My first ever trip to The Wilmington Arms (great little pub and music venue with a fine selection of beers) was on Thursday (19 Apr) for the launch event of Fence Records latest EP.
This being the endearingly haphazard Fence, neither, the EP nor the album that they were also launching were actually available (due to the rush of vinyl being created for Record Store Day apparently).
First on the bill was The Pictish Trail with an acoustic set featuring a new song which apparently comes free with a new t-shirt (!). Between song banter about the price of 1st class rail tickets and the aforementioned vinyl issues warmed the crowd up nicely for Delifinger. I guess you'd call them 'folktronica' if you're into labels. They were pretty good, for me the tracks with the more electronic stuff going on, were the most interesting.
Headliner for the night was Seamus Fogarty, promoting his new album 'God Damn You Mountain'. Since I last saw him at The Shacklewell Arms he's added a laptop to his onstage set-up, allowing him to start and end the show with some effects and loops alongside his acoustic guitar (he still doesn't seem to have bought a guitar tuner though!).
Backed on and off throughout the show by a string duo he played a great set. The highlight for me was his song about being a builder and going to Mexico - which I'd requested when I spoke to him in the bar earlier on.
All in all it was a great night out for a fiver - I've ordered the Seamus Fogarty album so I'll post a review when it arrives.
Russell Barton
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