Amongst the unsung heroes at the festival are the people that provide the music whilst the sets are being changed. Whilst on the surface it seems like a simple job, spin a few discs to keep the punters happy, there's more to the job than meets the eye.
Scheduling at Cambridge is pretty much an alchemists art,
especially on Stage One. Bernard Allison has just finished a set
of cracking electric blues, off the stage, into the 
crowd, the works. The
atmosphere is buzzing, he's been off stage for five minutes and
theres still the odd whoop and shout of "Alright!!"
Next up you've got Waterson Carthy, a comparatively quieter, more
song than tunes based act, what do you do? What do you do when
the situation's reversed and an up and at em band follows a more
reflective artist?
Your first choice is to do nothing, leave the artist to do all the work. Let them come out to a buzz and try to calm down so that the songs can be heard. Give them a flat, thoughtful audience to get going. It might work, these are proffesionals after all. It might also mean that the band waste half a set getting the crowd into the right mood. Under festival conditions unless you are first on, it's the band before you that sets your audience.
Your other choice is to be proactive, to set the audience expectations. It's here that the music played during the set changes becomes so import. A random selection of singles may distract the audience and create a neutral vibe, but that still leaves a lead in time for the subsequent act.
It's here that the likes of Mark Simpson, have a vital role to play. Mark is one of the people that plays the music between sets. It's his job to do more than entertain. He has to bring the audience off one level and take them closer to one that's appropriate for the next act. He also has to do it in a relatively limited amount of time. Record choice and times are pretty crucial. Sometimes there are as little as fifteen minutes to try and effect a change. Almost as important he's got to do it in such a way that the crowd hardly notice what he's up to.
It's a subtle art and often one that goes unrewarded. If you've gone from english folk to electric blues and into an eccentric singer songwriter and not noticed the join, now you know why.
Friday's
Playlist