Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff

Subject: Review:Sidmouth - Good stuff and not so good stuff
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Aug 04 - 06:50 PM

Hi, we just got back today.

Which acts did everyone enjoy and who do you wish you hadn't bothered seeing?

Our faves were John Tams and Barry Coope, Tony Benn and Roy Bailey, and we quite liked The Fagans and Danu as well.

And we think Angus Lyon and Ruaridh Campbell were good on Sunday night in the Ham supporting Danu, and we don't normally like tunes. We'd seen Angus before in a more contemporary band, but it shows that he's very versatile and him and Ruaridh looked very chuffed at the reception they got, which was nice to see.

Can't say we were too keen on the monks from Tibet though, and that big horn thing just sounded like someone had been eating too many baked beans.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Ned Ludd
Date: 08 Aug 04 - 04:52 AM

Liked Pete Coe, Morris offspring, Steeleye Span,Chris Wood, amd the play- A poor mans house. Didn't get to see Ralph...Was working.
Oh...and the street juggler and Kendricks ice cream.
Oh... and Sheffield City Giants...Etc.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Seaking
Date: 08 Aug 04 - 05:08 AM

Steeleye were superb, Kate Rusby - FAR too loud (especially first half), Ralph - never really got going, Doghouse Skiffle - brilliant. Quiz at the Bedford -Hilarious. Highlight was The Oysterband at the LNE, joined by Show Of Hands and Eliza Carthy at one point - an unforgettable night.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: AggieD
Date: 08 Aug 04 - 08:47 AM

Got home yesterday & had a fabulous time, but am completey exhausted & need a holiday!

I just loved singing in the festival choir & felt very priviledged to be able to stand up on stage in the lunchtime concert on friday & sing my heart out with so many other great voices.

The songlinks was a superb concert, & thoroughly enjoyed the Waterson family concert, although I would really have liked to hear a little bit more of their younger members.

Agree about Kate Rusby. We were really disappointed that the sound levels on her mike were wrong, & we were nearly deafened by the imbalance on the sound, which was a real pity.

Loved hearing the wealth of new talent that was there, as Martin Carthy & Norma Waterson pointed out at the last night's concert, a few years ago there were relatively few young people coming into the folk world, but now there seem to be lots of them.

Sometimes we just wondered round the town, poking our heads into various venues just for the joy of hearing music & song & laughter everywhere.

A simply unforgetable festival.

Although we probably won't make Sidmouth a priority for next year's festival choice, we certainly hope that something will happen. It is always such a shame when any festival whether large or small dies, for whatever reason.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: GUEST,Paul Dennant
Date: 08 Aug 04 - 10:43 AM

I had a great time the Waterson gig was outstanding. I agree that Kate R and John T where both to loud (Kate R's show had feed back from the bass almost all the time). I note that both shows brought their own sound techs with them. Over all the sound from the festivals crew was great.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: MBSLynne
Date: 08 Aug 04 - 11:36 AM

Sorry, didn't see anyone. Middle Bar was great!!!! Singing in the sea was brilliant. There were other personal highlights that not many of you would have participated in

Love Lynne

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 08 Aug 04 - 02:24 PM

Well, Tibetan Monks aren't stadium rock items anyway, so I gave their Arena appearance a miss and caught up with them in other venues, and was very glad I did. Great sound, really wakes you up if you're meditating a bit heavily, and brings you back into the here and now. I think that's more or less the idea.

Highlights for me were the Bacup Coconut Dancers, and the Czechs, with their musicians effortlessly swinging into a Mozart dance tune in the middle of a set, and then back out again. And a seagull dancing along on the roof of a tent along with them.

And a trio with pipes and fiddle playing under a yew tree in the churchyards. No idea who they were, just part of the Sidmouth dreamtime.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Aug 04 - 03:16 PM

Highlights for me were Black Swan Rapper in the LNE with their glowy swords, and Blackadder Rapper & Step on rollerskates in the procession. Also Ricardo Tesi and Banditaliana at the Ham, and a 12 year old lad busking beatbox with nothing but his mouth and a microphone on the front. Mum's highlight was Jim Causley's singing, but I missed him unfortunately. I'll catch up with him at the next one...
:-)
xx eliza

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: fiddler
Date: 08 Aug 04 - 03:20 PM

Best Camp site Sessions in yearz or ever even. Was worth staying up for - who need sex anyway!!

