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Seth Lakeman

Venue: The Cathedral
Town: Litchfield
Date: 06/02/14
Website: http://www.sethlakeman.co.uk/

Just to avoid any confusion. The Cathedral; not a trendy new music club in the civil parish of Lichfield, but the actual bonafide thing. We're talking here about the real deal - the stunning, three-spired medieval cathedral which actually allows Lichfield the honour of being labelled a city, and fair do's when the city also holds fame as the birthplace of Dr Samuel Johnson. Talking of whom, there was an uncanny moment, one of the Sky channels had shown a re-run episode of 'Blackadder III' the previous night in which Robbie Coltrane portrays the aforementioned Doctor in a tale of confusion over his famous dictionary. Digressions aside, it was quite appropriate that Lichfield would be a fittingly historical setting for one of the four album launch gigs, as opposed to the usual tour, that hi profile folkie Seth Lakeman would perform to announce the release of his 'Word Of Mouth' album. Seth also made the point that it was quite apt to play the short run of gigs in ctahdrals as the album itself was recorded in a church, albeit the much more modest one of North Tamerton in Cornwall.

With the rain tumbling down steadily outside, necessitating a puddle jumping walk to the cathedral, once inside, it was clear that this was going to be an event. The full internal length of over a hundred metres, (and you didn't need to google the fact to observe that impressive statistic) packed with rows of chairs, some even in the 'restricted view' (ie, no view at all) sides of the nave and stretching back past the transept and into the choir stalls. The stage itself was set at the very back of the building - even Seth Lakeman didn't hold the sway to be singing about last riders, colliers and couriers from the altar area, although the pre-show announcement (the usual "no flash photography….no video recording" requests) did contain the humorous quasi-religious consent to "release your inner spirit". It was undoubtedly why an open 'dance' space in front of the stage ("a cathedral with a mosh pit" our friend Dave had joked) had been left clear and one which was later filled by fans freeing their inner spirits, quite perversely, to 'The Colliers' - a song of mining disasters which began the set closing run of crowd pleasing and dance worthy songs. Hearing the celebratory whoops seemed a little incongruous inside a solemn place of worship more used to a more sombre type of adulation.

Before that, there was a chunk of new material to be played, with seven of the new songs from 'Word Of Mouth' making their way into the middle of the set; a run of four ending the first half and the opening of the second half seeing the cathedral reverberating with some of the recorded soundbites which were the album's lyrical inspiration, introducing the union flavoured 'Each Man' which segued into the travellers' tales which motivated 'The Wanderer'. Before the interval, the runaway train rhythm of 'Last Rider' had been in stark contrast to the tragic true life tales of the disastrous D Day rehearsals told in 'Tiger' - again with recorded soundbites and Cormac Byrne's military drum evoking a chilling atmosphere, and also of the Titanic crew survivors of 'The Saddest Crowd'.

Musically, the band seem to be well armed and flexible in their instrumentation for the new material; Seth himself handling more guitar and of course his solo fiddle showcase 'Kitty Jay' which closes the set is now accompanied by his first half solo piece 'Portrait Of My Wife' - almost an elegy which arose from his work with the Full English project. Cormac Byrne's deft percussion too now has more drumming focus with the strong rhythms of 'The Courier' and 'The Wanderer' while Lisbee Stainton's banjo and harmonium add texture to the overall sound and her backing vocals on some of the more sensitive numbers - 'White Hare' in particular - came over crystal clear, filling the vaulted spaces. New recruit Jack Rutter (of 2011's Young Folk Award winners, Moore, Moss & Rutter and apparently, also a former 'contestant' in Paddy McGuiness dating show 'Take Me Out' according to the excellent researchers on the Lakeman fan community 'The Mire') stood in for Seth's brother Sean on guitar duties. A splendid job he did too not only on guitar and harmonica but also on squeezebox, giving the instrumental virtuosity of the band an added dimension.

Walking away into the night gave show goers a chance to reflect on the venue, revealed in its spotlit glory with its imposing stone façade momentarily giving thought to being a distant cousin once removed of Barcelona's Sagrada Familia. Quite a way to end an unforgettable night and inventive take on Seth's regular February outings.

SETLIST
The Courier, Take No Rogues, The Sender, Blacksmith's Prayer, Solomon Browne, The White Hare, Tiger, Portrait Of My Wife, The Saddest Crowd, Last Rider - Each Man, The Wanderer, Apple Of His Eye, The Colliers, Mariners, Lady Of The Sea, High Street Rose, Kitty Jay, Blood Upon Copper, Race To Be King

Mike Ainscoe
words and pictures