December 1, 2009
The older I get the more I find I’d much rather stay at home on a cold, rainy night than venture into town for a concert. Last night I overcame that urge and headed out to the New Theatre to see electric folk phenoms Steeleye Span who are currently celebrating their 40th year together.
And am I ever glad that I did. I’m not a fan as such, or at least I wasn’t before, but a former roommate of mine loves them and used to play their early ‘hey nonny-nonny’ sounding recordings relentlessly, so my interest was naturally piqued. The current iteration of the Span – Peter Knight (acoustic and electric fiddles), Maddy Prior (vocals), Rick Kemp (bass, vocals), Ken Nicol (guitar, vocals) and Liam Genockey (drums, percussion) – rolled out ballads and songs both traditional and new, and were helped along most ably by special guest American roots legend Pete Zorn on acoustic guitar, a variety of percussion as well as tenor and sopranino saxophones.
From the get-go I was impressed by both the integrity of their sound, though the mix was a bit bass heavy to start, and by the content of their set list. I’ve seen a number of ‘older’ bands the past couple of years who seem to pander to their fans and stick to a stale regimen of old hits, but the Span wowed us with songs from their later recordings including albums Cogs, Wheels and Lovers (2009) and They Called her Babylon (2004) too.
Most of all, I was struck by the virtuosic musicianship and surprising variety on offer, from the full-on electric sound of 'Sheep-Crook and Black Dog', to the haunting fiddle and vocals on 'The Great Silkie from Sule Skerry', to the moving lyrics of 'Hard Times of Old England'. There were waltzes, reels and even a bit of rockabilly.
The group brought it all home, though, when they invited the audience to sing along on 'All Around My Hat'. Sadly, I never learned the lyrics to this one back in my flat-sharing days. I would have loved to join in.
And am I ever glad that I did. I’m not a fan as such, or at least I wasn’t before, but a former roommate of mine loves them and used to play their early ‘hey nonny-nonny’ sounding recordings relentlessly, so my interest was naturally piqued. The current iteration of the Span – Peter Knight (acoustic and electric fiddles), Maddy Prior (vocals), Rick Kemp (bass, vocals), Ken Nicol (guitar, vocals) and Liam Genockey (drums, percussion) – rolled out ballads and songs both traditional and new, and were helped along most ably by special guest American roots legend Pete Zorn on acoustic guitar, a variety of percussion as well as tenor and sopranino saxophones.
From the get-go I was impressed by both the integrity of their sound, though the mix was a bit bass heavy to start, and by the content of their set list. I’ve seen a number of ‘older’ bands the past couple of years who seem to pander to their fans and stick to a stale regimen of old hits, but the Span wowed us with songs from their later recordings including albums Cogs, Wheels and Lovers (2009) and They Called her Babylon (2004) too.
Most of all, I was struck by the virtuosic musicianship and surprising variety on offer, from the full-on electric sound of 'Sheep-Crook and Black Dog', to the haunting fiddle and vocals on 'The Great Silkie from Sule Skerry', to the moving lyrics of 'Hard Times of Old England'. There were waltzes, reels and even a bit of rockabilly.
The group brought it all home, though, when they invited the audience to sing along on 'All Around My Hat'. Sadly, I never learned the lyrics to this one back in my flat-sharing days. I would have loved to join in.