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 08 Aug 04 - 03:34 PM

The celebration of 50 years of Morris dancing at Sidmouth in the Blackmore Gardens marquee on Sunday was ace. Chris Smither in the Ham Marquee on Tuesday was pretty ace too. I heard Jim Causley in the Welcome Sing on the Saturday, and in the Songlinks 2, and we shanghaied him to sing in the Theatre Bar when he popped in for some food - he's definitely worth catching up with.

Kitty

PS Nancy Kerr performing a Cheeky Girls number in the Folk Quiz was also a highlight, but we're not supposed to tell anyone....

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: GUEST,GUEST Gillian W
Date: 08 Aug 04 - 07:15 PM

I went to see Pete Coe at The Bedford Hotel who was wonderful as always. And he was followed by an amazing singer & songwriter called Reg Meuross. He sang the most beautiful songs, each one was a gem. The best original English music I've heard for years. I couldn't help thinking he should have been in one of the larger venues, but then i suppose some of the intimacy would have been lost.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Dave Bryant
Date: 09 Aug 04 - 06:43 AM

Linda & I had a wonderful time - all of it at the fringe events. It was great to see that there were so many more of these for singers than there were the last time that I was there in 1981. In fact it was the proliferation of non-singer friendly instrumental sessions in 1977 that prompted some of us to start the session in the Anchor which two years later officially became the MBS.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: treewind
Date: 09 Aug 04 - 07:52 AM

Can't comment on much of it having been there only Sunday afternoon and Monday and preoccupied with Song Links for much of that, but I have to agree with Eliza (or was it her mum) that Jim Causley's singing was a real discovery.

Together with Emily Portman and Lauren McCormick, two much younger performers whose names I forget (at the Arts Centre concert on Sunday night), and the likes of Hekety/Crucible who I've seen elsewhere and many others, the folk scene seems to be getting flooded with young talent and looking very healthy generally.

Verity Sharp's piece on R3 Saturday afternoon, about the youthful English ceilidh scene around the dance house and LNE, was also remarkably positive and accurate for a piece of broadcast journalism about English folk music. I wasn't there for any of that this year, but imagine it was like recent years I've seen.

Anahata

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: *Laura*
Date: 09 Aug 04 - 08:18 AM

I didn't get to see a lot - but I thought Spiers and Boden were great - they seemed like they were just havig a laugh. And Black Swan Rapper at the LNE was fantastic - and at the stall!

laura xx

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: GUEST
Date: 09 Aug 04 - 08:56 AM

I was at Sidmouth with a band playing for social dancing in the Blackmore dance marquee, Church House Lawn and one ceilidh in the Anchor Garden. This left time to see some other event but I also missed other I would have like to see like Band Italiana.

I did see Steeleye Span - not a highlight for me, perhaps the choice of material.
The Waterson Family - 10 out of 10.
John Kirkpatrick and Hugh Rippon in conversation - brilliant.
The launch of the Old Swan Band new CD - worth buying.
Will Duke demonstrating and teaching the tunes and techniques of Scan Tester on anglo concertina.
I played for one of the jigs in the Morris Jig competition, no expectation of winning but great to see the other entrants.
I was on the beach when the MBS entered the sea singing "We're bound for South Australia" - most of them didn't make it.
Thanks to Hammersmith Morris for easing our car and equipment through the crowds in to the Anchor Gardens despite those "helpful" people telling us it was a one way street and pedestrians only (read the sign!).

Of the dances we played for - Gene Murrow, a caller from the states, came up with dances in the English style invented in the states and favourite English dances as performed in the states. He also played in with us on concertina and recorder to great effect. His dances did not conform to the stereotypical Playford image.

Beryl Dukes called for a "Golden Hour" and chose a great list of traditional dances from Dorset Four Hand to the Washington Quickstep for a full house. Beryl was at the first Sidmouth festival 50 years ago as a dancer in the Conaught Gardens.

