On the drive in from Halifax towards the pretty little market town of Hebden Bridge, the full scale of the devastation caused by this winter’s floods could only be imagined by the thousands of sandbags still piled up along the side of the road. Thankfully, the fabulous Trades Club was unaffected, being enough distance from the river that burst it’s banks, aswell as being on a first floor position.
Add this to the fact we were still digesting the terrible news of Bowie’s passing, and it’s fair to say we were in desparate need of some entertainment and cheering up. Personally, I couldn’t think of a better start to the gigging year than the artists who created 2 of my top 10 albums of 2015.
Essentially, this was the same 4 people on stage for both performances, with Rozi and Kate swapping bass guitar when it was their turn in the spotlight, supplemented with Neil on electric guitar lead and Jamie on drums.
Rozi, wrapped up like a polar bear, started the show quietly and without fanfare, and this was politely appreciated by the cold audience. First song from last years magnificent Friend album, Actually, was next up and the live version was given a new dimension with the guitar effects pedal and a more lively electric feel. Rozi was her usual subtly eccentric self, telling a story about the last time her usual band were in town, they bought a second hand coat from one of the shops and they now pass it around for 2 weeks at a a time. After wishing the town good luck with its clean up effort and recovery, she said goodbye and hoped we enjoyed the main act who were waiting upstairs....
10 minutes later of so, the same 4 wandered back on stage, this time with Kate front an centre with a banjo strapped on, and we were treated to an hour or so of last years gorgeous release Bashed Out.
Obvious highlight was single Silver John, although Magic Spell, Spores All Settling, Vitamins and Misunderstanding ran it close in what was like a beautiful recital in an increasingly warm club. Even the girls took a couple of layers off towards the end, although this just accentuated the bitter cold night as we spilled out into it.
It was a lovely start to this challenging year so far, and if the rest of the year carries on in this vein, it will be one to remember.
Keith
