December 12, 2006
Vashti Bunyan is the quietest singer I've ever heard. After 30 years as a reclusive housewife in the remotest countryside, she uses the stage with an unexpected ease and naturalness - but her voice is as gentle as the ghosts of bunnyrabbits. Pure, clear, floral and effortlessly true - rather like a softer version of what Joni Mitchell's might have been now had she not smoked so much. Even the Zodiac took on a civilised and respectful hush (after a bit of shushing) as the audience pressed closer to catch every phrase.
The songs are beautiful, folky, melodic, hippy-friendly, and, of course, famous: Just Another Diamond Day was greeted with particular rapture by the (predominantly 20-something) audience. She uses her guitar with complete naturalness: the guitar part fits and supports the vocal so closely and subtly that, like a good bass player, you’d hardly know it was there unless it suddenly stopped.
Tonight was particularly special because as well as musical support from Katy (KTB), Joe and Robin Bennett (Goldrush), on cello, violin and flute respectively, Vashti was reunited on stage for the first time with the other two members of her girl pop group from the 60s, Jennifer Lewis and Angela Strange. All three girls attended the Ruskin School of Art (Vashti was thrown out for preferring music), and played all over Oxford as The Three of Us. After Vashti’s first set, The Three of Them performed close harmony versions of two early Vashti songs and All I Have to Do is Dream (Roy Orbison / Everly Brothers), to the delight of the audience and, it seemed, themselves. It was an extraordinary experience to see these three quiet, middle-aged women singing together on stage for the first time in 35 years. They started off almost shyly at first, as if wondering whether people would want to hear them after all this time. And they finished triumphantly, basking in the warmth of an ecstatic audience.
See also: Vashti Bunyan's Official Site. Once there, you click on either album image to get into the site properly. Her forthcoming tour dates can be found here.
The songs are beautiful, folky, melodic, hippy-friendly, and, of course, famous: Just Another Diamond Day was greeted with particular rapture by the (predominantly 20-something) audience. She uses her guitar with complete naturalness: the guitar part fits and supports the vocal so closely and subtly that, like a good bass player, you’d hardly know it was there unless it suddenly stopped.
Tonight was particularly special because as well as musical support from Katy (KTB), Joe and Robin Bennett (Goldrush), on cello, violin and flute respectively, Vashti was reunited on stage for the first time with the other two members of her girl pop group from the 60s, Jennifer Lewis and Angela Strange. All three girls attended the Ruskin School of Art (Vashti was thrown out for preferring music), and played all over Oxford as The Three of Us. After Vashti’s first set, The Three of Them performed close harmony versions of two early Vashti songs and All I Have to Do is Dream (Roy Orbison / Everly Brothers), to the delight of the audience and, it seemed, themselves. It was an extraordinary experience to see these three quiet, middle-aged women singing together on stage for the first time in 35 years. They started off almost shyly at first, as if wondering whether people would want to hear them after all this time. And they finished triumphantly, basking in the warmth of an ecstatic audience.
See also: Vashti Bunyan's Official Site. Once there, you click on either album image to get into the site properly. Her forthcoming tour dates can be found here.