The dance director Ray Goodswen is looking at the possibility of continuation events next year.

Howard Mitchell

Stradivarious

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From:
Date: 09 Aug 04 - 12:15 PM

I saw Howard playing in the jig competition - what a fantastic afternoon - the young generation of dancers at last swept the board. It's fascinating looking at what Howard (and others in this thread) enjoyed - just look at the breadth of it (and with it being a week long festival you can get depth as well).

• Social dance in the EFDSS mould


• Ceilidh


• Discussions about the revival (Kirkpatrick/Rippon)


• Workshops about traditional musicians (Dukes/Tester)


• Morris -in all shapes and guises

What other festival offers the variety?
And above all - young people everywhere: dancing, singing, playing, acting. The ironic thing is that Radio 3 (well known as the young person's radio station) look to have got it right whereas the film makers for BBC4 seemed to go out of their way to film Steeleye Span, Yetties, Tiger Moth (and it is rumoured, ignoring the Chipolatas who played immediately prior to Tiger Moth) etc etc ... anybody see a pattern here? Surely not a preconceived notion that this is a music beloved only of middle-aged or aging beardies (Spiers and Boden, young, yes, but taken away from the hubbub to be interviewed in some idyllic woodland somewhere). OK - the program is not playing until August 28th - perhaps, perhaps they might have picked up something about what Sidmouth is about and why it is important; perhaps, perhaps they'll try and convey just how exciting and vibrant this music and this festival are.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Merina
Date: 09 Aug 04 - 01:41 PM

I've rarely had so much fun at a festival as I had at this year's Sidmouth. Agree entirely that one of the main reasons for this was the young people piling in - I've not seen so many young people at a folk festival since I was their age! Big big credit to Mrs Casey and the Shooting Roots gang who have brought this aspect on over the past years, even though it can hardly be a moneyspinner to present all those free workshops and courses.

Bellowhead - and their crazy audience - in the Dance House were the best thing I saw all week. Closely followed by Emily Portman & Lauren McCormick in the Bedford, and Morris Offspring's interval spot in the Oysters ceilidh (just when I thought it was getting boring with the likes of Show Of Hands being put on at LNE time!). The Ham Marquee was marginally lesss staid than usual - it's hard to get an atmosphere with rows and rows of portly greybeards slumbering in the heat, even for artists as good as Crucible, Banditaliana and Danu. Anchor Gardens usual fun dancing on a slope in hot sun, particularly liked Committee Band.

But as Verity Sharp said on World Routes on Radio 3 on Saturday (I think you can hear it for a week by using the BBC Replayer thingy), the place to be was the Dance House. Whapweasel & Tiger Moth LNEs were so packed you could hardly find space outside the tent, let alone on the dancefloor, but both were great - especially the Moths closer with Eliza Carthy, John Adams and Ian Telfer on extra fiddles. Old Swan Band were really good too, and had a bit more breathing space - maybe everybody was knackered after those two previous nights and saving themselves for the Oysters?

I'm sort of glad there will only be an informal watch-this-space one in 2005, according to a posting on the BBC folk board. Anything would be an anticlimax. I think I might get Euro-adventurous and try Dranouter next summer and come back in 2006.

Merina

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 09 Aug 04 - 08:06 PM

Steeleye Span, Ralph McTell, Banditaliana, the Catalonian dance team, Waterson/Carthy concert, John Tams/Barry Coope, Spiers/Boden - and in the "unofficial" festival, Middle bar singing and Bedford sessions all rate very highly - and of course the weather was 90% fantastic all week!

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: fogie
Date: 10 Aug 04 - 05:11 AM

Kepa Junkera was interesting if a bit indulgent, Banditaliana's musicianship was superb, enjoyed Steeleye, Sid Kipper was better than expected- nearly wet myself, very interesting seeing Tony Benn at long last -liked the Ukranian folkorchestra -took some great photos of Pig-dyle molly who are incredibly photogenic. The final procession was a hoot there was a radio controlled traffic cone leading and tall red devils wandering about very eerie, the fireworks were superb, I enjoyed Whapweasel and the Committee band, and the dance in the F**D but the star of the week was the WEATHER!

