Reviews
Artist:Red Shoes + Kim Guy
Venue:Bourne Beat
Town:Bournemouth
Date:24/05/09
Website:www.myspace.com/redshoes1
www.myspace.com/wyrdguy
As usual I’ll start with the caveat that this was a Fatea Showcase Sessions LIVE gig and as such is directly linked to this magazine.
There’s been a batch of lurgi doing the rounds in the Poole/Bournemouth area and unfortunately the Fatea Showcase Sessions LIVE were not immune. The Douglas Firs, had been struck down and reluctantly had to pull out, fear not they will be rebooked and will hopefully be up and running on all cylinders soon.
Andy our regular sound engineer was looking distinctly not at his best when he arrived to set up leaving the desk in the hands of his more than capable daughter Aimee, who was the first ever person to perform at one of our live events. Similarly we wish Andy a speedy recovery.
The silver lining in the cloud is that it meant the remaining two acts, Kim Guy and Red Shoes could have a little more time on stage to show the world, well the Bourne Beat, their not inconsiderable talents.
The stage has, for reasons not fully understood, been decorated with plastic birds. A heron defends the entrance to stage right, an owl looks wisely over the mixing desk and a rather vicious looking robin looks ready to take on all comers. Apparently it’s a tradition of Busby, one of Red Shoes guitarist, to perform under the watchful eye of our avian friends.
Kim Guy hails from Cornwall, but came to the Session via a mini tour that had seen her right up at the other end of the country in the Lake District. The run today aw her coming down from Nottingham an area becoming known for it’s singer/songwriters.
Kim is on the current Fatea Showcase Session download “Two” as part of her duo Corncrow and is a member of a number of other bands. She’s been given the epithet ‘the hardest working musician in England’s most westerly county’ and been called ‘the Cornish Karine Polwart’. Both descriptions are well earnt.
The course of her set sees her taking in several hundred years of songs. Her most recent is a cover of a Richard Thompson song, the oldest song, “The Blacksmith” has it’s roots hidden way back in the mists of time when blacksmiths were attributed with magical powers. Whilst the song is newer than time immemorial there was definitely an enchantment in Kim’s voice as she held the audience spellbound during her version.
Folk musicians are renown for constant retuning, Kim prefers the far more pragmatic approach of having more than one guitar available, it means that she managed to fit plenty of songs into her well received performance which saw her taking in the not unusual folk themes of sex, death, love and sorrow. She talks to each song so you can feel her relationship to the piece.
The choice of songs to learn and play come from all different places, hearing the song on a record, hearing someone else playing it, discovering a reference to an old tune when looking for something else or simply opening up a book of folk tunes at random and picking the song on the left. Kim has used all of these methods in selecting her choice of song. Consequently Kim delivered a varied set that was an impressive as it was entertaining.
Following a short gap to change the stage over and to allow the audience to recharge their glasses, it was time for the second act of the night, Red Shoes. Hailing from Birmingham, Red Shoes are Carolyn & Mark Evans, who appeared on the second Fatea Showcase Sessions download “Duos”. Today they added an additional guitarist, Busby, who Carolyn offered to provide to translate for and who spoke of a strange black country cuisine, orange chips.
Red Shoes new album was produced by Fairport’s Dave Pegg, which should give you a clue as to the folk rock nature of the band. They had done an interview for Forest FM the day before the gig and were well up for a really good night.
“Who Knows Where The Time Goes” was a signature tune of Sandy Denny, an artist that provided inspiration for Carolyn. Later in the set the band performed a song about meeting the late, great artist and having a conversation.
Red Shoes write and perform powerful songs, few come more powerful than “My Father’s Green Beret” a song about Carolyn’s father and the battles he fought in his life. It was impossible not to be touched by the emotion in her voice as she delivered the vocal tribute.
"Tender Earth Of England" is a joyful celebration of being English, great spirit, beautiful country, traditions. It's a wonderful song, but you could hear the fury in Carolyn's voice as she mentioned that right wingers were trying to adopt it as an anthem. As she said, it's about us all not a minority. It's a celebration of our culture not a condemnation of anyone elses.
Singing opportunities came up for the audience on a couple of occasions, most notably in “Rosemary and Thyme” one of the most quintessential folk songs penned. We also got to sing-along to the title track of Red Shoes new album, which is released at the start of June.
Whilst Carolyn is the lead vocal for the majority of the songs, Mark is no dab had behind the mic himself, not just as backing vocalist, but also on the rare occasion he takes lead. He seems to prefer the more up tempo songs which give the set a good mix of dynamic.
Busby’s addition on guitar and as an additional backing vocalist gives parts of the set a real wall of strum feel. It also affords the band the opportunity to be more adventurous in their playing. Ultimately any set is about the songs and Red Shoes have those in abundance.
Folk rock is still more than capable of finding a contemporary edge, particularly when in the hands of bands like Red Shoes. Be proud, be loud, be heard is a great philosophy, particularly when your songs have something to say. A great night for all.