Marc:

I have to say that I find a little odd what you seem to be suggesting in your post, i.e. that it takes more "chops" to sing a high energy shanty than a slow song. In fact, the opposite is true. A quieter, more reflective type of song is harder to bring off. You still have to cut the room, but you have to do it at something less than full volume. Tonal quality is more important and phrasing is trickier.

I would also respectfully suggest that a quiet song doesn't have to be lacking in energy, and can get the whole room involved, as long as it's well sung, e.g. Time Ashore, which somebody did on Saturday night.

In any case, although the energy might have been lacking in some of the sessions in previous years, I don't think it was this year. The German Club sessions had the best singing I've ever heard at a festival. I doubt there was more than 30 seconds delay between songs from the time people started piling in to the hall until they kicked us out at 1.30 in the morning.

The YTB was great too.

Edmund