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Morticia
Date: 10 Aug 04 - 03:21 PM

we should get Mike Harding's view on the good bits in about 15 minutes

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Cllr
Date: 10 Aug 04 - 04:09 PM

The good bits and the bad bits were having 20 different people coming and going, who were staying in my flat (and garden) in sidders, at one point or another during the festival week.
(Out of 20 people 15 are mudcatters). (is that some sort of record?)
Sometimes it was fun sometimes it got a bit much. I will try and simplify things for next year! roll on the fringe. Cllr

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 03:42 AM

I see a reference to a band called Doghouse Skiffle, who I understand come from Hull9. Any views on their performance? Their website looks interesting.

RtS

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: GUEST,Hugh Jampton
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 07:43 AM

Considering the amount of excellent reports of all the participants in this year`s festival I was more than disappointed in the content of last night`s Sidmouth review on BBC2, introduced by Ralph McTell. I have every respect for those who contributed but it seemed to me the producers fell for the old trick of wheeling on their current, established favourites and missing the opportunity of featuring some of the fresh talent you have all mentioned. Also, perhaps a little less of past times and more of this year`s action.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Gaucho
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 09:19 AM

Hugh,

I think last night's radio prog was more of a look at the festival over the last fifty years. I hope that Mike Harding's show on R2 tonight will be a reflection of this years festival.

Gaucho

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: GUEST,daisybeemer
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 11:25 AM

only managed a few glimpses of this years festival, but my thanks to the three young lads on the seafront tues afternoon on drums and fiddle. they must only have been 10 or 12 yrs old but what up and coming talent! Please let Sidmouth continue.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 08:03 PM

And the Paraguayan harp man was back!
And I had to stop to hear the lads with all their Mum's cooking pots: perfectly timed percussion! They deserved a few pennorth towards the proper drum kit!

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 11 Aug 04 - 08:12 PM

P.S. I enjoyed the radio programme last night (Tues). We took our kids to Hobby horse club too, but they have veered very strongly away from folk music: I always suspected it was me that enjoyed prancing about more than them! They are both musical, but in different genres of music entirely.
Missed Mike Harding tonight as I was working 6-midnight, but hope to pick it up via the web.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 04:19 AM

Listening to online version of MH show at present. I liked John Tams' comment that if you put a sign in an empty field saying "Folk festival here" you'd get a crowd gathered round it singing and playing!
Also did I hear MH say Ollie Knights was singing with the Watersons? He's my brother-in-law's sister's son and part of indie popsters Turin Brakes, compared by some critics to Simon & Garfunkel, and by others as boring acoustic pop... recent reviews of concert at Somerset House lukewarm but had success with first album and seem a nice pair of lads (and trained singers, former cathedral choristers).

RtS
(..but I digress!)

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Kevin Sheils
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 04:37 AM

Ollie wasn't with the Watersons at their big Waterson Family Show at the Arena, at least not onstage he may have been up the hill on the sound desk but I didn't see him. He was usually working the sound in The Bedford, but may have managed an appearance somewhere else with them.

I thought Mike Waterson's 2 Daughters singing of General Wolfe with Eliza at the Arena show was stunning. A Magic night all round.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: GUEST,Dan Abnormal
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 05:17 AM

No... Thats a different Ollie Knights.

The Ollie that was with the Watersons at Sidmouth is Lal Watersons son, while the Ollie Knights that is the lead singer in Turin Brakes is, er, not.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Kevin Sheils
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 05:20 AM

In fact the Waterson Ollie is Ollie "Knight", a singular person.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Roger the Skiffler
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 09:50 AM

Having listened to it again I see I was wrong (and everyone else right!) It WAS Knight without an S!!

RtS
(Barking up the wrong tree as usual!)

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Schantieman
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 12:09 PM

The best bits were singing in the Middle Bar, playing on the prom & watching the sunsets, sampling Ms Lemon's wares (including the lemonade) and breakfast at the cafe whose name I forget but is halfway along the prom.

