takes the stage with her haunting and beautiful jazz voice. For those who might not have heard of her if you enjoy the work of people like Leanne Le Havas you’ll love this.

Then the tempo changes for King Porter Stomp with their ska based mix of reggae and brass. This is good dancing music made for a festie stage and will be well worth going along to. These are my musical pick of the day.

There is a blast from the past when The Polyphonic Spree return to Greenbelt and the Glade on Saturday evening. They bring their weird and wonderful sound to the countryside and I suspect that will work well.

If you are looking for a bit of late night folkie weirdness then go no further than the Playhouse where The Revolutionary Army of theInfant Jesus will be playing some of their dark, haunting tunes. If you like Jaqui McShee and Pentangle then this will be your sort of thing.

The Canopy is a great stage for just discovering stuff if you sit there long enough. The only name from Saturday I am familiar with is Shlomo, the human beat box, who is doing a solo set which will be taking you back to the eighties.  

Best name of the day on that stage are Project JamSandwich. They are a crazy percussion and strings group who mix it up with influences from all over the place.

Duo Lew-Rey are playing this stage too on the Saturday evening. The duo play some chilled out modern electronic pop which is pleasant and will be good to sit and relax with if it’s fine weather.

Generally it appears that a lot of the music on Saturday will be quite hippy trippy stuff  Boat toRow on earlier on Saturday afternoon are another example of the circa 1970 revisited sound which will be coming from a number of the acts. Digitonal headlining the canopy stage on the Saturday evening keep this theme but take it in a different direction and if one listens to the sampler for their Beautifully Broken album you can hear how the chill out ambient sounds have a link back to the folk movement.

On Sunday the folk becomes popular as well as traditional as The Unthanks headline. Expect nothing but the best from them in terms of musicianship and look out for an interesting song about pigeons. (See my Cambridge Folk Festival Review)

Personally I would say if you want something with a bit more rhythm and far more exciting and a bit more messy stay up late on Sunday and go and see Ella and the Blisters who will be following the Unthanks with high voltage bluegrass. This lot seem like they’ll be much more fun and good to dance to. These I think are my musical pick of the festival.

Another act well worth catching across the festival is Tom Butler who is playing the Canopy on Saturday and the glade on Sunday. The lyrics of this guy are well worth listening to in numbers like Freedom.

Again there is lots more music on across at the Canopy including Greenbelt regular Iain Archer who is always worth a listen.

Moving on to the music on Monday there is what could be called a gathering of Greenbelt’s own on the Glade stage as the wonderful young urban folk singer Grace Petrie preceeds Martyn Joseph. Hopefully there will be a lot more of the political stuff in her set and a little less of the chat than last year. Having caught a little of Whatever's Left by Grace and the Benefits Culture, her fourth album, I think we'll hear some great things.

If you have never caught either of these two but you like the music and lyrics of people like Billy Bragg you must get yourself to listen to them. Yes, they do the odd “love song” in between but they both kick ass as political song writers.

It seems that if Saturday is the hippy trippy day then Monday is the day of the Greenbelt Family protest singer because in addition to the two mentioned above Garth Hewitt, (who I described back in the early 1990’s as sounding like a Christian Morrisey he was so miserable whilst being quite talented), kicks of the Canopy. For those unaware he has been a campaigner and member of the Greenbelt team one way or another for many years.

On the subject of the Greenbelt Family there has been a tradition of going into the pub for a sing-a-long every so often. I believe this may be happening on Monday evening about 7pm.

Moving away from the more familiar Coco and theButterfields who have a really good pop sound are worth a look. Their recent video for Hello was quite beautiful. They’re also on the Glade stage on Monday.

This is just a pick of some of the music, there is a lot to choose from. But Greenbelt is so much more than music in fact many people go and listen to the talks without ever getting to the music.

