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Steeleye Span2nd.. December 2004, The Borough Theatre, Abergavenny. A review by Julie Foster I was lucky enough to be able to attend both Steeleye’s Welsh gigs this Winter tour! And so will talk about them together! J I love listening to Steeleye live. The power of the music really buzzes through from the stage from the first magical strain to the last rhythmical beat! Both gigs were brilliant and immensely enjoyed by their audience. Although the Cardiff crowd were very much more vocal in their appreciation! J The band seemed at ease on the stage and performed as only they can! And the performances were vibrant, energetic, a complete tapestry of colour in music, personality and word! Each half was a mix of songs from Babylon, Winter and some wonderful treasured “oldies” J The set list for the concerts (which were almost identical!J) is on Ken Nicol’s website, in his tour diary, and I’m not going to go through it song by song! J
The Drama of Van Dieman’s Land opened up, what was on both occasions, a trip into the realms of Steeleye Heaven, as far as I was concerned! Every piece played was a joy to listen to and to chair dance to! Liam’s drum solo which preceded Drink Down the Moon was absolutely amazing! The energy and vibe that came out through the music was fantastic! I loved London, with it’s “free for all” vocal ending!!! Oh and how could I forget Peter and Maddy’s “drunken” antics through Four Nights Drunk!!! Great fun! Through the drama and emotion of Babylon to the light-heartedness of Seagull, the journey continued and the first half ended with the glorious, spine tingling performance of Bright Morning Star. Superb though this is on the CD, you have to listen to it live to really get the spine tingle and boy oh boy was it good! The notes, so beautifully harmonised, hang in the air like a mist after they have been sung and fade away into peace and tranquillity. Music to move your soul! Well it moved mine anyway! J
The second half opened with The King. I’d not heard SS sing this live before and it was fab! The harmonies were so purely sung! Amazing! This half had more songs from the Winter album in it than the first. Today In Bethlehem is a very rhythmical and pacey song and Maddy sang it, (as she did everything!), brilliantly! I loved it! For the Great Silkie of Sules Skerry, Peter accompanied Maddy and – wow - how fantastic a performance it was too!! The audiences on both occasions were completely transfixed by the clarity of Maddy’s amazing voice, the sadness and poignancy of the words and the incredible fiddling from Peter. It was brilliant – again it made your spine tingle to listen to Peter’s virtuosity on the violin – there really was nothing to top it! The end of the second half came in the form of Tamlin. And what an end it was too! Again the “hacked off” Fairy Queen song spun, danced and whirled at Steeleye’s bidding and the last section of the song, where the Queen bemoans Tamlin’s escape, echoed and hung in the air around you, completely absorbing you into the music! Incredible! Ken’s singing and superb guitar playing was wonderful! As was his commentary and his energy and enthusiasm on stage! Rick’s bass riffs gave the band a great basis and really created that “Steeleye sound” in master fashion! Maddy’s voice, clear as a bell, pure and silken to your ears, rang strong and true and she was a joy to listen to and to watch perform – she is so full of life, a true performer! Liam’s drumming was superb! It gave the music real depth and strength. Peter’s fiddle playing was out of this world. I’m amazed that he didn’t literally set the strings alight, because musically he certainly did! What a truly amazing sound from a truly amazing group of people! The sound was great, the set was great, the audience(s) had a great time – everyone was happy after each event! A brilliant couple of gigs, what more can I say???……… …………oh yes, just one more thing!!!………..I still can’t quite believe that Maddy forgot the words to Hat, when it was sung as an Encore in Cardiff…………….that was hilarious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Julie Foster |