And so to the final day of the 2010 Oxford Folk Festival...
Simon Care opened proceedings on the main stage with his excellent melodeon playing and a demonstration of dancing whilst playing, accompanied by Will Pound of Steamchicken, Jamie Huddlestone and Henry Webster.
Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies were up next, providing mirth and poignancy in songs from the North East of England. The easy banter between band and audience was infectious, as was the desire to sing along.
Headlining the lunchtime concert Chris Wood drew a big crowd. Playing tracks mostly from his recent album Handmade Life, he peddled his brand of soft-hearted grumpy old man to perfection.
He played and sang with a calm easiness that belied the sometimes serious subjects of his songs. In particular Hollowpoint still has a real rawness to it but as Chris sings it’s our turn for some "shock and awe." Certainly, after his assured and entertaining set there was some awe to be felt.
The Selenites, named after the natives from HG Wells’ novel The First Men in the Moon, played a relaxing post-lunch set on the Conbury Stage ranging from Playford tunes to a song from Far From the Madding Crowd.
Steve Turner brought his wit and experience to the second stage next. He took the small but very appreciative audience from "the song with the most complicated chorus in the world" to finish with an intriguing Louisiana song on a English concertina.
Over at the Music Faculty one of the weekend’s many workshops was taking place. Alice Little taught English tunes to a group of varied instruments, also focusing on how to make tunes more interesting for dance.
Paul Hutchinson should be no stranger to Bright Young Folk regulars from his work with Belshazzar’s Feast. Here he made his debut with another accordionist Karen Tweed. When the pace slowed there was genuine beauty to their playing and something magical about the interplay between the two instruments. As you might expect the mood was also lightened by the trademark dry banner and foul ups, deliberate or not.
Circus Envy Band have an excellent name and a committed membership, one of them having travelled over land from Spain to make the gig. Sitting on the rockier side of folk, the three voice harmonies are strong and have huge impact alongside driving acoustic guitars. The audience were very appreciative, particularly of Say Something, the number one MP3 download in Hull at one time. They look likely to improve on that accolade if this performance was anything to go by.
Next on the main stage, Maqam (pronounced ma-calm) is an outfit assembled by Giles Lewin to explore his love of Turkish and Arabic music and fronted by Tarik Beshir of the Brickwork Lizards. Now a four piece, Giles’ fiddle and Tarik’s oud are joined by a qanoon (a type of zither, plucked with metal fingerpicks) and and a single drum.
Together they work their way through intricate and haunting tunes and songs with minimal explanation. Without a cursory knowledge of the forms being played it’s hard to comment in any detail, but the rich textures of the music was easy to get swept up in and left me eager to hear more.
Back on the Cornbury Stage Ian Giles provided a rousing set of unaccompanied songs from his seemingly encyclopaedic knowledge. His strong, bold voice sailed through tales of lovers, into light operetta and even slavery, all with great aplomb and to great appreciation.
The final headliner on the main stage, Warsaw Village Band were there to take no prisoners. Arriving on stage to a sinister sample of ticking clocks, they either woke up or finished off any people who were flagging after three days of festival.
Although not subtle, there was genuine drama to their pulsing, bass-heavy sound and shouted harmonies. Several of the band attacked their instruments with endearing contempt and Maja Kleszcz had the most casually aggressive cello technique this side of the Vistula.
With all this bluster on show it’s strange that the most memorable part of the gig was a pairing of an instrumental jig with a quieter song called Heartbeat. Sung with just a cello and fiddle, both pizzicato, it allowed Maja to show there is some sensuality to her voice when she’s not competing with the noise of the full band.
Closing the festival What’s Up Folk barely fitted onto the second stage, spilling over the edges with their wide range of instruments. Formed at the John Mason School in Abingdon, and having already played the Friday Night Ceilidh with John Spiers at last year’s festival, the band are approaching veteran status whilst all still in their teens.
They played a lively set of tunes with clever arrangements to showcase everyone, not least the trombonist’s star turn in Kafoozalum. Some excellent singers were also given chance to shine, and the whole performance made for an upbeat end to an eclectic and surprising mix of acts on the Cornbury Stage over the weekend.
What’s Up Folk were a fitting way to finish an exciting and entertaining festival, proving that both it and the local folk scene that has spawned so many great acts, have a very bright future.