The worst bits were not being able to sell lemonade at the Sailing Club as arranged because the council wouldn't let us (guess who was responsible for that!) and being too hot - but I can see myself being shot down in flames over that one!

As far as the 'official' festival was concerned, I enjoyed a bit of Hekety's dance behind the Anchor and the last five minutes of Spiers & Boden heard through the canvas of the Ham marquee. As you can probably tell, I didn't have a ticket. Exorbitant or what?!

Anyway, the best bits about any festival for me are the fringey bits, principally loud singing, good beer and copious ice-cream. Others are entitled to their opinions too!

Steve

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: GUEST,Anne Croucher
Date: 12 Aug 04 - 10:45 PM

I was at Sidmouth all week and now suffering withdrawal symptoms.

I tried out my chorus songs at the cafe bar in the Pavilion, took my drum to the motley morris, then off to the Anchor - now almost smoke free so I did not stagger out choking after a couple of choruses. Finally off to sleep but what wonderful views of the night sky away from the town - and a fried breakfast next morning, eaten in the open air.

Now I have a year to master the whiffle (morris pipe) and practise beating a little drum whilst playing (first make your drum)

I did come across a few morris sides and singing 'names' but they were not why I was there.

Anne

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Callie
Date: 13 Aug 04 - 04:46 AM

Was there a gloomy song session this year? And if so, what song won??!

Callie

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Cllr
Date: 13 Aug 04 - 05:22 AM

Idris won it with a song about road kill Chris Gorniak and Herga kitty were runners up.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Larkin
Date: 13 Aug 04 - 07:21 AM

The best bits for me were the sessions in the Bedford and one lovely one in the Dove. Also my friend Ric was busking in the square and while he was building an audience a couple arrived - she walking , he in a motorised wheelchair. They wouldn't come closer and when asked said they didn't want to be picked on . Ric assured them that he wouldn't pick on them and they came up to the rope. He continued with his show and at one point a large gull appeared in the performance space walked round the circle and pecked at a couple of kids. Ric then chased the gull which then took off, collided with the guy in the chair and knocked his hat off. He wasn't hurt and saw the funny side of it . Ric had the presense of mind to say 'it took me months to train it to do that !' Hilarious.

Worst bit was getting a text from my son on holiday in the   Czech republic saying that his brother ( also in Czech) was very ill and could I book him a flight home immediately. I had to leave a day early coz he needed picking up from the airport. Bollocks!
He's fine now but was pretty poorly.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: the lemonade lady
Date: 13 Aug 04 - 03:57 PM

Well what an adventure that turned out to be! I think Schantie said it all for me really. It took me 4 days to come out of the decline. Poor Schantie saw the 'me', a dog with a bone that wouldn't let go! I did manage to sell lemonade at a little pony show in north Devon which was fun tho'. I tried every angle to sell lemonade in Sidmouth but all dead ends. I'm saying nothing beforehand in future, I think I said too much, and that's why I didn't trade. I would like to thanks everyone who tried to help me.

Best bits? Chez Nous, Chorus singing in the Middle Bar, (claustrophobia an' all) singing on the front, swimming in the sea >8-) Watching the moon rise on the headland above Beer and watching shooting stars with my man, singing in the York, talking to the locals and hearing their points of view.

#8-)

Sal

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 13 Aug 04 - 05:34 PM

Schantieman

That was probably the Mocha, where you had breakfast (according to Annie Burgoyne, whose family used to run the Dove, that's pronounced Moker, not Mocker).

Both my song and Chris's at the DG&D were about the imminent demise of the festival, so we didn't really think we'd get a chance to sing it at next year's festival if we won! Idris's song was Tom the Toad, not Bob Kanefsky's Moggy the Cat...

Kitty

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Liam's Brother
Date: 14 Aug 04 - 09:41 AM

I was in the Volunteer quite a bit between gigs on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. That's where I heard Simon Ritchie sing "The Banks of Sweet Dundee" and Bob Davenport sing "Edmund in the Lowlands Low." I liked both of those very much. The Sunday night session in the Vol was just great.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: GUEST,Murkey
Date: 27 Aug 04 - 10:34 PM

Top three:

3) The Waterson Family Special - wonderful idea, well executed, great to hear all the classic old Waterson stuff. And wonderful to have a chat with Norma at the LNE later on. She says I can sing! (She's wrong but hey!) Only disappointment was not hearing Maria do anything alone, she's got a great voice, just like her mum's. Ollie Knight was on the mixing desk.

