Perfect Harmony For Bojangles
musictube June 14th, 2008
Ethan Thomas, twelve year-old Appleby Grammar School student and talented musician, took the stage first, with a set that for one of his age can only be described as excellent. With great potential for the future, Ethan is definitely somebody to look out for. Ethan’s set was pleasant with some Classic Blues, very capably performed, alongside some of his own songs which are well written and with some tweaks have the potential to make great chill-out tracks. Ethan’s guitar playing was good and his only hitch, a time-out for guitar tuning, gave the audience time to talk. Ethan’s vocal performance was strong with a fine melodic quality. Ethan is a young lad with a future; once he finds his direction, as singer songwriter, a guitarist like Clive Carroll or a session musician, he will do well in his field. You can check out more of Ethan Thomas at his web site or check out his youtube
On the whole, the night was a success with some audience members saying it was the best they’d yet
More videos can be found on PTV. Look forward to seeing you all at the next one on the 27th of July with Fiona Clayton. A good night is anticipated.
Some useful links:
www.bojangles.co.uk
www.phasinghz.co.uk
www.jonastral.co.uk
www.ethanthomasmusic.co.uk
Bojangles - Appleby’s great new music venueYou might well find something extraordinary “Down the Road of the Cat Who Fished” in Paris, as Angie Palmer’s evocative ballad of that title suggests, and much the same can be said for a musical soiree at cafe 
Fiona Clayton enthralling her audienceWith her feisty, spirited vocals and elfin ambience, the sensitive innocence of Marianne Faithful meets the fresh and quirky energies of Jewel in Fiona, add a zesty sprinkling of Sineid O´Connor too and you have all the makings of a star. This Cumbrian starlet has been entertaining live since she was nine years old. Singing first with BlueJam, Penrith’s community-based music group she and her friends then formed the band Soft Target and she later went solo. Not only does she have indisputable talent with the guitar and piano, but this “profound lyricist” has been known to write a song within half an hour of setting pen to paper. It’s good stuff, too. Here’s a taste of it:“Good Love”“Good Love” is one of Fiona’s favorite songs, and is representative of her flair as a singer-songwriter.The WatershedExplicit! Who stands the crux? Fiona does with a powerful performance of her excellent song “The Watershed”. Fiona’s finale, a fine new composition keeps going through my head.Since February of last year I’ve seen her perform very well at Cafe No.15 in Penrith, at Appleby’s Avenue 67 Open Mic events and at The Nine Standards festival in Kirkby Stephen and though she always pleases the crowd, I think it is fair to say that her performances are gaining real strength over time. Live experience at the bigger events like Solfest and Nine Standards seems to be polishing her performance and building confidence nicely.
Fiona Clayton, stunning looks and great vocal agilityFiona began the show with a performance that was as stunning as her appearance and demonstrated far greater vocal agility and subtlety of volume control than I’ve seen in her previously, something else that was new to me was her playing with a pick. Standing performance suits her very nicely and she warmed up the crowd very well with music that was distinctively her own, plus a great cover of Joan Armatrading’s. She didn’t give us much banter between songs, but avoiding lesse majeste was perfectly in keeping with her opening act.Fiona’s style, very much aimed at her own generation of music-lover is cutting-edge, sweet, passionate, charged with the vulnerable strength of youthful falsetto, breaky and full of acceptable flats and vibrato, lively and rebellious with a squirrel-swift passage from octave to octave. It’s music with a lot to prove and when it achieves its aim it is very, very good indeed. Many of her songs have ‘hit’ potential. It’s wonderful to see and hear talent like this upspringing in Cumbria. For more details about Fiona please see her 
Angie Palmer has been dubbed the “uncrowned queen of English Americana.” It’s high time she was crowned!Angie Palmer followed with thanks to Fiona for a great opening set and then hit us with a superb set of her own. Angie’s musical talent is forged in the passionate fires of the sixties and seventies folk, blues and country-rock tradition and derives strength from long experience of live performance and the lyrical genius of Paul Mason, Angie’s poet-philosopher partner.Angie’s music draws from a wide range of influences, primarily the great singer-songwriter traditions of the ’70s (Townes Van Zandt, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell etc.), she’s something of a “category killer” in the sense that her music isn’t confined by genre, her songs are appreciated by people who like folk, blues, and country. It surely encompases all these genres and iTunes defines some of her songs as pop. Many of her songs have been dubbed English Americana and as for authenticity, my wife says “If I were sitting on my porch in Louisiana listening to Angie’s ” Premonition Blues” on the radio, I wouldn’t guess she was British.” When she finished up with Janis Joplin’s “Mercedes Benz”, I was worried that someone might call in an exorcist! Janis may well be back from the dead here, but please don’t exorcise this spirit.With a twinkle in her eye, Angie broadly describes her work as “flexible folk” or “Alt Country” and she should know. Interestingly enough this latitude with genre is more traditional in France where Angie has lived and performed on and off since she was seventeen, than elsewhere, perhaps as Paul observes, because outside France people are often more concerned with whereabouts in a record store you can find the music.
