30th Shetland Folk Festival
Foys 2nd May 2010
Something of a cross between Reykjavik's infamous runtur and a game of musical chairs, the Shetland Folk Festival closes with the immensely popular "Foys" during which all of the fifteen-or-so visiting bands appear for a taster set at each of the three Lerwick venues.
With typical sense of contrast, beside a 3000 year old broch sits the Clickimin Centre, the largest of the three Foy venues. A well equipped modern sports hall-cum performance space which, fortunately, possesses none of the acoustic qualities of the former and the sound for the first pair on stage, Simon Thoumire and Ian Carr was crystal clear making up for their modest physical presence on the large stage. Simon displayed the skills that place him among the very finest concertina players on the planet while Ian's guitar accompaniment was brimming with shapeshifting chromatic humour.
Ahimsa followed, fusing intense percussion on mrudangam, ganjira and tabla with twin neck ten string violin and jazzy guitar into a mesmerising experience. Listening to Väsen live must be the closest we can get to experiencing music the way it was in the days of Mozart, tradition moulding and melding with modern ideas, baroque patterns, original composition and spectacular musicianship. The Foghorn Stringband's Caleb Klauder's mandolin cut through incisively on The Redstick Ramblers' Made in the Shade, showing the power and precision that has made him such a respected figure on that instrument.
Bodega's powerhouse performance of the previous two days was repeated again at the Foy with a rabble rousing rendition of Runrig's anthem The Standing Ground, contrasting fabulously with the silken gypsy jazz of their successors on the stage, Paradiso Jazz Quartet.
The Unwanted took the stage next, including in their short set the song that by now was the festival's theme tune, Morning Blues. Session A9 have a deserved reputation for bridging the space between the informal session and the listening concert, and their performance captured some of the free musical spirit that rang round the Festival Club for most of the previous 72 hours. Morga played another fine set although seemed less relaxed than they had been earlier in the day in a smaller venue.
Fiddler's Bid, now in their twentieth year, must be inured to the hardships that this festival places on its performers and showed themselves still to be the masters of synchronised fiddle. Eva Hren and Sladcore have grown more comfortable over the festival weekend and the larger venue suited Eva's glorious voice and glamorous delivery.
In an evening full of contrasts The New Rope Stringband sit in a strange space somewhere between the Bonzos and the Clinch Mountain Boys, but their fine playing and slapstick antics won them the biggest applause of the night. Lau followed with a display of the skill and energy that have made them one of the most exciting performers in Britain today, then The Wiyos delivered a vaudevillian set including a memorable rendition of Blind Willie McTell's Dying Crapshooter's Blues.
Swedish sister act Baskery with their enthusiastic show of girl power were an interesting choice to round off a folk festival which had on show such a sparkling array of musicians ranging from pure traditionalists to daring experimenters. But then perhaps that's the point - as Satchmo reputedly said, "It's all folk music. Ain't never heard a horse play it."
Martin Finnigan
Images are illustrative and not taken at the festival