2) Kate Rusby & John McCusker - huge fan and it's great to see Kate develop. First time I saw her supporting Show of Hands she was nervous as hell and kept coughing mid-song. Next time was a few years back at Sidmouth just as i was falling in love with 'Sleepless', when she was fantastic but still blathered like a headless chicken! This time she was so much more confidant, a proper star now. Really enjoyed the band stuff too, and didn't notice the sound being too bad.

1)        BELLOWhead – best gig for years, a brilliant, vibrant sound, a totally crazy young crowd, dancing like mad. Spiers and Boden with Benjo Kirkpatrick on guitary things, a three piece brass section, strings, woodwind, a percussionist, everything. Wow! Unforgettable. When you see something like this you know folk has a great future!

Other highlights were Pete Coe, the Seven Champions Molly Dancers doing 'Byker Hill' (what a voice the singer has!), Sid Kipper, getting the assembled musicians outside the Mexican to play me 'Princess Royale' (a tune that haunted my every step in Sidmouth!) at around 7am on Saturday morning, meeting loadsa cool people and oodles of stuff I can't begin to think about…

Very few bad shows. Old Swan Band were pretty dull and Gordon Potts needs to chill out, bless him. The real clanger was John Tams and Barry Coope, a gig I was really looking forward too (so many people called it a highlight, what gig were you at?). Tams drunkenly rambled on in a sometimes funny but more often tedious manner, and was lazy with his songs, constantly interrupting them and failing to make any effort. All the classics I'd been longing to here were mauled ('Lay Me Low' should have been a crowd lifting singalong epic, but he sung it Dylan-esque, out of time with weird emphaisis). Most criminal was Coope's EVIL keyboard, some kind of hideous 80s relic that sounded like an Enya backing track and kind of tinkled all over Tams's wonderfully bare songs. Oh well, a minor gripe in an otherwise amazing festival.

Oh one other highlight, sneaky off from my stewarding duties to go to the celidh in the ford for half an hour, getting absolutely drenched, then doing back to my post in sodden clothes and pretending I'd been there all along!

Murk

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 29 Aug 04 - 09:59 AM

Missed the TV programme about Sidmouth 50th on Friday night, but hey, it's on again tonight at 7p.m.!! But you'll have to have Freeview, Sky or Cable to see it, as it's on BBC4 - thankfully we've got a digibox since ITV Digital went bust, so we can see the Freeview channels.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Folkiedave
Date: 31 Aug 04 - 04:41 PM

Just back from Hungary and a folk dance festival.

Loved Kepa Junkera and those two blokes playing garden decking, once again my fave event was a band from the Spanish peninsula (after Berranguetto and Susannah Seivane previously).

Loved the Waterson concert and I also would love to hear the three girls together more.

Spiers and Boden, fantastic.

Might have loved the monks except the bloody trumpets were right behind me in the procession when to be honest they got right up my nose!! I was expecting a ship to come up the road anytime. Good job it wasn't foggy.

Great stuff in the LNE tent especially Whapweasel.

And all those oh! so talented young people.

Shame I am getting past it..........

Dave
www.collectorsfolk.co.uk

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: GUEST,A Guest - Levi
Date: 01 Sep 04 - 05:39 AM

Chill out, why don't you Murky?   The Tams Coope gig was their best ever. At least 799 other people felt so too. Certainly the many people who gave a standing ovation seemed very, very happy. Or the hundreds who stayed behind to chat or for autographs. Perhaps it was you having the off day. You can't seem to decide whether John was funny or tedious (definitely funny).

Barry's playing was stunning. What instrument do you play Murk that makes you so able to be so judgemental? To claim no effort was made is so gross and insulting one can only wonder what you expect of a performance.    Your damaging comments about John being drunken are, I imagine, potentially libellous and you should be very careful about going into print with something so malicious and untrue.

