Gig 3 Cara Luft with Hugh McMillan at the Iron Works Oswestry. 12th November 2008
Attendance: 50
Price: £5
My Location: 3 rows from front

Record Recommendation: Bad: U2.

On my way to Oswestry, the U2 song Promenade from the Unforgettable Fire album was going through my head, in particular the line “words that build or destroy”. Wow, with profound lyrics like that, I thought it would be worth recommending as my song of the fortnight. However, after listening to it, I flicked to Bad, and realised that this would be my recommendation, and that I wouldn’t write about Promenade! Not because Promenade isn’t good; it’s very good, but it is eclipsed by the seminal piece of music named Bad. From the opening chords it is set apart from the crowd, even on an album as good as Unforgettable, it stands out. On this track Bono doesn’t do his reputation for having one of the finest vocal ranges in music any harm. It is sung and played with a passion rarely heard, I just love the bass, and Larry Mullen’s tom work too. I guess it’s because of the ability to produce records of this quality that U2 were the world’s greatest band for a long time- possibly the greatest ever. A bold statement, I know, but there are people out there that think the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Inxs and REM at one stage could lay claim to that title (including Michel Stype, who had ambitions to write the world’s best album). I’m sorry, but until they can come up with anything to match Bad, they’ll be footnotes to the true Greats. Please listen to the track- I might just be a grumpy ole man who needs to get off his soap box- but I’ll need a very long ladder to descend from this one.

Another busy week is over, unfortunately a rock and roll legend won’t be seeing in any more. News that Mitch Mitchell passed away at the age 61 reaches the airwaves on 12th November. Of course he’ll be remembered for accompanying Hendrix for a few heady years, in revolutionary age that most people (including yours truley) have only witnessed through grainy Woodstock, and Isle of Wight festival footage. Mitch’s departure even made it onto the Today Show on Radio 4. Luke Lewis, editor of NME, and Nico McBrain, Iron Maiden drummer, paid tribute to Mitchell’s skills as percussionist, and rock star. The discussion even lead Evan Davis one of the show’s hosts, to declare they “don’t make drummers like they used to”. I expect this was acompanied by a perfectly in-time collective sharp intake of breath from the likes of Mark Brzezicki, Chris Sharrock (who’s been mentioned earlier), and countless other drummers in up and coming bands.

I suppose in some respects, there is truth in what he said. There aren’t many drummers in modern bands that, like Ginger Baker, John Bohnam, Keith Moon, and Mitchell, who are stars in their own right. This has probably something to do with the more modest era we live in. As was mentioned in the interview, the sticks men of yesteryear would indulge themselves somewhat with their solos, with some lasting up to 30 minutes! Bands just couldn’t get away with that sort of stuff these days- especially as it would have to be followed by the bass solo! Nico, rather apologetically almost, said that he’d once performed a 20 min solo. He followed this up by saying that these days Maiden would rather chuck in 4 songs instead.

A band that had the balance right, in my opinion, was Marillion, under Fish. Each member was given 8 bars to show off- no messing around, straight in, straight out. Listen to Market Square Heroes on Real to Real for an example. Because, let’s face it, the punter wants to see a bit of showmanship, they want to see the musicians perform; but not get bored to tears. Enough said, except for raise a glass to Mitch when you get the chance.

If you were in Waterloo underground on Saturday 15th Nov, and you heard a couple of buskers plying their trade, that would have been me and my busking buddy Lambert. He does all the complicated stuff like sing, play guitar and harmonica, and I bang the bongos. It’s a great way to spend an afternoon if you’re a musician who, like I do, need some practise in front of an audience. Since Biggs started his secondment, I haven’t played in a pub, and to avoid getting too rusty, the busking suits me. I love the way people, especially kids, respond to live music. Some youngsters skip and dance along, others clap in time, sometimes people even pay hard cash when they hear it. It is difficult to predict which song will earn you the most. Last time our money spinner was California Dreaming, we played it twice yesterday, and it raised a pitiful amount, whereas 8 Days a Week, which hardly raised a penny last time, had people filling up the collecting hat like the recession was at an end. I suppose the main thing is to enjoy the experience and not to expect any money. With yesterday’s earnings I thought I could retire, unfortunately it didn’t take long for it to disappear into the till of the Fire Station hostelry around the corner from Waterloo!

Let me now tell you about the Cara Luft gig. She is an award winning Canadian singer song writer who used to be in the Wailing Jennys (or is it Whaling Jennys- you can’t tell with folk). She is touring the UK, with Hugh McMillan, promoting her new album The Light Fantastic. Our paths crossed at the Ironworks in Oswestry.

The Ironworks isn’t a folk club, but a live music venue. There were no volunteers setting up chairs, or handing out flyers- I’ll come on to that later, so it lacked that warm welcome I’ve become acoustomed to on my short tour. That’s not to say the staff weren’t friendly, ‘cause they were, but the evening was about the business, not the love of folk. The ‘works building reminds me somewhat of the Maltings in Farnham. It has the potential to be like the Maltings, and become the focal point of the community. If it is run correctly, the place could quite easily host acting workshops, antique sales, and craft fayers amongst other activities, and stand out as top venue for live acts in that part of the country. As Cara said, it was the best venue she had played in so far. Here I must mention that it had the best sound I’ve heard in a long while- all credit to Alled who engineered it by making repeated visits around the room to ensure it was perfect. Another thing going for the place is that you can get a pint of blackcurrant and soda for 20, yes 20 pence.

Cara’s music and singing was relaxing. If I was listening to it in the car, I would have wanted to take my foot off the gas, pull over and chill. Like a lot of the other folk artists I’ve seen recently, she is very witty and a good story teller. I also liked the way she threw her arms up and sang Laaah after a couple of her songs.

Being a Canadian, she’s obviously used to big scenery, and the spirit was captured particularly well in the songs Town of Wilcox, and The Light, both written when she was staying with a nun in the middle of Saskatchewan. McMillan alternated between mandolin, and bass. It acted in exquisite balance to Cara’s vocals and guitar, and he did play some neat riffs. I’m starting to appreciate the sound of the bass a lot more now than I used to. This could probably be down to the fact that I don’t hear it very much on the live arena due to genre I’m following at the moment, so when I do, I really like it.

The two were very good at ending a song. This might sound like a simple task to some, but in my experience, an audience can forgive a poor song if it has a good ending. This is because they will forget the rest of the song. Their endings didn’t mask over poor songs though, they enhanced what were already beautiful tunes. Other songs that stood out were Bonny Light Horseman, You’re no Friend of Mine, and Down the River. Despite the late start (it didn’t kick off until 9:40) I had a great evening in Oswestry. I liked the venue- it’s one I could see the Woodcuts playing in, the sound quality, Hugh’s musicianship, and I loved Cara’s songs, and her charm. Take yourself along to see her if you can- like me, I’m sure you’ll have a great time.

Where to next? As I mentioned, no flyers were given out, so I grabbed a copy of Maverick Magazine that was lying around. It had no gigs which tied with my schedule- honestly. I thought I could see Keith James and Rick Foot at the Clapham Picture House on the 23rd, but that is the day I return from my next holiday, so I’ll be too late to see them. I have, however got a copy of the free Folk Diary in front of me, and the 1st gig I can go to is...... Tich Frier at the Croydon Folk Club on 24th Nov.

So, it is with great pleasure that I will be visiting Croydon.

Mark.