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Bob's Folk Show Live Sessions Vol.1 Launch

Venue: Betsy Trotwood
Town: London
Date: March 31st
Website: https://www.facebook.com/bobsfolkshow

I wonder if Bob kept a list of all those that attended the launch of "Bob's Folk Show Live Sessions Vol.1" so that in years to come when people tell him they were there, he'll be able to check the list and say, "No you weren't" or "I'm sure you enjoyed it."

It was my first visit to the Betsy Trotwood in a good number of years. Until last night I don't think I'd seen anything larger than a duo performing in the upstairs music room. At one point last night there were six performers crammed into the performance space and you could almost hear the echoes of sardines suddenly thinking their tin was quite roomy.

It's a venue that's lit for atmosphere, i.e. low lights and a few candles spread liberally around the room. The seats at the front are literally within touching distance of the artists and there's a good range of ales and other beers to be ferried up from the bar down stairs.

Within the room were a good number of the Facebookers that contribute comments during Bob's Folk Show and a number that had come in from places like Reading, Cambridge and Poole, amongst others. It was good to finally put some real faces to names. Similarly with the artists of the four performing tonight I'd heard all of them on Bob's Folk Show, Radio Wey 9pm on a Tuesday, had two of them on the Fatea Show Case Session Downloads, but hadn't actually seen any of them live.

Soon Bob was on stage introducing the first act of the night, The Keston Cobblers Club. The band are predominantly a five piece, tough for a number of songs, including a spectacular, almost accapella finally about disturbing your neighbour through the party wall and not wanting to go and ask for your football back, they were joined by a former band mate, Dan.

Harmony seems to be an area that's making a re-emergence and if it's all as good as this rightly so. There were times during the performance where you felt the band really wanted to cut loose, but were a bit constrained by the space, it didn't make any difference to the quality of the playing and singing, but you could almost feel an underlying frustration.

It was a lively set, none-the-less, a good number of up-tempo songs gave the room a really good lift and started the album launch night in a more than welcome manner. They got to do an encore of sorts with the aforementioned wall song and it was no less than they deserved. Hopefully they'll start getting out and about to audiences outside of London soon.

The next act definitely have already been getting outside London, in fact whilst they arrived in plenty of time for their slot, they were running late from an exhausting coach journey back from Bristol, where they had been competing for and won the Isambard Award, which means you'll now see them on the bill for a couple of West Country Festivals in the next couple of months. I'm talking about Josienne Clarke, well more accurately, Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker.

I wasn't old enough to see a club performance from the likes of Annie Briggs or Sandy Denny, but I'd image the tingle that people felt when they did was something akin to what the audience felt when we heard Josienne at the Betsy Trotswood on March 31st.

Now I'm sure there's a number of you out there that think this might be hyperbole, that arguably nothing can compare and as I've said, I've got no certain reference for the claim, but this definitely felt like a very special moment.

Josienne sings with an almost effortless ease in a way that only the truly gifted can. It is no coincidence that I chose Annie and Sandy for comparison, for though both had very different sounding voices, they both had that sense of effortlessness that we heard tonight.

Whilst Josienne also plays guitar, she readily acknowledges that Ben is the man with the talent in that space and there's no questioning that judgement, he has a real mastery of that instrument. Short instrumental sections highlight what he's capable of when given free reign, but it's how he plays to accompany that sets him apart from many guitarists of his ilk. He has a style that makes you aware of the support he gives the vocalist without it ever becoming intrusive.

It speaks volume that whilst there wasn't a poor set, or indeed a poor song, all evening, this was the set that felt too short, still I'm not convinced it wouldn't have sounded too short if it had gone on another hour. Through both music and banter, Josienne engages the audience in a way that makes you feel part of the event and whilst she's singing both her own composition and her arrangements of traditional songs in a way you are.

It was a switch from a very English sounding set, to something with far more of an Americana/country flavour next with the only truly solo act of the night, Trent Miller. Trent is a little bit of an enigma which I guess contributes to his considerable stage presence. From underneath a wild mop of curly hair comes this incredible voice, that sounds like it's been trained on whisky, lager and cigarettes to deliver his chosen genre with perfection. He's no slouch on the guitar or gob iron if it comes to that.

It's not just about his performance though, he gives himself a real head start with the quality of his songwriting. There is an almost cerebral element to Trent's songs. He knows his history and folklore and writes like a poet.

In performance you're never really sure if he's playing for you or if you just happen to be in the room, either way it gives him a real edge, you feel that at any point he can go off on a tangent to god knows where and not be sure if he's going to come back again before the next song. It makes him a fascinating artist to listen to as both through his words, singing and guitar playing there is so much he contributes. As with the Keston Cobblers Club he's an artist that really should be getting better known away from the capital.

Wrapping up the night was the arguably the best known artist that appears on "Bob's Folk Show Live Sessions Vol.1", former member of the Magic Numbers, Michele Stodart. Now I have to admit I missed the meeting on The Magic Numbers, I couldn't quite see what all the fuss was about, but having seen Michele perform, maybe I'm starting to get an idea.

She's joined on stage by fiddle, cello and a second guitarist with a number of former band mates, including bother, Romeo, in the audience providing moral support, though judging by the speed at which she hits the ground it's not required.

The bulk of the set is new material from her forthcoming solo album and that somehow seems so in keeping with the way artists perform when they are invited into the studio to be part of Bob's Folk Show. There's been a real warmth in the room all evening that's been pretty infectious. Michele starts her set with a beaming smile on her face and it remains a fixture throughout.

You can feel a real passion in her music and from the sound of things it's going to be an album worth waiting for. More importantly though tonight has been about a very different album, "Bob's Folk Show Live Sessions Vol.1" and I think all of the artists have done its launch night proud. Here's to a few more night's like this one to come.

Neil King