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Southern Tenant Folk Union

Venue: Studio, Poole Lighthouse
Town: Poole
Date: 11th January 2013
Website: http://www.southerntenantfolkunion.com

I'm becoming more impressed with the Studio at Poole Lighthouse the more gigs I go to there. It seems to have everything about right. Whilst the venue has an intimate feel, the rake of the seating means that everyone gets a good view, and that includes the band, it makes it easier to engage with the audience. Importantly the sound is as good as the view and when you're performing bluegrass style, effectively mixing on the fly like Southern Tenant Folk Union(STFU) do that's very important.

Southern Tenant Folk Union are in Poole as part of the launch tour for their new horror inspired album, "Hello Cold Goodbye Sun". The band are playing two sets with each half providing a mirror of the other. The first side is starting off with old favourites to be followed by the first half of the album. The second part of the album kicking off after the interval with more favourites to take us out the far side, the format works wonderfully.

I've been lucky to have already familiarised myself with the new album and it's an absolute delight to hear them being performed live. Watching six of the seven band members working their way in and out of the area around the solitary microphone is as fascinating as the sound is entertaining. The exception is the new bass player, but it's not that he's been ostracised, the bass has always held back lest it unbalance the sound.

"Hello Cold GoodbyeSun", is quite a dark album, but then the band did theme it around horror, but live, you can really feel the menace in some of the song. Nowhere is that brought out more than in Carrie Thomas' chilling rendition of "Days By The Seaside With Ice Cream" one of the strangest murder ballads you'll hear in a while. You also get to understand a bit of how the songs came about and there are some great stories there.

STFU have an amiable disposition that sometimes seems at odds with their material. They interact well with their audience. Their use of the single microphone draws you into both the band and sound and they reward you with exceptional performances. This is going to be a busy year for Southern Tenant Folk Union if they play near you, my recommendation would be to see them if you get the chance.

Oh yeah one last thing, if you do go and see them and even remotely consider making a bolt for the car park before the encore, don't. If you do you'll miss an absolutely stunning, fully acoustic finale.

Neil King