And so we come to the third installment of the great DIGS project, the wonderfully warming Autumnal Delights. With giant cakes and cups of tea supplied, as usual, by the thoroughly excellent Caffi CAIS, the scene was set for an evening of acoustic enchantment.
Starting us off (after an introduction by your compère extraordinaire, yours truly) was Sophie Ballamy. Originally from Llangollen but now at Chester Uni, the most striking feature of Ballamy is her voice, crystal clear and with the control of a circuit veteran.
A solo performance with her playing guitar, she played songs more diverse than your standard singer songwriter fare, drawing in elements of 60’s pop, folk and a hint of twee pop that never descended into being saccharine (and I spotted a few cheeky jazz chords in there too for good measure). A strong collection of tracks drawing on a seemingly broad back catalogue – she introduced one song as being over 3 years old – there was a wide range of material played, from simple, bouncy & catchy songs to more complex, contemplative pieces, yet she retained a stylistic individuality throughout. She was interactive with the crowd, from describing what songs are about to asking for any Spice Girls fans in the house… then breaking into an unexpected but highly entertaining cover of Wannabe a la Jack Johnson.
An engaging performance from a hugely watchable performer, Ballamy is very much one to watch. Her excellent new EP “My Friend, The Moon” is out now and features a selection of the tracks played on the night.
Our second act of the night was Sam Airey, another North Welsh act, this time hailing from Anglesey via his current base in Leeds. Again, performing solo on acoustic guitar, Airey played a more introspective set than Ballamy, slowly unfolding pieces with plenty of space inhabited by an, at times, mournful air. Tales of heartache and regret dominated the first part of the set but as it progressed a little sunlight was let in by some more up tempo tracks as it progressed to an emphatic finale. I found there to be a touch of John Martyn to Airey’s style, a patience and restraint in both the playing and the singing, with voice comparable to Martyn’s in its ability to command a room’s attention.
Another performer with a breadth of available tracks, Airey has a selection of singles and EPs available on iTunes, which well warrant further investigation (I personally recommend single Blackout, of which it and it’s b-side were played on the night to considerable applause).
The headline act for the night was The Common Tongues, a (usually) 5-piece from Brighton. As the drummer was, for some unexplained reason, in Norway, they were down to being a 4 for the night. Now these chaps are the real deal – multi-instrumentalists, four-part harmonies, unusual arrangements (each song stops dead about 4 bars before you expect, it’s a neat trick that caught me off guard every time), hummable hooklines and one of them even broke out the harmonium for a couple of tracks and it didn’t sound incongruous or gimmicky. Now that is talent.
They are starting to snowball in popularity off the back of several successful Youtube clips and free-gift mp3s for mailing members and such, though of course it wouldn’t happen if the material wasn’t up to scratch but that is of no concern here. With deft playing and a range of instrumentation, most tracks are based around dual guitars, but glockenspiel, violin, bass, keyboard and of course harmonium weave in and out of the mix seamlessly. They inhabit similar territory to Danny & The Champions of the World (whose some-time members and wonderful outfit in their own right Trevor Moss & Hannah-Lou are starring for us on Saturday 17th December) and are within touching distance of making the breakthrough to bigger audiences.
Common Tongues were very interactive with the crowd, just as the preceding two acts. It really helped through the night to generate the intimate, in-on-a-secret feeling the DIGS events have fostered so far. But we need more people to be in on it! These nights are too good to miss, so make sure you get down to the next one…
We have, as previously mentioned, got Trevor Moss & Hannah-Lou next time, fresh from releasing their second album, a thoroughly modern folk duo with deep roots in the music’s heritage, they are a major force in the UK folk scene, having played tours of both village halls and festivals.
We have Nia, previously Sunrise Sunset, a local girl from Llandudno who is currently living in London and getting a serious reputation on the circuit, but we’ve convinced her to come back for what promises to be a very special night.
Lastly, but by no means leastly, we have the supreme Indelicates, who are a huge, huge favourite of team DIGS. Having just completed a headlining tour of the United States in support of majestically ambitious and flawlessly executed David Koresh Superstar (which is, of course, a rock opera about the Branch Davidians cult in Texas in the early 90s and is, of course, probably the best rock opera this side of Tommy), we have convinced them to stop making fudge (no, really, they make excellent fudge) and come and bewitch us with their unique brand of socio-analytical cabaret-rock’n’roll-country-indie-folk (well, what else?).
Saturday 17th December – Day of the Unconquered Sun. Don’t miss it!
– Jack “Catbus” Francis
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