Fairport Convention Gig Review 18th May 2014 The Globe, Cardiff. I am a late comer to Fairport Convention. I first saw them at Leicester University Christmas Ball in about 1978/9. Prior to that I had been into Folk Rock, but mainly Steeleye Span, who had received commercial success with Guadete and All Around My Hat in the Early 70s. Fairports only outing on Top of the Pops had been with a version of a Bob Dylan cover in French called Si Tu Dois Partir (If you Gotta Go Now) visibly miming, when there was pretense that the show was live. The experience I had that night back in 78 was unforgettable. It was a low point in the the history of Fairport after they had undergone numerous line up changes. This line up remains one of my favourites, not least because of the sheer fun of it. It was a four piece all male affair with founder member Simon Nicol, Dave Swarbrick, Dave Pegg and on drums, Bruce Rowland, the only member of Fairport to have played at Woodstock, behind an ex-gas fitter called Joe Cocker. Since then I have bought everything that Fairport have ever recorded and been to see them as often as I can. The gig last night was the smallest venue I have ever seen them play with the current line up of Simon Nicol (Albion band), Dave Pegg (Jethro Tull), Ric Saunders (Soft Machine), Gerry Conway (Fotheringay) and Chris Leslie (Whippersnapper). To see the legend that is Dave Pegg selling his own merchandise, including a T shirt to help fund the treatment required for a tendon injury on his left hand was tragic. He explained to me that after having to take five months off (replaced by his son) he was now able to play a bass ukulele, with remarkable effect. This man is one of the greatest bass players in the world! That said, the intimacy of the gig gave me the benefit of seeing Fairport, always a great live band, do what they must have been doing back in the 60s. Playing to small but enthusiastic audiences where no one is further than 20 feet away from the stage or from the bar in the opposite direction. The set was mixture of the very old and the very new. Four of five tracks that may make it onto a new album to be finished later in the year. Some more recent compositions from young Chris Leslie who continues to write most of the new material for the band, contrasted with some really old stuff, pre-decimalisation as pointed out by Simon, who joined the band aged 17. This for me was the highlight hearing classics like Lark in the Morning (a collection of Irish tunes from the classic Liege and Lief album) and Farewell Farewell. All in all, it was one of the better Fairport gigs I have seen, despite the band having quite literally more comebacks than Elvis and more members than the Scots dragoon guards. youtu.be/CrElbDC687c
Posted on: Mon, 19 May 2014 21:03:53 +0000
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