Review: Show Of Hands @ St. David’s Hall
Show Of Hands + Matt Gordon & Leonard Podolak
Thursday 29th November 2012
St. David’s Hall, Cardiff
Every culture in the world has it and none of the modern music we enjoy would be here without it. Folk music is a wonderful thing.
Celebrating their 20th anniversary and release of new album Wake The Union with a UK tour, Show Of Hands epitomise a genre which, in many cases, has changed little in generations. For many, folk is seen as old hat but, as the band point out, “we’re never going to grow without roots” and for any music fan, an awareness of where we have come from is no bad thing at all.
Support came from Matt Gordon & Leonard Podolak, who were “thrilled to bring Appalachian banjo music to Wales”. Derived from various European and African influences, including English ballads, Irish and Scottish traditional music, hymns, and African-American blues, the genre uses stringed instruments most rhythmically and is a major predecessor to bluegrass. Hailing from Manitoba, Canada and New York, the duo charmed with a fiddle, a banjo and a whole lot of energy, whisking us away to the mountains that divide, or connect, their two countries. With precision and panache in equal measure, the traditional tunes sounded as fresh as the day they danced around a fire for the first time. And dance the duo did, with mesmerising clogging - striking of the heel, toe, or both against the floor or each other to create audible percussive rhythms - and infectious hambone - African-American plantation dance that combines stomping as well as slapping and patting the arms, legs, chest, and cheeks. They even taught the audience some hambone moves, all to heart-warming effect.
Using acoustic instruments - guitars, banjos, a double bass, and vocals - and time-honoured lyrical storytelling, Show Of Hands also embrace techniques passed on over centuries, and create poignant and pertinent music. The West-Country duo, namely Steve Knightley and Phil Beer were joined for the duration by guest Miranda Sykes, who added her captivatingly pure voice and resonant double bass to the already full sound.
Throughout a varied set as a trio - blending plush harmonies, atmospheric ballads and rousing roots anthems- we were treated to song after song of brilliance. The witty and wise critique of the banking system and politics Arrogance, Ignorance and Greed (AIG) began, “All I wanted was a home and a roof over our heads”, tearing down the red tape and high scale corruption with a reminder of reality. A rich rendition of Martyn Joseph’s Cardiff Bay was a welcomed local touch, whilst the rural consequences of our shift to urbanisation were lamented in Country Life.
The gig seemed intimate despite the venue size; a credit to the acoustics of the building and some ambient lighting that seemed to draw the room into the stage. And the near-sell out crowd lapped up tracks from the new album; Home To A Million Thoughts a celebration the wonder of museums was a highlight, while Stop Copying Me questioned university degrees, “Plagiarisation, dissertation, I’ll nick another essay from the net / I been three years wasting, cutting and pasting, now I’m £30,000 in debt,” and social networking, “Mindless pattering / another twit twattering / If I communicate / I’ll speak”.
Feet tapped and heads nodded as old tunes and techniques were mixed with a fiercely contemporary commentary. And two decades on from their own formation, here is a band of the people who will never fail to delight.
Click here to see some of the upcoming folk gigs happening in St. David's Hall
Click here for more folky music things on TheSprout
Click here for more music reviews on TheSprout
IMAGE: ShowOfHands.co.uk
