Reviews

Event: Twisted Folk Festival
Venue: The Arts Depot, Finchley
Town: London
Date: 28th March 2009
Website: http://www.artsdepot.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/folktwisted/
http://www.myspace.com/thelocaluk

Hailing from Manchester, Spokes are the last band on in the Studio and their sound and energy feels too big for this intimate space. In a similar vein to Reigns, the five piece band consisting of two guitars, bass, drums and violin create more thrashy soundscapes. They all play with wild abandon, the drummer and violinist in particular, though one of the guitarists plays with his back to the audience for most of the set. Again, the vocals are used sparingly but where there are lyrics, they're shared between the three front people, the voices never quite loud enough to discern the words and they meld into the shoegazing noise. The background video projection this time is psychedelic flowers and patterns that flash and flicker. The sound is continuously at a crescendo level and a little too frenetic for this reviewer but the crowd absolutely loved it.

The main area of the Arts Depot is the Pentland Theatre and the first act in there is Elf Power a low fi indie pop band from Athens, Georgia. Currently a five piece band comprising of 12 string guitarist and lead vocalist Andrew Reiger, guitarist Jimmy Hughes, keyboardist Laura Carter, bassist Derek Almstead and drummer Eric Harris. Elf Power combine basic no frills music with pop vocals that work wonderfully well yet their set never really got going. Half an hour was barely a warm up for them and, as they were going to be back with Vic Chesnutt to close the evening, I suppose you could say that is all it was. More than any other act of the evening I wanted to hear more of Elf Power and I wanted to hear more of the poppy psychadelia of "Through the Portal".

The Miserable Rich are a five piece (violin, cello, double bass, guitar and vocals) from Brighton; their sound is beautifully balanced with gentle strings and percussion and rich, powerful vocals from James de Malplaquet who can certainly hold some long notes. The songs range from charming and soothing, to upbeat and humorous. There's a slightly more edgy tune which is about Britain and America and introduced as "not a happy song" with the refrain "we follow, yes we follow, helplessly on in to hell." The next song, 'Muswell', is prettier - about being a kite and flying to catch someone's eye, and another is more tongue in cheek, with de Malplaquet playing mandolin on this lively track which he tells us is about a condition that people in the UK are familiar with - 'Pisshead'. They finish with a poignant song called 'Oliver' with a memorable chorus about "standing on my two feet".

Closing the evening is Vic Chesnutt. Also from Athens, Georgia he is supported by Elf Power with whom he collaborated with (as The Amorphous Strums) on last years album Dark Developments. Chesnutt is a mesmerising, captivating presence on stage I found it almost impossible to take my eyes off of him for his entire set. His vocals are powerful yet pained, often starting a song solo before Elf Power kick in; there were times when you thought they didn't actually know when to kick in. This was no slick, rehearsed run through of the latest release with a few tracks from the back catalogue thrown in for good measure, in fact, I doubt if two sets are ever the same: if they come back to the UK again I will put that theory to the test.

Chesnutt has the ability to start a track with just a voice and a strummed acoustic guitar, with Elf Power gently building that track, layer upon layer, guitar upon guitar, and before you realize it, you are being hit by a tidal wave of noise and screamed vocals that then subside in the blink of an eye. "Independence Day" from 1999's is the best example of this as a simple acoustic track is turned into a masterpiece.

With the amount and variety of music on offer I am loathe to criticise the Twisted Folk Festival but the timings left me with the feeling that things were being spread just a little to thinly. Emily Barker, who was originally down to play the Pentland Theatre, and Babel would both have been better in either the Pentland or the Studio and to have only three acts in the Pentland seemed a waste. That aside, the organisers were able to put on a strong, eclectic bill and should be congratulated for it.

Words: John Hawes & Helen O'Sullivan
Photos: Sebastian Shaw