I arrived at the festival's Leftfield stage just in time to catch Nick and Bryn from FolkLaw entertaining the audience with a lively set of their original songs. I was already familiar with some of their tracks, as the last time I bumped into Nick he graciously gave me a copy of FolkLaw's album.(Time allowing I hope to review many of CDs that have been given recently).
Unexpectedly, my good friend Jan was there too. She'd travelled back from Oxfordshire that morning but still managed to make it to the festival to watch me play, bless her! Jan's always been a great supporter of my music, but I hadn't had a chance to see her for a while, so it was great to catch up for a long overdue chat. She took this photo of me (centre) with my new friends from FolkLaw:
Since I'd let another act swap their time slot with me, to help them out, I was due to play the Leftfield stage immediately after FolkLaw. so, having played a sit down set on the Friday night – so I could play a stompbox and other percussion with my feet – I opted for a stand up set on Saturday and proceeded to – as Lozz, the musical coordinator for the festival later put it – 'give it some!'
Given that I was just getting over a throat problem, I asked for a s**t load of onstage vocal monitoring. The sound crew were a great – if a little amused at my request – and did a first class job, not just on my set but throughout the whole event.
I kicked off with 'Watching The Waters' and 'Here Again' from my City Blue album, then carried on with some new, untested songs such as 'The Light of Promise', which really came across well. I don't consider a new song finished until I've aired tested it in front of a live audience. It's kind of an ordeal by fire, but it keeps my writing skills sharp -lol!
Prolific local singer-songwriter, and top bloke, John Langford suddenly appeared in the front row of the audience at that point and started videoing me: it's always nice to be appreciated by fellow writers!
By the end of my set, during 'Give Me Some Soul', 'You' and 'The Oi Song', I'd abandoned my intended arrangements and inspired by the great audience, I'd adopted a more improvisational approach. The attention wild vocal flourish during the final song of my set – that was great fun from my perspective – as I got to see the entire appreciative audience raise their eyebrows in unison :) – was actually a spur of the moment decision, and surprised the hell out of me -lol! So ended my final set of the 2013 Women Chainmakers' Festival. The audience were great and the sound guys were spot-on too.
I was knocked out by the positive comments from audience members and fellow performers. The compliment that perhaps amused me the most (in a good way -lol!) was from one of the sound engineers who, after strongly praising my humble attempts to put on a memorable performance for the audience, inquired with total sincerity: 'Are you sure you're suffering with a vocal problem?'
Actually, my poorly throat was feeling tired by the end of the set. But since even the excellent sound crew were half wondering if I was pulling their leg about being treated for a throat problem, I'll take it that I did a pretty good job of the vocals! :-)
After playing, Jan and I wandered off to get a bite to eat and an essential detour around the festival site to buy double cone/double flake ice-creams – is there any better way to enjoy live music than with ice-cream dripping down your hand and onto your T-shirt? We made it back for the last hours of the festival (which finished around 5pm on Saturday) to catch the other acts, though sadly I missed musician and songwriter Tom Martin's set.
When it was all over and the stage marquee was almost deserted, I sat around chatting for a while with Jan and some other old friends of mine – and some new ones too :-) Here's Jan's final photos of the day:
To my right are my good friends Mick and Jean to my left are 2 excellent singer songwriters: Steve Morris and Carol Widenbar.
And here's the same line-up, but with Jan sitting in to my left, while Mick is now behind the Jan's camera taking the shot. I couldn't finish the blog without including a picture of Jan, especially since she insisted on buying me that huge ice cream -lol!
So, thanks to the talented Lozz – who put an incredible amount of effort into the 2 day event – for inviting me to play at the festival. Thanks to all the other Women Chainmakers' Festival organisers and supporters for creating an annual celebration to mark and further promote a very significant piece of social history.
Also thanks to all the performers, many of whom entertained me with their sets (I only wish I'd have had time to see them all): East West Infusion, The Laners, Folk Law, Easy Street, The Tom Martin Band, Carol Widenbar, Steve Morris and of course Billy & Lozz too.
Last, but by no means least, as without them there would be no festival: thanks to the thousands of people who attended the event on Friday night and Saturday daytime!
PS After the event I got this heart-warming message from the festival's music coordinator, Lozz, that I'd like to share:
'... you were exactly what was required for the festival. You give everything and then a little bit more on top – really Mr 110%.'
I really appreciated that. A perfect end to a brilliant festival. Hopefully it'll continue to grow into an evermore respected and popular event. Do pop along and support the event next year if you're in the vicinity (just check the festival's website next spring for all the details
HERE). The event is free but the entertainment and historical value are priceless.
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