Reviews
Artists: Rosie Doonan & The Snapdragons + support
Venue: Bournemouth Folk Club
Town: Bournemouth
Date: 7th February
Website:
http://www.myspace.com/rosiedoonan
One of the things I like about Bournemouth Folk Club is the mixture of people that you get there. There's a good blend of ages and backgrounds, the commonality is the shared love of acoustic music. I say acoustic music, because it isn't always folk, but it's definitely a starting point.
It's a club where everyone actually listens to the music, some thing which has caught out a performer or two in the past, more used to trying to get themselves heard over the hubbub of conversations.
One of the reasons for that mix of people is the mix of artists that get booked to play. Like all clubs there's the local favourites, established names as well as artists just starting out on the road. It's true of the guests that come in from elsewhere as well. Bournemouth Folk Club seems to take a chance on up and coming young guns, just becoming names on the wider scene.
It helps keep the club fresh, even when, like on this occasion it's a band that's played here before, Rosie Doonan & The Snapdragons(Katriona Gilmore & Sarah Smout). There's a bigger audience for them tonight so word is obviously getting out.
Local lass Cathy Burke kicks off the proceedings, she jokes that she writes a lot of songs, but this is the only one that she'll play in front of an audience. There's a hint of kletzmer in the sound and it gets the audience going almost immediately. It also leaves you wondering what gems are being left at home and what it'll take to persuade her to give those other songs an airing.
It's not long before she's joined on stage by brother Bob. Bob's in for a busy night, not only is he performing with Cathy, but he'll also be on stage with the next act, Victor Chetcuti, but a quick bit of negotiating in the interval means he ends up doing a song with the headliners as well. The addition of a second guitar gives more depth to the sound and you can feel Cathy relax as she plays.
Just to show the spirit of folk isn't dead, the short set ends with a song about rape, arson and murder via the cover of a song from local artist Streebeck.
Next to grace the stage is a well known busker, Victor Chetcuti. Unusually, Victor has been requested as a support act by the headliners, Rosie having written a song about him in the past.
He seems ill at ease on stage, not helped by being hemmed in by microphones as he plays full acoustic guitar, with external mics picking up the sound, rather than through the lead. In a very light way, it's almost like he's caged in. It's like he's used to the open air and makes a couple of references about having to be more professional on the stage. He's a black country boy and he throws out a couple of place names to try and find some affiliation in the audience. It's not until he starts his first song that he looks like he feels anything remotely like comfortable.
Like a lot of nervous/shy performers, he's good at using humour between the songs to bring the crowd towards him, it works well. He really gets into his stride when Bob joins him on stage. Personally I think busking is tough, building the audience from scratch, it's given Victor a wealth of experience to draw on and as his set progresses he grows in confidence.
He's a songwriter of no mean ability, I guess you need a song for the occasion when you're out to invite someone into your space and get them to reach into their wallet. Bob departs the stage as Victor goes solo before being joined by another club regular, Dan Tucker of Tinderbox, for a song. It's been a while since Dan has been on stage, but the new album is now in the can, so expect them out and about more regularly soon.
Following the interval, where there's time to refresh the glass, it's time for the main act, Rosie Doonan & The Snapdragons. Unusually, Rosie takes up position away to the edge of the stage, leaving Sarah in the spotlight. It gives Rosie easy access to the grand piano that's always at the club, but rarely gets used.
There's always something slightly chaotic about a Rosie Doonan set. You know they've got it all planned out, but that at some point there'll be something that'll throw things slightly out of kilter.
Under such circumstances, Kat Gilmore is normally forced to tell a joke whilst Rosie frantically retunes, tonight was no exception, we got to hear a couple of jokes and a tale about the air conditioning in Kat's car.
The thing is that when some bands do this sort of thing, it comes across as unprofessional, when Rosie Doonan and co do it, it comes across with a certain naïve charm and feels as natural as a bee buzzing a flower.
The other reason they get away with it is because when they play, they really are all that matters. Regardless of playing solo, as a duo or as the full threesome, they are a band that make you feel like you're on their side. The songs are strong, they focus on real lives, even if you don't know the people you know people like them. You find yourself thinking that in your time you did something similar, you just forgot to write it down and turn it into a song.
Rosie Doonan & The Snapdragons are a band that seem to enjoy life and have a real sense of fun, even when doing the more serious numbers, you can just sense their enjoyment in making music.
Needless to say there were calls for more and what better way to end the night than with the song Rosie had written for Victor?