Angie Palmer, excellent liveThere’s star power in Angie’s performance and for a venue of Bojangles’s intimacy she didn’t need the amplification - in fact with all the variety in her playlist she explains “what really defines my music is that I can do what I do without amplification” (apart from at her really big gigs like Montreux, obviously). She’s a very capable performer, equally at home playing house parties or up on stage in front of 3,000 fans at major music festivals.Her live performance is very dynamic and entertaining and she has a witty, easy going banter and her melodic voice is rich and deep, often with a decidedly sexy rough edge. She can do the same in French amazingly (the French ciggies help with her Janis Joplin gravel too), but she admits that she finds English repartee a lot easier! Her banter doesn’t just fill the vaccuum between songs either, she likes to inform and prime the audience for the next song to enhance their enjoyment of it, “people need clues to where the song is going”, she explains. The orientation all flows very naturally and helps with another defining characteristic of her music - the strong narrative element. This is serious music, clever and entertaining yes, with catchy tunes and roll-along rhythms, but it is all intelligent.
Angie Palmer, queen of English AmericanaHer set was all her own except the Janis Joplin finale and included: “The Ballad of Love and Strife”, “Less than I need you”, “Premonition Blues” - prime examples of what could be considered her trademark English Americana, two songs with slower tempo, “Satellite” also from her Road album, concerning how to ruin a relationship by doubting its integrity and “Down The street of the cat who fished” telling of some things that might possibly happen down such an exotic street. She took a request from the jovially boisterous table 7 crowd for “Footprints in the Snow” and gave us a wonderful preview taster of her forthcoming album, a brand new blues song titled “Five Lies”, just two days old, and very brilliant.Yes, we were spoilt rotten, the whole set was top-notch, oozing professional integrity and yet the show felt laid-back, frank and unassuming - nice. She has lovely vocal control, an unstoppable, powerful roll to her guitar play and she’s always on the move. My own favorites were: “Premonition blues”, “Five lies”, “Down the street of the cat who fished” and “Less than I need you”.
