Folk is cool! I never thought I'd hear myself saying that - or see myself writing it! - but after going to the Seth Lakeman gig in Bridgwater last night, I've become the newest devotee of the style of music usually associated with cardigans, cheesecloth, sandals, and beards! Seth Lakeman, and his band, looked nothing like your traditional folk musicians, though, dressed as they were in jeans, T-shirts and trainers. There was certainly a lack of excessive facial hair amongst the members of the band - I've yet to decide if this is a good thing, or something of a disappointment!  | | Sean, Seth's brother, on guitar |
As soon as they started playing, it quickly became apparent that these guys are seriously talented. Accompanied by his brother Sean on guitar, Ben on the double bass, and Cormac on the most weird set of percussion instruments I think I've ever seen, Seth swapped easily from tenor guitar to violin, whilst singing all the vocals. Even though there were only four of them, I was blown away by their sound. On the one hand, it was music stripped down to its purest form - simply the instruments and voice, without production. But at the same time they managed to create a full, and almost luxurious, sound which was truly beautiful and heart-wrenching in places. What the folk's it all about? Originally from Dartmoor, Seth's music is all about the area's folklore and legends.  | | Banjo-action from Ben |
For example Kitty Jay, the title track of Seth's second album (that's the one that was nominated for the best British album of the year at this year's Mercurys), tells of the legend of a servant girl who got pregnant and hanged herself in a barn. It was just Seth who performed this song, playing his violin and singing at the same time - his foot-stomping was his only accompaniment. At this point in the gig, I couldn't do anything apart from gaze in awe at him. How he played the violin so skillfully and sang as well as he did, I just don't know. All of Seth's songs seem to have a different story to tell. In fact, I'd like to go to the gig all over again so that I can concentrate more on the lyrics, as I just got caught up in the music this time round. That's all, folks! But it was impossible not to get caught up in the music. Sad-sounding songs, with hauntingly beautiful melodies that made you drift and float to a far away place (and actually brought me close to tears a couple of times), were mixed with good old-fashioned hoedown-style songs, which you just couldn't stop yourself yee-haaing to!  | | Folk is now officially cool! |
Even though the Bridgwater Arts Centre made a great venue for this type of gig, the music did make me wish that I was sat on a bale of hay around a campfire in a barn, swigging whisky or bourbon out of a bottle! Another thing that made the gig so great was the way the band joked with the crowd throughout. I love it when bands do this, and Seth and Sean told many amusing jokes and anecdotes in between songs, combining it with brotherly-bickering when they were tuning their instruments. Despite being amazingly talented, they were really down to earth guys - chatting to people in the interval, and selling their own CDs at the end of the night. They seemed the type of people that if you went down the pub with them, you'd have a right laugh. So, although I was a bit disappointed by the band's lack of beardy-weirdyness, and the fact that there wasn't an ear of corn in sight, by the time the night finished with the rip-roaring instrumental of Scrumpy's Set, I had a huge grin on my face. Folk - it's the new rock! Seth Lakeman will also be appearing in South Petherton on Saturday 29 October, 2005. | 
