Posted by Liz Osman 18 April 2010
Day two of the seventh Oxford Folk Festival saw blue skies and sunshine greeting the army of morris dancers that invaded the town from far and wide.
On the main stage Luke Daniels displayed his virtuosic button accordion playing, ably accompanied by fiddle, flute and guitar. The band played predominantly Irish-style tunes fast and tight. Steve Burns treated us to a rendition of Spencer the Rover, and The Speaking Waltz saw Luke’s fingers tripping delicately across the buttons in mesmeric fashion.
Hailing from Oxford’s twin town of Leiden, Duo Komitas’ main man Maaten Witkam kept the Cornbury stage amused with a selection of folk songs that skipped merrily across Europe. With the constant backing of an accordion, Maaten played an intriguing selection of instruments including an thing that was a curious mix of a recorder and saxophone. His genial wit shone throughout.
Lunchtime headliners Torivaki were left stranded in France, victims of the volcanic ash cloud. As luck would have it, festival patrons Spiers and Boden were likewise unable to reach their gig in Vienna so stepped in to fill the gap. They were on fine form, with a set consisted of favourites old and new, including Old Maui with its rousing chorus. Jack Robinson got some dancing in the aisles, and the encore of Prickle-Eye Bush drew even more onto their feet.
The economically-named duo Colin & Jane delighted with a varied collection of tunes. One half of Telling the Bees, their guitar and fiddle wove together beautifully. After a raucous set of hornpipes, the crowd literally stomped for an encore. No mean feat for a lunchtime act.
Giles Lewin and Steph West played a set of subtly and grace. Billed as playing “some English things, mostly” they showed genuine chemistry, especially on the tune sets. Showing his canny ear, Giles wove the sound of a police siren from outside seamlessly into the tune they were playing.
The Roots Union entertained the main stage with their American-tinged songwriting. Philip Henry tore up the stage with his mean dobro skills and innovative harmonica/beatbox combination. Former Fairport Convention singer Judy de la Bedoyere joined the clearly delighted band to sing “If I had a Ribbon Bow” for the first time in 42 years.
At the Holywell Room the festival had quite a different feel. Broadside was a combination of four local poets with interludes on concertina and saxophone. This was an interesting modern take on the broadside tradition, in the style of the comments page of a newspaper. Poems were on subjects as diverse as blogs and the distilling of whiskey. Certainly some of the poems would work in the modern folk canon, not least Lawrence of Suburbia with audience participation thrown in.
The Demon Barber Roadshow took to the main stage next. The core five piece band laid down their funky driving take on traditional English song and were joined at various points by a beatboxer, two morrismen, four clog dancers and a partridge in a pear tree. Last bit might be an exaggeration, but such was the spectacle it wouldn’t have surprised me. Near the show’s climax, the dazzling speed of the rapper sword dance inspired open-mouthed wonder and an edge of danger.
Over on the Cornbury Stage, Al Marshall was fearlessly breaking genre barriers with his singing and melodeon. A composition by Jimi Hendrix was followed by a night visiting ballad without a bat of the eyelid. His final song was the highlight of the set, a folked-up rendition of Pinball Wizard. In proper folk style the audience joined in the refrain to make a truly unique and enjoyable performance.
Jon Fletcher has an open and honest delivery and a very enticing voice. Whilst mostly staying in the English folk tradition, Jon slid into the blues for Black is the Colour of My True Love’s Hair, and across to jazz for self-penned Hold My Breath. He is also a self-confessed bird watcher and at least three of the songs featured migratory birds of the British Isles - perhaps there’s a whole album in there somewhere?
The evening concert at the Holywell showed the eclectic nature of the festival, bringing in the classical end of the folk spectrum. Local community choir Rising Voices produced an entertaining set of unaccompanied songs, ranging from folk to pop and ending with a comedy number. The enjoyment of all those involved is clear and radiates out to make the audience smile too.
The Oxford Concert Party flawlessly mixed classical precision with charming and humorous introductions to a wide range of material from Vivaldi to O’Calloran. The music was well suited to the atmosphere of the Holywell and special mentions must go to the drunken cello player - a stunning piece of playing and play-acting.
The Steamchicken ceilidh at the Newman Rooms was so popular that we were unable to get a peek inside! From the faces of those who were stepping outside it looked to be very enjoyable, and many of the morris sides had decamped inside for even more dancing.
Megan Henwood, winner of the 2009 BBC Young Folk Award, performed on her own in the main hall. Her presence & confident manner made the main stage a fitting venue for her intimate songs, which could so easily have been rendered cavernous by a lesser talent.
Headlining the Cornbury Stage The Dalai Larkin lambasted the audience with his questionable philosophies, but produced humourous and entertaining songs. Sampling the audience’s jungle noises made for an inspired backing track.
You would never guess that Cara Dillon’s line-up was hastily reassembled after two of her band were more victims of the Icelandic volcano crisis. Starting with a full band on stage, they pared back through various combinations to the core duo of Cara’s angelic voice and husband Sam Lakeman’s rolling piano. With the full band back on stage she modestly stepped aside to let them flex their muscles with a fast tune set. She confirmed her place as one of folk’s major talents with a sparkling performance. All in all another fine day of music and dance.
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