Who needs amplification? Angie doesn’t. Bojangles is a nice little venue, the atmosphere and sound quality were great, next time there’ll be some additional lighting too. That will help the photography - apologies for the darkish pictures this time, but flash kills atmosphere and The Juice is all about atmosphere.I was lucky enough to have a chat with Angie and Paul in the show’s afterglow and learned more about them and their amazing music. Theirs was a fairy-tale romance that has blossomed into a partnership of rare quality. Paul explained how they had first met in a cafe in Paris attending a philosophical salon, he a lecturer in European Philosophy at Manchester Metropolitan University researching the work of Jean Paul Satre, she an already talented busker and sufficiently fluent in French to help him participate in the forum. Paris wove its spell and destiny unfolded, yielding a singer-songwriter partnership that goes from strength to strength.Paul writes many of the lyrics and Angie puts it all to music, they spark off one another finding out what works and what doesn’t and maintain good quality control. Angie explains, “It’s hard to distance yourself from the creative process. It really helps to have a partner involved.”One of Angie’s favorite songs, “Down the street of the cat who fished” is an exemplary fruit of this partnership. Named after a real Parisian street (that in reality isn’t quite as salubrious or romantic as the name might suggest), each of the ten verses describe people that might be encountered there, King Lear, Echo and Narcissus, Adam and Eve, Romeo and Juliet and more besides. “The song is open text in the sense that it’s inhabited by the audience” Paul explains, “the text of the song knows more than I do”. Different listeners unravel new meanings and have their own insights. There are layers of allegory at work. It is mystery. Another favorite? Her latest work, in this case “Five lies”, because it has fresh novelty. It’s a song about the lies most commonly told between men and women. It is a magnificent throbbing blues number that suits her voice perfectly.They had no idea that their work would become famous Angie says, but always had “faith that something would happen”. Happen it did, in 2004. The fan base was there waiting for her, it was a matter of making herself known. Everything changed for the better when 
Angie was ecstaticSo was the audience. Angie’s music was well received. Paul identifies the bulk of her fan base as “a knowledgable and passionate demographic, people over forty who are music fanatics. They grew up in the 60’s and 70’s immersed in music and they still have vinyl. They’re still active and still buying music, but on CD now.”And that’s great because you can find find Angie Palmer’s CDs: Romantica Obscura (2001), Road (2004), Tales of Light and Darkness (2006) all under the Akrasia label, in the high street, in chain stores like HMV as well as in independent music retailers. They’re also on Amazon and iTunes and you can order CDs from their website or buy them at their gigs, so whatever your music purchasing M.O. might be, they have it covered! Her last two CDs made the long short-list for the Nationwide Mercury Prize. Furthermore Angie’s in the process of recording her next CD right now and if the power of “Five Lies” is anything to go by, then it should be another humdinger! Watch for it in two to three months.Alongside this fabulous music Bojangles offered a mouth-watering menu (their fish dishes are particularly good) and a broad range of drinks - it was a fine night out and happily there’ll be more musical evenings in store at this great venue. The intensely talented John Trengrove will follow up this success on February 29 with another evening to remember!
For more on Fiona Clayton see her 
For more on Angie Palmer see her 
Rob Heron opened … 
Rob Heron is locally renowned for his punchy blues and spirited vocalsArriving rather late, to our embarrassment we just caught the denouement of Rob Heron’s performance, but we could see from the unrestrained applause that he’d opened in style and he’d warmed up the crowd well and truly. Rob, the event’s organizer and M.C. is a well known local acoustic performer renowned for his punchy blues and spirited vocals.
Paddy Rogan showing us what he can do Paddy Rogan followed Rob with a great set characterized by his fine guitar work and romantic melodies. Paddy’s a British Folk Revivalist performing an alchemical fusion of folk and blues with a hint of jazz. Two of my favorites are shown here:Paddy Rogan performing ‘All around you girl, roses grow’Paddy’s ballads went down very well. His performance was very polished and he is emerging as a singer-songwriter of talent and significant potential. The second half of Paddy’s show benefited considerably from improved lighting and I enjoyed this performance a lot. I think it was a great set and performed with panache. The mellow rhythms are typical of Paddy’s style.
Paddy sharing his ballads at No.15.Paddy Rogan performs ‘Is this what love is?’While the first two performers are Cumbrian and have played at No.15 venue before, tonight was a debut for the third and final performer, Matt Woosey who came up to Penrith from Stoke.
Matt Woosey is a skillful guitarist and conveys a great depth of passion through rich, forceful vocals. Through a set of 15 songs Matt demonstrated his excellent vocal range and powerful, quite operatic richness of voice. I feel that though this man gives a lot, he has more in reserve. The volume of his music really appeals to me. Woosey has a big sound, but always maintains his musicality.Inspired by “the music of others”, notable influences being Led Zepellin, The Doors, Peter Green of fleetwood mac, Rory Gallagher, Sun House, Muddy Waters, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Paul Kossoff, Matt likes strong vocalists and he is one himself.
