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Martyn Joseph

Venue: Waterside Arts Centre
Town: Sale
Date: 30/11/13
Website: http://www.martynjoseph.net

Interestingly it's been exactly a year to the day since the last time I caught Martyn Joseph and its business pretty much as usual. In an evening which varied from relaxed and informal - welcoming a couple of front row latecomers with a quick musical recap of what they'd missed, folk club styled audience participation, more of which later, and taking audience requests. Add to that a detailed description of his handmade tenor guitar ("to save me having a long conversation with someone after the show - you know who you are") and tales of being pulled over by the police in Wales for overtaking a tractor, there's the contrast of some achingly powerful songs and stories of humanity and humility ('Five Sisters' being a stunning example) and the more sombre matters of his charity patronages and his heading up own trust fund set up to support and finance local and international projects in 2014.

A set based on the most recent original album 'Songs For The Coming Home' and his recently released collection of Springsteen songs, 'Tires Rushing By In The Rain' - it was 'Clara' from the former which gave the album it's title; the true and touching story tale of two characters who revisit their past in their old age and gain a realisation of their connection it was a telling and 'worth the ticket price alone' moment - a movingly simple "It took him 77 years to discover he'd been loved as a child. It took her 91 years to see her love come full circle" said it all.

The Springsteen songs which have been very much admired and part and parcel of his repertoire for some time were very much off pat. Taking up the ukulele, the clarion call of 'No Surrender' was given a new interpretation, followed by Woody Guthrie's 'Deportees' and the first half closing with audience requests resulting in a performance of 'Thunder Road' with the promise of more to follow, most notably his homage to the inspiration he feels personally from Bruce in his take on the massively underrated Springsteen outtake 'The Promise'.

His slight bemusement at being embraced by the folk music community and the minor obsession with raffles at folk clubs (true!) has led to the concession of a marvellously irreverent 'wheel of fortune' moment in his shows. Never one to go with the flow, his version of the folk club raffle involves an audience member (selected by a ball of gaffer tape being flung into the audience and passed until someone is willing enough to take up the mantle) and spinning what is termed 'the wheel of "do we really have to"' for a random prize. Tonight's resulting 'choose any song you like' for Martyn to perform ended with a version of Springsteen's 'One Step Up', despite spinner Peter asking for 'Working Mother' (which as a bonus appeared later in the set anyway).

Alongside a brand new song, 'Girl Soldier' there's another humorous moment when a bum note is picked ("play it twice and they think it's deliberate") and the end of the show sees him making his way into the audience for some more audience participation on 'On My Way' - it could practically be a folk club in the way they join in on the choruses.

With apologies for reference to the earlier events on the rugby field in which Martyn had been absorbed during the afternoon, he's as reliable as an Australian rugby victory over Wales. Sincere, thought provoking and moving, Martyn Joseph is a man with a compassionate heart on a mission to provide an unfailingly inspirational evening.

Mike Ainscoe words and pictures