My gran used to say 'if you can't say something decent, shut the f... up.' Wise advice for you chuck.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Sep 04 - 06:33 AM

Yeah, but Barrys keys DO sould hideous though - nothing wrong with the playing, certainly nothing wrong with the singing, just don't use the "casio portatone" sound for everything...

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Sep 04 - 12:04 PM

Okay, your telling me to chill out?! Sorry for daring to have an opinion other than your own! I wait in fear for the libel action papers to arrive through my door...

Like I said, I am a big Tams fan (Rise Up Like the Sun and Unity are two of my favorite albums), but I stand by my comments that amoungt hundreds of wonderful performaces at Sidmouth, that was a real disappointment. I know that the people I went to the gig with and several other people I chatted to agreed with me. Obviously a lot other people disagree, but that's the joy of having the right to express an opinion!

So please get off your high horse, and accept that not everyone will always agree with you!

Murk

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: GUEST,A guest
Date: 01 Sep 04 - 01:49 PM

The power of free speech doesn't seem to give you much joy Murky! Unless you take pleasure out of being so negative. I still think that to accuse someone of being drunk at work is potentially libellous and you should be more careful. Perhaps that is why you hide behind an alibi eh? I am not on a high horse, but your use of words like drunk and EVIL are certainly harmful and inflammatory. Evil is what is going in Russia tonight or Iran. Not on a stage in Sidmouth. Get some sense of perspective duck, and as I said, chill.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Sep 04 - 05:57 PM

To going off on one because someone didn't like a gig you did sounds like you need to chill out, and failing to see that I'm using evil in a humourous way suggests you're getting things out of persepctive. And the comments about John Tams, were as I said, a minor gripe amongst a very positive review of the whole fest. Anyway I wont get drawn into a stupid argument about it, so lets agree to disagree! Tarrah!

Murk (or Chris Conder should anyone wish to sue me!)

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: JennyO
Date: 02 Sep 04 - 10:45 AM

Perhaps that is why you hide behind an alibi eh?

Do you realise how ridiculous that sounds coming from GUEST,A guest?

I sort of see your point, but I think you are making far too much out of what Murk said. Maybe it's time for YOU to give it a rest.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 03 Sep 04 - 08:22 PM

I'd never seen John Tams live before, and I enjoyed it a lot, and the jokes were hilarious! (Though as usual can't remember any of them afterwards, except when he said about haing a "CRAFT" moment in the middle of a song = Can't remember a f'ing thing")
Agree that the keyboard was a little overpowered at times and there was maybe a bit much of the off the beat singing so that some songs were not as instantly recognisable.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: GUEST,Guest (Kent)
Date: 20 Feb 05 - 10:53 AM

I wasn't lucky enough to be there but I saw the programme on the telly and thought it was great....but I've been trying, ever since, to find out the name of the song that Eliza Carthy sang on her own with her accordian (the filming just before she started was of a bowling green in slow motion. Does anyone know the name of the song?

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: GUEST,Smiles Davis
Date: 20 Feb 05 - 11:00 AM

I think it might have been 'Willow Tree' which is on her last album. If I'm wrong - it's a nice song anyway.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: GUEST,guest (kent)
Date: 20 Feb 05 - 12:36 PM

I agree it is a nice song but alas it isn't the one I'm thinking of.
Thanks anyway.

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Feb 05 - 01:00 PM

Apparently it's something called 'I Used to be Colourblind' composed by Irving Berlin, see thread on this subject on the Elizanet messageboard http://www.elizanet.org.uk/phorum/read.php?f=6&i=1599&t=1378

Subject: RE: Review: Sidmouth - Good stuff and boring stuff
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 20 Feb 05 - 06:31 PM

The Doghouse Skiffle Band was the support act at the Les Barker concert at the Ham Marquee. They proved to be a quite outstanding band, and very humourous to boot. The highlight of the act was when they ran through a verse of a song, then went into a perfect "rewind", singing the whole verse in reverse, then running it forward again to finish the song. They must have spent weeks learning the sounds from a reversed recording. The audience were wetting themselves. We'll be hearing a lot more of those lads in the future.

Don T.