Show of Hands get Saturday's crowds on their feet at Sidmouth Folk Week
Sidmouth Folk Week 2010 review
Wednesday 18th August 2010
Each afternoon the Ham Marquee becomes the 'Ham Marquee Hobgoblin Stage', and is home to a series of concerts sponsored by Hobgoblin. The Jim Moray Acoustic Trio open proceedings on Saturday afternoon, with a varied and well received set. It begins with a ghost story, offers a couple of old favourites, of which 'Early One Morning' stands out for being particularly eerie and dramatic. Some some new songs are showcased too; a lively version of 'Rufford Park Poachers' being particularly well received, though in terms of audience reaction, Jim's version of 'Poverty Knock' seemed to be a highlight for many.
Mawkin:Causley are up next. Its a mellow start, but the audience are quickly roused by 'The Lollipop Man', containing enough double entendres to make Sid James blush. Jim' voice is never short on drama and the band are ever versatile as evidenced by the tunes that they play when Jim leaves them to it, mid set. He returns with a song in Welsh which was apparently a 'smash hit from 1453.' The encore is a drinking song, and we all join in.
The presence of Show of Hands in the evening concert ensures that long queues form early around the Ham Marquee. Before that though, Megan & Joe Henwood offer very capable support. Their choice of material: 'Love Broke my Heart' about relationship disasters, the unaccompanied 'Honest Song' and the 'non preachy protest song', 'Making Waves' seem uniquely suited to Megan's intimate and slightly sultry delivery.
Sam accompanies mostly on guitar, and occasionally on a seventy six year old saxophone which gets its own round of applause. Despite the relatively early slot, Megan and Joe's set is suffused with a clubby, late night intimacy: not easy to achieve in a packed marquee of fifteen hundred. The audience is ever attentive, and the best reaction is for The White Hare perhaps because of the introductory tale which involves a shape shifting witch.
It all means that Show of Hands arrive to an audience which is warm, attentive and used to entertainment of the highest quality. Steve Knightley appears first. He sings unaccompanied until first Phil Beer, then finally Miranda Sykes appear.
Phil's rendition of 'Innocent's Song' is a genuine goosebumps moment. It's a slow and patient build up, but by the third number, the anthemic 'Country Life' the crowd is lively and involved, singing and clapping along with gusto. As always, the band's musicianship is first rate, Phil being particularly impressive, seamlessly swapping instruments mid-song. 'Cousin Jack' sounds particularly poignant tonight as does 'Santiago'. The Dive is received with hushed respect, perhaps because we have all learned that it is a true story. The biggest cheer goes to 'Arrogance, Ignorance and Greed' and once we've heard the 'Falmouth Packet' and 'Roots', we are on our feet. We get a new song for the encore, 'Now You Know'. Its Steve's attempt to write a radio friendly love song, devoid of West-Country references. He fails miserably but no one minds.
review by James Creaser photos by Eve Mathews /James Creaser
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