Last Saturday afternoon I was at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London's fashionable South Bank for a celebration of the Incredible String Band. I have been a massive fan of the band for over 40 years so I wasn't going to miss the party.
As you can see from the photo there were a lot of celebrants. I counted 18 in total over the course of the concert. Most were from the current generation of what sometimes get called 'freak folk'. I recognised some like Milkweed and Junior Brother but there were no introductions so I'm still none the wiser as to who many of them were.
There were one or two moments that did not quite work but overall the kids did a great job of putting the show on right here. One of the stand-out performers was Mary Hampton, of whom I had not previously heard. She did lovely renditions of "Seasons They Change" and "God Dog", the song Robin Williamson wrote for Shirley Collins (and the only non String Band song of the show).
However, as good as they were, most of us were there for Mike Heron. I have been lucky enough to see him many times over the years, both solo and in a couple of String Band reunions way back around the turn of the century, but he is in his eighties now and has had health issues so there are unlikely to be many more chances.
Mike joined the gang for the last stretch of the show. He was pretty frail physically and initially vocally, but being on stage doing what he loves with a room full of people who love him had a rejuvenating effect on his voice. By the time he led the ensemble in a moving rendition of "Air" he was sounding great. I'm sure I wasn't the only old fart who was slightly damp around the eyes when that ended.
Here are the originals of "Air" and "God Dog" plus something by Mary Hampton from her 2011 album "Folly" (available on Bandcamp with a revised running order). I have also added "First Girl I Loved", one of my favourite records of all time. It features on double bass the great Danny Thompson who sadly left us a few days ago. I will try to do a proper tribute to Mr Thompson next week; consider this a down payment.
The videos feature some of the other fine (freak) folks who were on the bill, plus of course the golden boys (and girls) themselves.
"Lullaby For The Beleaguered" - Mary Hampton
"God Dog" - Shirley & Dolly Collins
"Air" - The Incredible String Band
"First Girl I Loved" - The Incredible String Band
No comments:
Post a Comment