Entertainment For Lively Minds
Way to Blue: Songs of Nick Drake
Posted by robram on 22 January 2010 - 9:11am.
When:
21 January 2009
Where:
Brighton Dome
Comments:
From the Joe Boyd-curated seven-piece string section, and a band including pianist Zoe Rahman and bassist Danny Thompson who played on many of Nick Drake's original recordings, to the stunning selection of some of the most wonderful vocallists around, this was a gig that kept the audience rapt for the entire night. Robyn Hitchcock rocked it up a little with two numbers from Pink Moon, Lisa Hannigan stayed folky and quirky, Green Gartside confirmed what a fantastic singer he is, Scott Matthews and Teddy Thompson were both wonderful and faithful to the originals. Stand-out performer of the night, though, was the little-known Krystle Warren. Her soul/gospel version of Time Has Told Me was quite breathtaking. Only Vashti Bunyan was a slight disappointment - clearly still a little scared of performing on-stage. Special appearance by Chris Difford. Overall a memorable evening that managed to be both faithful to Nick Drake, but also showed what can be done to transform his wondrous material.
The Audience:
A more mature audience than your usual 'gig' - I saw almost no-one under the age of 30. A few whoops of excitement for Scott Matthews and Teddy Thompson, plus a heckle when Thompson erroneously told us he was playing the 'last song' of the night.
Food & Drink:
A couple of pints of Dark Star bitter and some Tyrrels Red Chilli and Black Pepper crisps - both extremely tasty.
It Made Me Think...:
It's extraordinary that a man whose combined output barely reaches 40 songs and who died over 35 years ago can command such admiration from both performers and audience. Rarely have I seen an audience so spellbound and captivated.
