No festivals for a while and then two come along at once. Maverick last week and Saturday at Ely this week. Previously went to Ely in 2011 and always said we’d return – this is our folk festival for the year (at least for now, unless we make the long trip to Glemham Hall for Folk East) as we are again giving Cambridge a miss.
Another well organised event, with a huge array of excellent real ales, a selection of reasonably priced good food, friendly atmosphere and, last but not least, some very good music! Ironically, the abundance of good real ale was a little redundant – it was so hot, resorted to drinking water to keep hydrated and didn’t get to sample anywhere near the beers I might normally. Be churlish to complain about such good weather at a festival though.
Highlights included Elbow Jane, who played a fine, melodic set in the afternoon. Particularly strong vocal performances I thought, with solid, straight forward and genuine songwriting. Also enjoyed Adrian Nation, both his performance and associated anecdotes. Karine Polwart also played the main stage in the afternoon. Fine singing and playing, with sympathetic accompaniment. Despite that, and sacrilege I know, I don’t find her that musically involving – clearly it’s a blind spot and my issue, not hers. In the evening, the Jaywalkers kicked off the main stage in style, but a particular highlight turned out to be the blues singer / guitarist Hans Theessink. Although I have a couple of his albums, I wasn’t expecting such a powerful and charismatic live set. A little bit of traditional blues, some of his own blues and gospel based material and a great rendition of a Chuck Berry classic. And what a superb guitarist. What’s not to like?
The star attraction for me, and the reason I chose the Saturday ticket, was Home Service. As a massive fan, I was really looking forward to seeing them live in a relatively small scale setting. Had previously seen them at Cambridge, but didn’t feel the immediacy of the band’s music in that environment. It was disappointing that the band had to play without a lead guitarist (accident, broken leg, unavoidable) but great that they decided to play anyway. Lead guitar parts on classics such as ‘Alright Jack’, ‘Scarecrow’ and ‘Look Up’ were improvised successfully on sax and keyboards. John Tams’ vocals were as powerful and emotionally charged as ever, not bad for a 64 year old! Standing ovation all round, and well deserved. The Treacherous Orchestra brought proceedings to a high energy close but I have to confess we didn’t stay for the full set.
Also said hello to a couple we had previously met in 2011 in Bedfordshire at the now defunct Rhythm Festival. The festival circuit is indeed a small world.