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Spiers & Boden

Venue: Royal Northern College of Music
Town: Manchester
Date: 20/03/14
Website: http://www.spiersandboden.com

Greeted with fond yet rather sad, "Welcome to the first farewell tour", the bastion of musical academia which is Manchester's impressive Royal Northern College of Music played an appropriate host to what could easily be classed as Britain's most loved folk duo. Spiers and Boden have often set the benchmark for other folk duos to follow, their flame more often than not burning brightly, their originality and enthusiasm as jobbing musicians being boundless. It's an extensive tour which is taking them around the country over a couple of months and one which will allow them to bid farewell "for the foreseeable future". Of course, Bellowhead are to blame; the monster which the duo created has taken on such a form that it now demands the attention which can only be given by forsaking all others and with ten years of Bellowhead to celebrate and a host a festivals and tours to come for the rest of 2014, something has to give.

Having said that, the setlist gave the duo a chance to revisit some of their older material, the first album, 'Through And Through' getting a good plundering, yet maintaining quite a few links to the 'B' band - 'Rambling Sailor' for example, the opening song on the debut album by Spiers & Boden and the souped up version opening Bellowhead's E.P.Onymous being revisited as a suitable set opener on the tour (fingers being crossed it might make a similar appearance on the Bel10whead anniversary shows next month). As well what the stadium rockers might call the 'crowd pleasers' -'Tom Padget', 'Bold Sir Rylas' (missing a chance for a raucous singalong yet giving John Spiers a chance to display the rare skill of playing melodeon and concertina at the same time) and the songs which have made the switch to big band status with Bellowhead, 'Haul Away' and the 'Sloe Gin' set, there were a few nods to the past with a few rarities thrown in for good measure.

With the usual chance to play a couple of solo slots, Boden's 'Songs From The Floodplain' album was trawled for 'We Do What We Can' and Spiers delivered 'Red Kites' from their debut album as opposed to some of his traditional Morris tunes which was a nice touch. And of course they are quite the comfortable couple by now after over a decade of playing as a duo - the banter (and let's face it guys, you weren't really going to get any dancers up beyond those brave enough to get up in their seats on the odd occasion) and the relaxed nature belying the dexterity and the musical rapport between them. Sets of tunes also littered the set, the aptly named 'Three Tunes', 'Jack Robinson' and the 'Sportman's Hornpipe' all making an appearance.

Cliches notwithstanding, they say too much of a good thing always leaves one wanting less, and supposedly, all good things must come to an end, yet for any gamblers out there, don't count out seeing them working together as a duo again - how often in the rock genre does the 'farewell tour' become followed some years later by the money spinning 'comeback tour'. Heaven forbid that any such reunion would be such a tawdry commercial, even corporate venture, but no doubt when there comes a time for a break from Bellowhead and getting back to basics, the call may be too strong to resist. For now though, raise a glass to the two Johns/Jons, practically a British institution, for paving the way for folk duos far and wide and congratulate them on a job well done.

Mike Ainscoe