Gig 8 Mick Ryan and Paul Downes

Gig 8 Mick Ryan and Paul Downes. 23rd January 2009
The Ram Club
Portsmouth Road
KT7 OHB

Attendance: 100
Price: £10
My Location: 5 rows from the front

Record Recommendation: Hard Travelling: Dave Sharp.

After the break up of the best band ever, the Alarm, the band’s axe man- Dave Sharp- changed his style from “punk folk rock” (my definition of the music) to American folk rock. A subtle change in the naming convention; a dramatic change in his sound. It’s a style that gained him a few new fans, but not the following, and success, in terms of audience numbers, enjoyed by the band’s lead singer Mike Peters. Peters (who remains a hero and inspiration to many, including the writer of this blog) continued on the “punk folk rock” path satisfying his loyal fans, and brought in new tracks with the same theme to attract new ones. I suppose Sharp could have carried on his career in the same vein, and played the same genre Peters was, but would the demand for two competing musicians have allowed this? If, like Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, who tried to go head to head with Dave Gilmour after that band’s acrimonious split, the answer has to be no. I'm sure that wasn't Sharp's reason for not going that route though. In the ‘90s, a bitter Waters was lamenting the fact that while he played to 6000 people in a 10,000-seat arena, Gilmour was playing his (Waters’) songs to 50,000 in the stadium in the next town!

Hard Travelling is a Dylan, Guthrie inspired song played in a melodic tone, with words that will strike a chord with even the hardest of listeners. It’s a song that takes you, as its title would suggest, on a journey, subtly describing its course and the guardian watching over you. The song is beautiful and powerful, and wants to be reached out and touched, its brilliance leaving it just out of reach.

The first time I heard Hard Travelling was while watching Sharp in 2002 at the Plug and Play in Reading, at what turned out to be number 4 in my favourite gigs of all time. Trying to find the venue proved to be a challenge, but like the Barge mentioned in a previous blog, it was definitely worth persevering in trying to find. The main reason I located it, was because I could hear Sharp sound checking from the building in a row of garages in an industrial estate. The club was miniscule, and the 25 strong crowd that turned up to watch the show almost sold the place out. Looking at their new website, it looks as if they've changed location since my visit. I think even Sharp himself was surprised at the intimacy of the place. The reason it is number 4 in my all time favourite gigs is difficult to pin down, one is because the location was so different from all the other concerts I had been to at that time. The small audience of die-hard fans who had made the effort to turn up also impressed me. At big concerts you quite often get hangers on who are there because they have nothing better to do on the evening. They chat throughout the show, go to the bar far too frequently, and don’t appreciate the gravity of the evening. There was none of this behaviour at the Plug. The clincher for me was being so close to such an amazing artist- someone who is at the top of their game, who has played in front of 40,000 people! The crowning glory was the expectant hush that came over the audience when Sharp struck the opening chords of Hard Travelling, and the roar of approval at its conclusion.

The last time I heard the song live was in 2006 at the Killingworth Castle Inn; a venue the Woodcut Process were very privileged to play at a few months later. The audience on that occasion was very different to the patriotic crowd of the Plug and Play, but even they could sense something special was on the way when Hard Travelling was played.

This week has seen the passing away of two of the more accessible stars of the modern era. I’m not really qualified to eulogise on either so will put down highlights from interviews on the characters. Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records who signed John Martin, said of him he influenced amongst others, U2 and Bob Marley. When Blackwell took Marley to see Martin, from his back-stage position, he kept pulling the curtains back and looking on to see where Martin’s backing was. Marley couldn’t believe that the man was playing solo! Blackwell described Martin as a man of extremes, his voice was gruff and scary, also soft and gentle; he was an angel and a tyrant.

The second loss is that of Test Match Special statisticianist “the Bearded Wonder” Bill Frindall. According to one commentator, who will get the final word, Frindall was as much a part of the show as “Aggers, pigeons, and chocolate cake”.

Last Friday, I went for the first time to the Ram Club. I was ignorant to its proximity to my house, and future trips there may be under taken on the push bike so I can sample one or two of the fine bottled ales the bar stocks. The 2007 BBC folk club of the year has recently changed venues, and is now located at the Old Cranleighan rugby clubhouse. The regulars encouraged a relaxed atmosphere that made me feel most welcome, and it wasn’t long before I was chatting to the couple sitting next to me. I told them all about the Woodcut Process, and my mission around folk venues. In return they tipped me off to the Footlights club in West Chiltington.