Matt’s music is grounded in the blues He describes his music as “The result of a combination between old school blues artists, a lot of blues since, and Rock and roll, from Buddy holly and Gene Pitney to Canned Heat etc. This combined with my own personal take on life, and experiences in love and the world in general give my music a feel of its own. I would broadly describe my music as covering a large array of acoustic temperaments, but always grounded in the blues in one way or another.”Matt performs ‘On a Roll’ at No.15I enjoyed the whole show. Though I can’t show them here, I particularly enjoyed the songs in which Matt used The Door’s Lyrics plus ‘On a Roll’ , ‘For You’ and ‘Neon to Wood’. See the forthcoming artist’s profile on Matt Woosey for an interview and more photos and videos.Matt performs ‘For You’ at No.15Please see the websites below and watch this space for the forthcoming artist’s profile for more information about Matt.New Website 
Plug & Play 07/08 season at the Penrith Players theatre got off to a great start on Sunday with a good crowd and some great playing from both the headline act and the “Plug and Players”.The traditional open mic slot started the proceedings off with the compere, Andy Johnson playing a lovely melodic solo bass piece, inspired by J. S. Bach. His interweaving of the D minor Toccata with an atmospheric Celtic influenced tune was warmly applauded by the audience. Local guitarist Chris Walker, then joined him on stage for a run through of two instrumental pieces showing a mastery of the fingerboard by Chris with a slow blues number, followed by a more upbeat jazz piece. Both tunes were appreciated by the Plug & Play audience. Ken Wilcock then took to the stage with his Fylde guitar and treated us all with some great finger-picking tunes namely “Rosalee”, “Paddies Green Shamrock Shore” and “Planxty Fanny Powers”. For an encore Ken played a French, gavotte-style piece called “Schottische”. Next up was Andrew Davies who is becoming a more regular face at the PnP sessions. Andrew treated us to four of his own compositions which showed off his Guitar and Harmonica playing and complemented his soft, clear voice as it rode above the music. “The Friend”, “Back of my mind”, “Feel it” with its driving guitar rhythm and “You’ve got something to say” were all well received by the audience. The final act for the open slot was Rob Heron who, fresh from playing at Solfest, treated us all to some awesome playing and singing. “Wouldn’t he”, “Roseville Fair”, John Lennons’ “Cold Turkey” – completely reworked and with some great guitar playing – and “Introspection” all had the audience cheering and clapping. After a short break the stage was then given over to Christian Moss. Having played in Manchester, Newcastle and California, he will shortly be heading off back to America for a tour. Joined on stage by drummer Gavin Warrender, he immediately started interacting and joking with the audience which for me is always a big plus. Lots of “stars” nowadays think you only have to get up on stage, play and get off. Not so. Engaging your audience is a big factor in becoming popular. I just wish this was appreciated more by artistes. Anyway…The set began with “Brick Wall”, from his new album which was launched that evening. Immediately showing off his superbly strong voice and complimentary guitar playing, this song for me is the best on the album. Not all songs had Gavin accompanying on the drums, (well, snare, two cymbals and a tambourine used as a kick drum!) but when he did accompany Christian the playing was excellent. It was just enough to alter the song, but not overpower it, the sign of a great drummer. “Control” “Headwound” and “The Odds” followed, with Christian merrily plugging the new album and laughing and joking with the audience throughout. “Circumvent” and “No Pianos” with its great interaction between guitar and drums followed as, song after song, Christian kept the audience enjoyment levels up. “No connection” the first song he wrote, way way back and “Killing my time” were played with feeling and intensity as was “The Flies”, played on slide Dobro to much applause. Unfortunately he broke his pick so could only give us one song on the Dobro. This was a shame as this gave a glimpse of another side to his compositional work. Finishing off with “Lungful”, again from his album and played without drums, Christian demonstrated that a good song stands by itself. He was called back for a well deserved encore. Clearly surprised to be asked for another song Christian and Gavin deliberated for a few moments. Then with the words “This should be interesting….” they launched into a lively song called “I need” which they performed brilliantly. A long applause followed showing how much the PnP crowd had enjoyed the session.See you all on the 7th October for Clive Carol (don’t miss this one!). Check out the Plug & Play website for details of upcoming gigs. www.plug-play.co.ukKeep it live!! “Open Mike”