preview: cambridge folk festival 2012.

this year's cambridge folk festival is only a few days away (26 - 29 july) and for the first time ever i took the time to check out the entire line up before heading to a festival. after a few hours of listening to great and not so great music, here's my top 15 of bands (in alphabethical order) you should try to catch at the cambridge folk festival this year. see you there!

1. ahab

the four-piece from london is basically the embodiment of uk americana. having seen them many times before, i can assure you that you will not be disappointed. beautiful harmonies and simply a sound you have to dance to is exactly what you can expect from ahab.


*listen to: lightning bug, run me down
*CFF day: thursday

2. charlene soraia

she describes her sound as alternative folk but in my opinion there's a bit of pop and even some jazz/rnb in there as well. charlene soraia started playing guitar at the age of 5 and released 3 eps before recording her debut album moonchild (which was released on peacefrog records in january 2012). i'm intrigued to see if the honesty of her lyrics also comes across on stage.

* listen to: bipolar, postcards from io
* CFF day: saturday

3. dry the river

lately it seems like dry the river are everywhere. that's no surprise though. since they released their debut record shallow bed earlier this year, they're the one and only folk-rock band you cannot run away from. rightly so and definitely a band you shouldn't miss.


* listen to: animal skins, lion's den, shaker hymns
* CFF day: thursday

 4. gerard and the watchmen

it is a mystery to me why these guys are not yet signed to a major label. it can only be a matter of time as i don't see how anyone can resist those wonderful vocals mixed with traditional folk bits and of course a small personal touch. next big thing on the folk radar? perhaps.




* listen to: sophie, hesitate
* CFF day: saturday

5. jake bugg

it doesn't matter which big music magazine you read right now, you will definitely come across jake bugg at one point. with a voice like richard ashcroft, his music fits right in with bands like oasis or even johnny cash. great sound that gets you going. he's one to keep an eye on.

* listen to: country song, lightning bolt
* CFF day: friday

6. jay leighton

CFF is certainly not limited to just folk music and jay leighton is a good example for the variety of music at the festival. i'd describe his music as melancholic pop with a shade of folk. jay leighton plays tunes that get you dreaming and hopefully this energy will come across on stage aswell.





* listen to: night and day, everything you love
* CFF day: saturday

 7. karima francis

do not miss her because she's simply brilliant. that's all you need to know, so i repeat: don't be an idiot and make sure to catch her set!

* listen to: glory days, wherever i go
* CFF day: sunday

8. lee mitchell

here's the man i'm probably most looking forward to (among a few others). lee mitchell has an irresistable voice. you're drawn to his music and can't do anything about it. but that's just the way it goes and it's not surprising at all. check him out. you'll be glad you did.

* listen to: regrets, these dirty words
* CFF day: friday

 9. lera lynn

i came across lera lynn by accident a few weeks ago. obviously i was very thankful to find out that she's playing at CFF. her record have you met lera lynn? is already one of my favourite albums of 2012. beautiful vocals and a relaxed folk sound... perfect mix.

* listen to: happy ever after, for the ride
* CFF day: sunday

10. the miserable rich

when i first checked out the miserable rich earlier this year, i had mixed feelings about their sound and decided to see them live to make up my mind. and the verdict? incredible live band, especially unplugged. absolutely amazing and definitely a band to see at CFF.


* listen to: laid up in lavender, imperial lines
* CFF day: saturday

11. phantom limb

phantom limb are already one of my CFF highlights. having seen them support ahab in london, i cannot wait to experience this live magic again. yolanda's voice is absolutely to die for. there's nothing that'll keep you from falling in love with this band.

* listen to: missy, the pines, tumbling down
* CFF day: friday

 12. rachel sermanni

another female artist? yes. i'm usually not that much into female vocals but the CFF simply offers so many amazing female artists that it's hard to simply ignore them all. rachel sermanni has got a gorgeous voice that seems to literally flow through her songs. stunning.

