Eliza Carthy and The Wayward Band

Eliza Carthy and The Wayward Band

Dec 21

BIG BAND JOY

Where: Saint Luke’s
When: 19 December 2017
Support: Duotone

Towards the end of the main set EC jumped down from the stage and ran around the room to demonstrate that there was plenty of room to dance neatly illustrating the only thing wrong with this gig – a dissonance between the boisterous joy on stage and the seated audience. EC’s urge to dance did get a few people up on their feet but was unable to break through the general school assembly social mores. And why is it that so often that at the more ‘traditional’ folk gigs that seating is the norm – even if the audience does tend to be older getting them on their feet and dancing must be good for their health (physical and spiritual).

Eliza Carthy was resplendent in white, strong of voice and devilish in her fiddle playing. She and her 11 supporting band members (bass, drum, guitar, 3 piece string section, 2 piece brass section, squeezebox, accordion/keys, percussion) had their faces splashed with blue so it was if a band of merry marauding ancient Britons had invaded Saint Luke’s. They were the most joyous band I have seen in a long while – they were having a blast, bouncing around the stage, mock sword fighting and all. They were also excellent, having perfected the very difficult art of being very tight but also very loose at the same time.

The sound and songs were rooted in folk music but it was folk music with open arms, embracing rock, NO jazz, calypso, vaudeville and other styles, with aplomb and swagger. Above all it was muscular and energetic. Some of the best moments came when, in several songs, EC’s vocals were backed by a quartet of the male band members, giving their sound a deep rich vibrancy. GG’s highlight was ‘Hug You Like A Mountain’ from their latest album Big Machine (see sample video below).

EC said that folk music was mainly songs of misery and unhappiness and the few happy songs served two purposes – first, at the end to make you think you had had a good time; second, as a sorbet before a long stretch of misery songs. But tonight, even on the misery songs this band oozed exuberance and celebration.

Band page

Sample video