Haddaway, gan on. Why, man, what yer deein'?

[venta]

These are a little late, but bear with me. I might even get round to writing about New Zealand one of these days.

Having lamented not being able to attent March's Naked - featuring Kathryn Williams, of whom I'd never heard - I was vaguely surprised to turn up at the Spring Thing festival and find she was playing there as well.

Now, it seems that on Kathryn Williams' rider is, not unreasonably, some bottled water. When we turned up at the venue on Friday evening it seemed that this had not - despite repeated requests over a period of hours - been forthcoming. At this point, I reckon her tour manager has a right to get angry and demand action. However, in my book he does not have the right to wander out into the foyer among the paying punters, act like an out-of-control three year old having a tantrum, harangue people at random and reduce one of the festival's other artists to tears.

So I wasn't predisposed to like Kathryn Williams by the time I got into the theatre. I did at least go in, however, unlike several people who'd been so utterly unimpressed with the whole business they elected to boycott the concert altogether.

Local singer Flossie Malavialle (she's from the French-speaking part of Darlington, it's a long story) was providing support for the concert and I have to say, she's still great. I don't think she writes songs, but she choose her covers from a wide range (Piaf, Janis Joplin, local folksingers, traditional French) and seems to have recently furnished herself with a top-notch guitar player. She seems to be touring all over the show at the moment, so if you fancy some pleasant acoustic singing and hearing the wonders of the French-Darlington accent, check her out.

I tried to be fair to Kathyrn Williams, but my heart wasn't really in it. I think the best I can do is say that she does what she does well, I just don't like it very much. She has quite a quiet, breathy voice and seems to be permanently stuck in "mellow". I'd file her under "needs a rocket up her" - although that would land her in the box with Kate Rusby and Richard Thompson, and it hasn't done their careers any harm.

She sang one song built up out of percussion and vocal loops which I quite enjoyed, but for the rest it just didn't excite me. If you like quiet, traumatised and occasionally heartbroken female singers, she'd probably be right up your alley.
Fast forward to the next day and, instead of flogging raffle tickets on the theatre door I'm trying to explain to people in the smaller garden bar why they have a ticket but no seat. Search me. You sell 100 tickets, you put out 100 chairs... unless you're Darlington Arts Centre, who think 80 chairs will be just dandy. Cue enraged members of the general public. Who also think it's too hot in the small bar (damn right, but the most we can do is prop the doors open). And who think that an 8pm Jez Lowe concert should have him on stage before 9:45, and who to they complain to about the misrepresentation in calling it a Jez Lowe concert...

And so on. Stewarding may well get me a free ticket, but next time I think I'll just pay the damn six quid.

Firstly, it's not every day you go to a concert compered by the World Spoons Champion. He's a guy called Bertie Draycott, and is an old-school entertainer, telling long rambling stories in a thick Durham accent. I have to say, that mostly his stories aren't quite funny enough for their length, but I'll happily admire him as a museum piece. And he's not bad on the spoons.

He introduced a volley of short support turns - Hambones, who do music hall-style stuff and their own songs. Richard Moon, who turned out to be a serious-faced young guitarist and singer. His programme was varied, including a surprise cover of Only You, by the Flying Pickets. Sad Pig, who were probably lovely but I was downstairs comiserating with Sarah who was having a thoroughly crap weekend and missed them.

If you've grown up on the NE folk scene[*], going to hear Jez Lowe is a bit like going to see an Oscar Wilde play. It's full of bits you kind of know already. He wrote about half of the songs now sung as traditional in and around Durham. I've known many of the songs for years, but have never actually managed to see him live (so it was just as well I wasn't checking on the door at the point he came in - I did wonder why no one asked the tall, scruffy guy for a ticket).

If I wanted someone to read me a bedtime story (and Maxi Jazz was busy) I'd be tempted to ask Jez Lowe. He has the sort of Durham accent I'd happily listen to all day (for foreign viewers, it's a sort of softer version of Geordie). Many of his songs are based on places or events where I grew up, and even the CDs of his I have make me feel vaguely homesick.

I never fail to be impressed by people who can stand alone on a stage, with nothing but a guitar for company, and hold an audience spellbound. If they can make you laugh as well, all the better :)

[*] Which, I realise, is at most about 3 people who might be reading this, and probably fewer.

Comments

[venta.livejournal.com]

I have to say, I'm not sure which version I know. I did a quick google to try and work out who it was by, since I had no real clue.

I think I know it off an 80s best-of a friend had in university, so I probably don't know the original.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

The Flying Pickets is a bunch of blokes singing a cappella, the Yazoo is a woman (Alison Moyet) singing to a plinky-plonky synthesizer backing, if that helps...

It seems they were #1 in 83 and #2 in 82 respectively, so either might qualify for an 80s best-of! (Hmm, I wonder if there are many other songs that have had a cover so soon after and both versions been that successful in the charts?)

[onebyone.livejournal.com]

Did "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" have a re-release and a cover in the charts at the same time many years ago?

Not the same thing, but sort of vaguely similar.

[undyingking.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's more common I think, eg. IIRC Unchained Melody had a reissue and two covers which were all decent hits close together, after it was used in Ghost. I think that sort of thing counts less, though, because the song was already a proven hit with legs, from its original original version -- covering a new hit much more risky, you'd think.