* listen to: eggshells, the fog
* CFF day: sunday

13. ruthie foster

she's got the gospel voice i was looking for while browsing through the line up. ruthie foster brings classic american gospel music combined with modern blues/jazz elements to the uk. brilliant voice, great sound. you'll find me in front of the stage during her set.

* listen to: welcome home, it makes no difference
* CFF day: sunday

14. seth lakeman

he's playing the fiddle like no one else (besides sam sweeney perhaps) and he sings too - if that doesn't make you want to see him, let me tell you that his drummer is incredible. both of them together and you're definitely in for a treat.

* listen to: the watchman, tender traveller
* CFF day: sunday

15. the staves

3 beautiful sisters and they're all blessed with incredible talent. who would've thought? but it's true. gorgeous 3-part harmonies accompanied by a guitar and a ukulele in most cases. it doesn't get much better than this. make sure to catch them at least once.

* listen to: i try, the motherlode

* CFF day: saturday & sunday

ahab. live. deaf institute.

who: ahab

where: deaf institute, manchester, uk

when: 8 may 2012

support: charlotte carpenter; hawker reunion

everyone probably has at least one band that they never get tired of seeing live. i have quite a few bands on that list and ahab are definitely one of them. full band set, acoustic, unplugged – it doesn’t matter. it always feels like they can pull of anything without even trying. so once they announced a gig at the wonderful deaf institute, the date got marked in my calendar.

compared to the last time ahab played in manchester at band on the wall, a lot of things were different this time, not counting the venue change. but having a support act, two in fact, was one of those things for example. charlotte carpenter from kettering was up first. her tender voice accompanied by an acoustic guitar seemed to be a good start to the night. some of her songs were more folk, others more pop. in general it felt like she didn’t quite show what she can actually do, so she might be worth keeping an eye on in the future. hawker reunion were up next. the two piece from manchester claims their sound to be alt folk and yes, i’d sign that statement. electric and acoustic guitars and two voices that complemented one another in a wonderful way proved to be just the right support for ahab. no matter how good they were though, a more or less happy tune surely wouldn’t hurt anyone once in a while.

the bad news came last friday when ahab’s callum adamson “announced” he was in the hospital. (almost) no harm done though, the appendix is out and he’s back home recovering from his operation, so no one had to feel guilty for enjoying themselves on tuesday night. having no lead guitarist and no drummer present meant for the rest of the band to at least try to live up to their usual show. at the risk of repeating myself, they obviously didn’t even need to try because whatever they do normally works very well.

the night started with folk-pop and alt folk and ended with alt country. ahab are often described as one of the best americana bands in the uk. judging by their live shows, i guess they can live up to that reputation. they played an impressive set of a whopping 17 songs, including a couple of new tunes. their songs are normally short (or maybe it just seems like that) and spot on. this show was the second time i’ve seen them as a 3-piece playing an acoustic set. of course the 12-string guitar was clearly missing when you’re familiar with their music but somehow the remaining band members made it work nevertheless. kicking off their set with the wonderful lucy and then slowly playing their way through a selection of their best tunes including all-time favourite lightning bug, the catchy call a waiter, the as always beautiful million reasons and a brilliant cover of wagon wheel. clearly the new songs were the highlight of the night though. neighbours, wild mouth, why are you so sad and it hurts were all different but equally beautiful each in their own way. a powerful performance of rosebud with seebs llewellyn on lead vocals then was the perfect end to their main set. but what makes ahab’s music actually so amazing? besides the obvious like gorgeous lyrics, it’s their stunning harmonies which were particularly great during why are you so sad (luke price on lead vocals) and my father’s eyes (dave burn on lead vocals), which they performed unplugged and in the middle of the audience as an encore. and i gotta say, it’s actually pretty brave to get people clapping along when you’re off mic but their voices are all so strong that the audience probably could’ve made a lot more noise and it wouldn’t have mattered at all. all in all, a night out seeing ahab live is always a guarantee for a great time – regardless of how many band members are actually on stage. 

setlist:

lucy

lightning bug

wish you

docker's hands

wagon wheel

run me down

call a waiter

neighbours

wild mouth

why are you so sad

it hurts

to the light

joanna

million reasons

womans arms

rosebud

encore:

my father's eyes (unplugged)

from left to right: seebs llewellyn, luke price and dave burn

ahab. live. chapel arts centre.

