Welsh Proms Review
On Tue 22 July, St David's Hall was the venue for the first indoor gig most of the evening's performers had been to for a while. The Folk Prom was a huge success, drawing to the stage the up-and-coming 3 Daft Monkeys, the massively popular Show Of Hands and the famous vocal styling of Fishermen's Friends. In between each song, each artist would impart a little of their knowledge on the background of the tune to follow; an air of humour within their words. The music itself ranged from the typical jaunty tune associated with the genre, to teary, moving ditties of lament. Most of the sets were made up of songs from recent tours, though a few old favourites were also slipped in, such as Show Of Hands' Irish classic, Galloway Farmer, much to the delight of the audience. The performers even went so far as to introduce themselves in very proficient Welsh in spite of their English nationality, which naturally led onto many little jokes throughout several songs, such as travelling to Bristol town (via Wales). There was a fantastic atmosphere in the hall throughout the night and at some points even a little bit of dancing broke out!
3 Daft Monkeys opened the night and it was clear throughout their set that such a huge variety of influences from all over the world had been combined to create a unique sound. Show Of Hands then took over after the interval and continued to move the audience with laughter and song before introducing Fishermen's Friends with song. The Cornish male voice group picked up where Show Of Hands left off, bringing with them an incredible range of vocal harmonies while a different individual led his own unique song each time. Show Of Hands returned to the stage a little later to finish the night with the two groups performing a few duets before 3 Daft Monkeys joined in for a fantastic and moving finish the night.
The fact that all three groups had been willing to put the time and effort into learning a few songs despite not normally touring together showed great dedication to the event, and to their credit their efforts paid in dividends and allowed them all to hold their heads high as part of the Lloyds TSB Welsh Proms 2008.
DAVID HEYMAN (Youth Editorial Group)
Click on band names for the websites of Show Of Hands and 3 Daft Monkeys.
