Witchseason Weekend 2

The second part of the Witchseason weekend was as good as the first - a tribute to the music of the Incredible String Band featuring Mike Heron and Clive Palmer from the ISB (but sadly not Robin Williamson) and all sorts of guests. While the quality was not as consistently high as the Fairport show on Saturday, the variety of the guests and the chance to hear some songs I had never thought I would ever hear live made it just as enjoyable. I will feature a few of the guests in the next few posts, starting today

There were many weird and wonderful moments, such as the closing section of "A Very Cellular Song" which featured, amongst many others, Scritti Politti on tambourine, Dr Strangely Strange on kazoos and penny whistle and Abigail Washburn on tap dancing. It was like sitting through a live action version of the Bonzo's "Intro And Outro".

As on Saturday there were a couple of free shows in the foyer beforehand. First up was Georgia Seddon, Mike Heron's daughter. I must admit I mainly went along in the hope her old Dad would join her for a song or two. He didn't, but it didn't matter too much because she is very good in her own right and definitely worth watching out for. I particularly liked her closing number "We Are The Stars" and her cover of Clive's "A Leaf Must Fall".

The second free show was from Dr Strangely Strange, looking their age but obviously having a whale of a time. Here they are:


From left to right that is Tim Goulding's back, Tim Booth, Ivan Pawle and Joe Thoma. Note Joe's nasty fiddle rash - may that be a warning to any young men of a fiddling tendency.

They did a few old songs and a few new songs, including my personal favourite of theirs: "Donnybrook Fair". It is a sort of potted history of Ireland - potted in more than one sense I suspect. Here it is.

http://www.box.net/shared/8faziy2bt8

And here is a slightly ropey clip of them doing a slightly ropey version of their signature tune earlier this year: