My 8th Bellowhead gig, but my first all-seated one.
During the course of the evening we heard most of Matachin: “Whisky is the Life of Man”, "I Drew My Ship .." with gorgeous bass clarinet rumblings from Brendan, the magnificent “Widow’s Curse” followed - discovered and arranged by Pete (nice to see him smile) “Kafoozalum” was introduced as a nursery rhyme (ahem!) The delightful “Fakenham Fair” was introduced by Paul with a dodgy comment about Norfolk. The jazz arrangement of “Bruton Town” is a challenging listen. “Cholera Camp” is like “Carry On Up the Khyber” meets The Bonzo Dog Doodah band! The brass section left for this one, and Andy ran back on for his trumpet solo. Older material was included too such as Rachael’s “If You Will Not Have Me ..” (with lasso demonstrated by Squeezy)..” and Benji’s “Unclothed Nocturnal Manuscript Crisis”, with lots of John Travolta-style poses, and a fabulous wah-wah bazouki!
We had plenty of tunes (although dancing was restricted by the seating) : Rachael’s “Trip to Bucharest” (the chaps stepped back so that we could all see her taking the lead – a nice touch), leading into Jon’s “Return of the Folk Mutants Parts 1 & 2”. The Rochdale Coconut Dance” and “Sloe Gin” rounded off the main part of the evening. The encores were “London Town” and “Frogs’ Legs and Dragons’ Teeth” and I was on my feet by then, so I can at least say I’ve never sat down to those two!
So, great fun, but I’d still prefer a standing gig!