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Lyn Guy reports on Tanglefoot + Jade Rhiannon and Friends – Cambridge Folk Club, 30 May 2008
Tue, 10/06/2008 - 08:16 — Anonymous
Review of:
Tanglefoot
On a calm sunny evening my car refuses to start. Result, I miss half of Jade Rhiannon’s set. This is a pity. Jade has a pure, clear voice that delights the ear – both when she sings solo playing an acoustic guitar, and accompanied by a fiddler plus another harmonising vocalist. Her material is mature, packed with melody and – to finish – Passion. Jade and her band will be appearing at Ely Folk Festival in July. On this showing, I’d say go and treat your ears.
But onto the main event, my fourth Tanglefoot show. Each time I’ve seen this longhaired Canadian quintet, the line-up has been slightly different. Tonight there’s not only newish fiddle player Sandra Swannell to hear, but a new keyboard maestro too. Robert Graham’s tenure with the band is all of 3 ½ weeks! Yet as they rip into Whiskey Trick (eat your hearts out Monty Python – this is a lumberjack song from people who know!) I am struck by a new vigour and vitality in their ‘big’ full-throated approach to folk music.
Current opus Dance Like Flames forms the basis for the two set show and, being the only album Ms Swannell has played upon, perhaps showcases the fresh spirit they have. Certainly both Trick and Flames have a lasting kick equal to the single malt that’s mentioned several times! There’s humour too, in the story of Boot Soup. Featuring Al Parish’s (70%) dark chocolate vocals, it tells a Bishop’s tale of eating his sealskin boots to survive in the Canadian arctic. Enlivened by a falsetto chorus that includes just one truly feminine voice, this song is a peach.
Whilst they are both rousing and fun, Tanglefoot can also be extraordinarily moving. Their a capella performance of For The Day (as delivered in a dimly lit Toronto church to 500 people during Canada’s ‘Earth Hour’) illustrates a commitment to world conservation that even we could learn from. On 29 March large swathes of Canada were plunged into darkness for an hour in a demonstration of energy saving. Upstairs in the Golden Hind with all lights blazing may not create an equal atmosphere, but five un-amplified voices can still fire the imagination.
A night of stories and fluent musicianship, bound up within a potent distillation of French tradition, modern folk, bluegrass and even hints of rock, is what I’ve come to expect from Tanglefoot. The bonus here is discovering the new depths and flavour they’ve introduced. Raising my glass I cry: ‘til next time’. There’s only just over a year to wait!
Writer: Lyn Guy
But onto the main event, my fourth Tanglefoot show. Each time I’ve seen this longhaired Canadian quintet, the line-up has been slightly different. Tonight there’s not only newish fiddle player Sandra Swannell to hear, but a new keyboard maestro too. Robert Graham’s tenure with the band is all of 3 ½ weeks! Yet as they rip into Whiskey Trick (eat your hearts out Monty Python – this is a lumberjack song from people who know!) I am struck by a new vigour and vitality in their ‘big’ full-throated approach to folk music.
Current opus Dance Like Flames forms the basis for the two set show and, being the only album Ms Swannell has played upon, perhaps showcases the fresh spirit they have. Certainly both Trick and Flames have a lasting kick equal to the single malt that’s mentioned several times! There’s humour too, in the story of Boot Soup. Featuring Al Parish’s (70%) dark chocolate vocals, it tells a Bishop’s tale of eating his sealskin boots to survive in the Canadian arctic. Enlivened by a falsetto chorus that includes just one truly feminine voice, this song is a peach.
Whilst they are both rousing and fun, Tanglefoot can also be extraordinarily moving. Their a capella performance of For The Day (as delivered in a dimly lit Toronto church to 500 people during Canada’s ‘Earth Hour’) illustrates a commitment to world conservation that even we could learn from. On 29 March large swathes of Canada were plunged into darkness for an hour in a demonstration of energy saving. Upstairs in the Golden Hind with all lights blazing may not create an equal atmosphere, but five un-amplified voices can still fire the imagination.
A night of stories and fluent musicianship, bound up within a potent distillation of French tradition, modern folk, bluegrass and even hints of rock, is what I’ve come to expect from Tanglefoot. The bonus here is discovering the new depths and flavour they’ve introduced. Raising my glass I cry: ‘til next time’. There’s only just over a year to wait!
Writer: Lyn Guy