The Snape Proms always feature what could be loosely described as folk or traditional bands as part of the overall programme and this year was no exception. Lau has already played and on Thursday night it was the turn of Bellowhead, who are always fantastic value in a live setting.
This year was a little bit different because they also had the ‘Young Aldeburgh Musicians’ with them for some of the set, which added an extra dynamic to the performance as well as a whole lot of fun. Initially, I don’t think the sound was spot on, with Jon Boden’s vocals getting a little lost in the mix, but that seemed to get sorted after the first couple of numbers. The set consisted of many of the live favourites, and for the most part the set concentrated on the uptempo and dance numbers and largely eschewed the ballads at which they also excel (although they did through in a couple, which helped the pace and rhythm of the set).
I’ve got all the Bellowhead albums and they have yet to capture the live magic on record; and I’d be surprised if there is a better live band playing in the UK at the moment, in any musical setting. The group has played Snape before and again they went down a storm. At the start of the set we even had a bit of dancing / standing / sitting controversy and the threat of a ‘Pimms style’ altercation kicking off among the audience – very unSnape like but quite entertaining.
‘Across The Line’, Yarmouth Town’,’ Frog’s Legs and Dragon’s Teeth’, ‘Whisky Is The Life Of Man’, ‘Fakenham Fair’, ‘New York Girls’ were all present and correct, with an encore of ‘London Town’ providing the stirring finish. With the Aldeburgh Young Musicians adding to the fun, this would definitely have been a great show to record for a live album – that’s one CD that would really capture the essence of the group and would be a must have purchase.