As I said previously my Daily Diary appeared to be missing Friday. I think, if I have it correct from Social Media, this is the evening Gemma Dunning will be doing a talk. Not sure which of the many topics she could be covering she’ll be talking about but it will include missional activity of one kind or another. She’ll be well worth a listen.

Greenbelt tends to get turbulent priests speaking and this year appears to be no different. Guardian Readers and others will be familiar with the work of Giles Fraser. He is a good, if somewhat polemic speaker and love it or loathe it you’ll not be board with what he says.

If you want a gentler yet at times just as radical voice from another well spoken Anglican priest Lucy Winkett who is talking on Reading the Bible With Your Feet will be worth a listen.

Both of them are on the Glade stage in the morning. Carrying on the theme of high profile Anglican clergy the points value goes up when Kate Bottley joins up with Giles Fraser and pop star turned priest Richard Coles for a panel on Twitter Vicars and the Sacrament of Social Media in the Pagoda. I suspect this will actually be worth listening to, if nothing more than for the fact Kate Bottley is a great woman who says it like it really is and doesn’t do pretention at all. She has her own slot on the Glade Stage on Monday morning talking about being the Goggle Box Vicar.

One great thing about Greenbelt is they are never afraid of dealing with issues which might be considered as too hot to handle by other conferences and festivals which have a high number of Christians attending. This year is no different as amongst the events on Saturday in the Treehouse are Thou Shall Not be Overcome: LGBT People, Our Allies and the Christian Church which has Ruth Hunt who is the Chief Exec of Stonewall speaking. Her talk is followed by three people talking about The Real Benefits Street and that in turn is followed by a talk on Primania: How’s Paying for your clothes with Katherine Maxwell-Cook.

Sunday provides a couple of interesting talks following each other in the Pagoda as Katherine Welby Roberts and Matt Haig discuss reasons to Stay Alive before theologian Marika Rose discusses Angels and Cyborgs.

Katherine Welby Roberts is also in the Treehouse talking about Life Doesn’t Come with A Bow. Again it is one of a range of interesting talks which will be occurring in there facing the issues the church doesn’t always want to. Asylum and Exile: Voices of Refugees is one of the other talks in there.

Monday is the day anybody who didn’t catch his great interview on Radio Two’s Good Morning Sunday a few months ago can hear Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow talk about the Shed which fed a Million Children. This will be well worth a listen.

I realise I could through the whole programme but this gives a flavour and some tips of things I think will be worth catching music and talks wise.

There are a couple of other things I want to signpost too before I finish.

The first is American performance artist, theologian and activist Peterson Toscano who will be bringing his Gender Outlaws in the Bible: A Theatrical, Theological Expose back to Greenbelt. He is also touring round different parts of the UK including London, Liverpool, Birmingham and Belfast and will be well worth seeing if you can, even if you can’t get to Greenbelt. Tenx9 is back on Saturday too. This year people will be invited to tell their own stories, for ten minutes, on the topic of power.

The other is the worship. There is a lot of worship that takes place at Greenbelt. Some of it is aimed at specific groups who often come together as a kind of subset of family at Greenbelt. The Outerspace and Goth Eucharists are both in the Treehouse this year on Saturday evening. I cannot begin to explain what the significance of the former has been in my own life – just to say there is something very moving about coming together and realising you are not alone.

Whilst I know people have various views on the Festival Communion service on the Sunday morning down by the main stage, this year the Glade stage, I have always found it to be moving…although some years conducted in a way which is better than others in terms of being able to worship to.

So those are my recommendations for the weekend. For the first time in about 15 years I (most probably) won’t be there because of other commitments. However, as I’ve written this for you and particularly people who might be first timers or just thinking about going. Greenbelt is a special place and it holds an incredibly special place in my heart. As somebody I know once said to me ‘it’s one of the places as a gender queer, gay, atheist, anarchist I’ve felt most at home and safe’.  That’s not because Greenbelt, despite what the critics sometimes suggest, is a liberal den of non-belief but it is because it is a welcoming festival for all of some belief or none.