– THE CASTLE HOTEL, MANCHESTER –
As someone who has spent the winter months living on a diet of dubstep and dark electronic beats, this evening definitely offers me a change in tempo. We’re at an evening at The Castle Hotel (ace pub, great wine) entitled Thank Folk For That. The evening’s genre needs no further explanation.
We are stood in the Castle’s back room space, full to the brim (40 people). Mostly the audience members are not a whisker beyond 22 years old. Even in the low lighting, it is clear I am not one of them and nor is my friend, but this will not dilute our evening.
We’ve arrived to see David McCaffrey on stage, an astonishing young talent with his acoustic guitar and lone vocals. His introspective, earnest folk melodies are beautifully melancholic. Poetic song-writing that seems to come from a heart that has undergone 50 years of heartache and not his 17 years of age.
We are drawn into tracks like ‘Your Old Ways’ and ‘Forty Days’ that really highlight a deep and rich vocal quality. His romantic lyrics crop up track after track. In ‘Stars’ he sings: “Holding back the simple silence, I should have stayed in and stayed way back home, can’t hold onto a simple smile now”.
The tempo never reaches beyond mildly cheerful but he’s lulled the audience into a chilled stupor by the end. David is billed on this year’s Green Man line up and I actually think he’s got the makings of a great music career ahead of him.
After a bit of instrument shifting and an interval drink, Eliza and the Bear are powering out their first track ‘Friends’, all very suddenly.
There is (alas) no bear in this band, and not one of them is called Eliza. Instead these are six young lads from London who have put together a very tight ensemble of songs in the last two years.
Their sound has been described as ‘guitar-driven indie-folk’, which is a fair assessment. We’re talking rapturous folk melodies with lots of up-tempo drums, trumpets and guitars that are extremely loud in this small room. Their big vocal arrangements like the wonderful, ‘Southern Wild’ almost pin us to the back wall.
The band don’t even fit on stage. The lead singer, James Kellegher is standing amongst us in the crowd. I’m assuming this is out of logistical necessity, but it expands the impact of their sound as well as adding to their endearing friendliness and the evening’s charming informality.
They power on with the catchy ‘Upon the North’ and this is where I can see the bold parallels drawn with Mumford and Sons (without the incessant banjo) and Arcade fire. This track is also the most polished of the evening. The vocal’s harmonies fit, the band are effortlessly in sync. It is the tuneful “I spent summers away, hiding in rivers and lakes” that I will be humming for days to come.
I confess, I’m having a great time. Every track is delivered with the utmost of energy and youthful enthusiasm. It’s the trumpet-heavy tracks for me like ‘Brothers Boat’ that begin to blow the winter cobwebs away.
The set is over all too soon and I’m left with the impression that we have been presented with a group of lads with considerable song-writing skill and instrumental prowess. I’m setting off home feeling a bit more like spring is in the air and that’s something dubstep has never offered me…
