With a top 40 saturated with xfactor wannabes to whom image is more important than output, it is so refreshing when you are in the presence of an artist who puts 110% into every performance.
Seth Lakeman, therefore, did not disappoint. (Although he is shorter than he looks on TV)!!!
Playing to a packed out Princess Pavillion, the band (which included his older brother Sean Lakeman) was on top form as they kicked off with one of my favourite tracks -the Hurlers.
The gig in Falmouth was the penultimate stop on the tour promoting Seth’s new album, Poor Man’s Heaven. The album was launched back in June in Perranporth at a special gig in aid of the RNLI, and so far the tour has raised a total of £3000 for the organisation.
As a complete aside…
A couple of weeks ago I went to see 3 Daft Monkeys (also at the Princess Pavillion), and I couldn’t help but notice how keen everyone was to dance around to the music. I know Seth’s style is quite different, but it did seem strange that the audience was quite unwilling to get down and boogie.
Unlike the View and the Guillemots, this gig sold out well in advance, and so it did seem strange that Seth had to keep encouraging the crowd to move around in time with the music! But in the end everyone got the message, and it was hard to keep your feet still once the band cracked out the banjos!
Lady of the Sea and Kitty Jay both require some serious “arco” action and I could literally see the hairs of his bow snapping as he double stopped his way through the vigorous dotted rhythms and syncopation that make his music so appealing. It really was folk at it’s best.
On the BBC programme Made in England, Seth admitted that he goes through a bow every2 or 3 concerts, and I can see why. One of the biggest peeves both my violin teachers had with me was that I never used enough bow, this is not a problem that Seth has.
Add to that he sung at the same time and you can easily see why he was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize!
Any man who can double stop harmonics wins my ultimate respect!
[...] off with The Hurlers, it seemed that high energy was the order of the night. And compared with his last gig in Falmouth, it seemed like the ‘audience,’ despite their age, were willing to move along in time [...]