In February of 2007, the band made up of Dave Swarbrick, Kevin Dempsey and Maart Allcock paid a visit to this venue and everyone present said how wonderful they were and that they'd like to see them back.
Last Friday, at the same venue, they came back. And once again, everyone present said how wonderful they were. Hardly surprising, because the return show was almost identical to the first.
They played a set that was almost exactly the same - and played it pretty well, although they were perhaps a little rusty in places.
They told more or less the same stories and the same jokes, and the audience - who were more or less the same people who saw them at the same venue 20 months ago - laughed in more or less the same places, and clapped appreciately between the songs.
And so I might as well give it the same review as
last time - which is to say that:
the sound of Swarb's iconic collection of traditional tunes - Last Night's Fun/Paddy On The Railway/ Drops Of Brandy/Poll Ha'penny - filling the Foyer was electrifying. These are the tunes he took into Fairport Convention 35 years ago, where they were collectively dubbed "Dirty Linen". These are the tunes which inspired the creation of a band (Last Night's Fun) and a long-running folk magazine (Dirty Linen).
But Maart and Kevin are no mere props. Both are superb musicians in their own right, and each brings strength and power to the ensemble.
Maart's sheer dexterity on guitar is always a delight and, with the song Grey Funnel Line, even contributes with lead vocals, one part of the musical spectrum in which normally he's lacking. But with a vocalist like Kevin Dempsey in the band, who can blame Maart for letting his fingers do the singing?
Dempsey, also an enchanting guitarist, has a genuinely quality voice, which is put to great use on songs The Pride Of Kildare and I Know My Love. Gorgeous!
Lazarus may have started as a way of easing the recovering fiddle legend back into a life on the road as a jobbing musician again, but now it's a classic line-up of top talent that's a must-see for any folk fan.None of that has changed, except that Swarb himself - who famously had a double lung transplant - is looking fitter and brighter with every passing year. Where 20 months ago he took the occasional rest between numbers, this time he stayed on stage during the interval and practiced fiddle tunes.
See you in a year-and-a-half, lads?
PHIL WIDDOWSThe full article contains 444 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