who: ahab

where: chapel arts centre, bath, uk

when: 18 february 2012

support: ash hancock

every time i take a trip somewhere to see a band, i’m worried if the trip will be worth it in the end, even if i already know that the band is great live. there’s always this little voice inside my head that keeps saying - "please let the band be good!" much to my reassurance, thinking this in case of ahab is just a waste of time and energy, because there’s simply no need to worry about anything when it comes to their live shows. still buzzing from their london show the weekend before, i made my way down to bath for another great performance. 

singer-songwriter ash hancock was up first. he basically fits right into this nice circle of singer-songwriters that’s out there right now. ash and his guitar didn’t have much stage presence due to him sitting, but that almost didn’t matter. despite the sometimes pretty scratchy vocals, he delivered a decent set. if you’re into acoustic folk music, he might just be your new favourite.

normally i’m one of those friendly people that shows up early to see the support act too, because that’s the only decent thing to do if you ask me. and most of the times, the support is actually quite good but at an ahab gig, no matter how good the support might be, you just want them to be done as quickly as possible. in nerve-wracking anticipation of ahab, there’s just no time for any supports.

8.40 pm and ahab finally entered the stage; and enter is the right word here as they’re definitely one of those bands that simply owns the stage once they start playing. they kicked their set off with the wonderful lucy, easily one of my favourites. this song might be so brilliant because it works in every way – either as a full band version or as an acoustic version. moving right along to some of their signature tunes including lightnin bug, we didn’t have to wait long for the first highlight of the night. lots of bands covered wagon wheel over the years but i think it’s safe to say that rarely one of them did it with such energy. if their version of wagon wheel doesn't put you in a good mood, nothing ever will.

new tune love is hell is only one of many songs that requires some serious instrument swapping (except for grahame rolfe on drums who stays true to his roots). the "normal" line-up (if there actually is one) includes callum adamson on 12-string guitar, seebs lewellyn on bass, luke price on mandolin and dave burn on acoustic guitar. but the fact that they all seem to play every instrument on stage at least once during their show, just makes them even more authentic as a band. love is hell finally shows off callum’s vocal talent as he takes over the lead vocals for the first time. if they know what's good for them, we will see this song (and other new ones like soho and love and you and me) on their upcoming album that's due later this year.

another thing that ahab accomplished (unlike many other bands, except for the travelling band perhaps) is that their live performance made me fall in love with one of their songs that i wasn’t too keen on before. like roses never grabbed me on cd, but is now on the best way to become one of my favourites.

after a stunning 17-song set, i was dreading the encore. not because i didn’t want an encore but because i knew what was about to come next. i’m not sure if my father’s eyes is the best ahab song to date (regardless of how you would define "best" in this context), it certainly is the one that moved me to tears. after an absolutely horrendous outburst during this song in london the week before, it did not lose any of its magic and had me in tears again, which was probably mostly due to them singing it unplugged off stage in the audience. they didn’t give me much time to sob though as rosebud provided a perfect end to another amazing evening.

so what’s the verdict of my 5th ahab live experience? even if you’re normally not into alt-country/folk music, you can’t help but enjoy those guys. they make it extremely easy to fall in love with their music because the fun they have on stage is just infectious. amazing four-piece harmonies, songs that get you dancing and crying at the same time and a bunch of very talented musicians – what else could you possibly ask for?

 ahab - love is hell (live in bath)

there are various ways that you can connect with ahab - website, facebook, twitter, youtube. make sure to check the website for all upcoming tour dates. check them out live if you have the chance; i guarantee you that you won't be disappointed.

setlist

lucy

lightnin bug

wish you

docker's hands

to the light

wagon wheel

call a waiter

love and you and me

run me down

love is hell

where's the one you love

soho

like roses

joanna

million reasons

woman's arms

rosalie

encore

my father's eyes (unplugged)

rosebud

ahab - wagon wheel (live in bath)