The Unusual Suspects
TheUnusual Suspects are the concept of a folk orchestra made flesh. Consisting of pretty much every member of blazing fiddles and another twenty two plus musicians Unusual Suspects are not a run of the mill folk band. (I'm betting there's going to be some pretty good workshops this year)
The sheer logistics of a band this size means that their appearances are incredibly few and far between, normally only one or two a year. Fortunately there is a CD so that you can see what you may have missed out on in the past.
The Unusual Suspects are the biggest band to have performed on the Cambridge Stage, at least since the Happy End played back in '91. As the Happy End performed outside, Unusual Suspects might be the biggest band to ever perform inside.
The Happy End is a good reference point, although they were English in style. The strings and horns, plus percussion and keyboards give so much scope. You can attempt things that smaller bands can't get anywhere near.
My guess is that they will be one of the first bands that play in the session that they play. I can't say I've heard them yet, but am definitely looking forward to it.
POST FESTIVAL VERDICT
A really enjoyable experience. The sheer size of the band gives them so many options with songs and tunes. They really got things going. Their size is also their biggest handicap, you can't cut loose or extend a song that's going down well. I was wrong about the band's slot, but as the change over over ran I thought my idea was better. Apologies to the players at the back, they were never going to get into the photos.