The music soon kicked off with compare for the evening, Ian, singing his song about the Ram moving locations, called New Beginnings. The atmosphere was such that people started singing along- an occurrence that happens too infrequently as I think I mentioned in a previous blog. After the song, he joked, with sincerity, he was hoping to win 2009 folk club of the year. From what I have seen on my tour, The Ram must be in contention. Next week’s awards will tell. Charles took the next floor spot from Wimbledon. He sang two of his own tracks including Living Dummy, about the hardships of life. He struck a couple of bum notes on the guitar, but to be fair the lad had a pretty good voice.

As I frequently confess, I am a new comer to the magnificent world of folk, and am ignorant to many of its players. On the floor next came Heather and Paul. Heather sang Farewell My Son from the folk musical the Navvy’s Wife. I was really impressed at how at ease they were in front of the large crowd, and especially with Paul’s easy guitar, which sounded awesome. It was only when Paul was joined on stage by Mick Ryan for the main act, that I realised he was Paul out of Mick Ryan and Paul Downes!

I enjoyed the control in Mick’s voice as they opened with The Grand Conversation. This was followed by Reprisals, with its very traditional sound, from his show The Voyage. Then to show we are all human, Mick forgot a verse in Young Men All. I have chastised Biggs a couple of times for forgetting words on stage, and like Downes reminding Ryan of their order, I have had to prompt the lad too! Despite the mid-tune hiccup, Young Men All was finished expertly with a rousing crescendo.

Paul picked up the banjo for the next song- Land of Cockayne, which sounded sweet as a nut! This was followed by another track from the Navvy’s Wife: Farewell. As expected it was a beautifully melancholy song about a mother’s good-bye to her son.

The songs were interspersed with some good old-fashioned banter. Subject matters included the state of Paul’s car, the vocabulary of the youth of today, and the merits of shopping at Lidl. Downes did excuse those who had never heard of Lidl as we were in Surrey after all! Mick Ryan strikes me as a truthful man, the fact that he is a part-time teacher suggests he is trustworthy- to a point! If he told me a tale, nine times out of ten, I would believe it. I’m sure that most people would concur with me. I think that he doesn’t believe the majority of people trust him- before most of his anecdotes; he said, “this is true…” Mick, we do believe you.

Before the interval, the catchy Lazy Man, which featured some great guitar, and Lark Above the Downs were played. Lark is a reminisce about war in the trenches. Ryan showed us the power and control of his voice in this one; he held the note wonderfully in what was a very touching song.

Bob Wood singing about Rabbie Burns on the floor followed the interval. Alan and Carol Pryor were up next sing Davie Steele’s Last Trip Home, acappello style. The rendition received the largest round of all the floor acts that evening, and well deserved too I thought. Jim Merry followed this tough act competently, before making way for Ryan and Downes’ second half.

They opened with The Foe from a Hard Day’s Work. Paul Downes excelled himself on guitar during this song. He did actually command the songs more in the second half than the first; I for one, really appreciated his musicianship. They sang a Frampton song (the name, like the words to Young Men All escaping Ryan, evade me) during which I’m sure I could see smoke billowing from the strings of Downes’ guitar, he played so hard! Other songs they played included the Sleep of Death, and Geevor Tin Mine, which is played to the tune of Joni Mitchell’s The Light. Geevor Tin Mine featured great harmony and showed the versatility of the band.

The Bell Ringing song painted a picture of a traditional British country fayer. For some reason the words “a hat laced with gold” appealed to me. Downes excelled on the banjo for this one. Ryan and Downes saved the best song until last with Thomas Brassey. This was a cracker played at a “railway temp”, with overlapping vocals. The song was a foot stomping, show stopping treat for the good audience at the Ram. Before they left the stage, Ryan complemented the organisers, and echoed Ian’s words about Club of the Year, and said, “it’s the hard workers that make a club what it is”. The encore followed and was a tongue in cheek song about the virtue of the pig- read my opinion of funny songs in me last blog.

I very much enjoyed my debut visit to the Ram, and the music I heard that night, I look forward to my next visit. On to more urgent matters. The only flyers the club had to hand, apart from their own were ones for Twickenham, and Croydon- clubs I am all too familiar with. So, on the recommendation of the couple I was sitting next to at the Ram, I am going to the Footlights club to see a certain Phil Beer on 7th Feb.

Am looking forward to seeing you there. Mark.