click here for the credits !

 

 

 Nowadays seen in all four corners of the Seven Seas, the Perpetually Never-Satisfied Fish (pisces post-haguia discontens) is indeed a most perplexing beast. Fifteen years ago, the Perpetually Never-Satisfied Fish was the bestest of friends with the Big Blue Fish (pisces pisces thatcherii), who made the oceans safe, well-stocked and comfortable to live in, provided you were a well-off, comfortable fish to start off with (and who would want to talk about all the other stupid, ugly, poor dirty fish anyway ?). The Big Blue Fish was often seen swimming with powerful fish like the Uncle Sam Fish (pisces applepie yeehaa) and everyone (who was worth speaking about) was happy and well-fed, although all the coral reefs and kelp fields did seem to be dying off a tad. Over time, though, the Big Blue Fish mutated into the Lesser Blue Fish (pisces majorii blackwednesdai) and it became obvious to even the Perpetually Never-Satisfied Fish that Blue fish of all types had all along been untrustworthy, unlawful, anti-social and bad for the undersea environment as a whole, and there was a big falling out.

The Perpetually Never-Satisfied Fish still wanted to be seen with a nice blue-coloured fish, though, and still be nice and comfortable and well off, but the only other fish about was the Big Red Fish (pisces pisces socialistes). So the Perpetually Never-Satisfied Fish asked the Big Red Fish to be his new bestest friend, but only on condition that he would eat lots of Blue-coloured plankton : this, however, had an unfortunate side-effect of turning the Big Red Fish into the New Red Fish (pisces blairus revolvens).

And what do you think happened ? Amazingly, with the New Red Fish around, the kelp fields flourished again ; brave attempts to rebuild the badly damaged coral reefs were more successful than had been thought possible ; the undersea environment became one of the cleanest, healthiest, best-stocked, most prosperous in the whole of the Wonderful World ; and everyone was pretty comfortable and pretty well-fed, this time including a large number of the less glamourous fish who had been ignored the last time. Sure, there was the same Uncle Sam Fish floating about, there was the odd untruth (though nowhere near as many as the Blue Fishes), the odd dubiously justifiable war (though one less than the Blue Fishes), and the odd scandal (mmm... let me think for a minute...), but these things are only to be expected when Blue plankton is consumed...

And was the Perpetually Never-Satisfied Fish happy with the maintained conditions and blindingly obvious improvements ? Pah. Give 'em what they ask for, and it's "moan moan moan... it's not the Big Red Fish it was before...". It's not as if the Perpetually Never-Satisfied Fish hadn't had loads of chances to make friends with the Big Red Fish before, was it ?

 

 

  London Marathon

Wolverhampton Marathon

Cardiff Marathon

Dumfries :

March 19th 2006

A sofa is under negotiation...

Paris :

April 9th 2006

Only if I don't get into London and if I have the moolah

London :

April 23rd 2006

Already applied, but you know the old game...

Stratford :

May 7th 2006

A completely different week this year, so no clash with London

Dartmoor :

June 2006

I've been trying to actually do this one for 3 years. :)

Wolverhampton :

September 2006 :

One of these days I'll take this race by the scruff of it's neck and....

 

 

Well, it all started when Fragile announced a new gig date at The Robin 2 - all highly satisfactory in itself, of course. Then… we got the hinting e-mails, we checked out the websites, and gradually the identity of the mystery special guest was revealed to be… Yes' guitarist, Steve Howe. This, I thought, was a whole new league away from having the odd photo taken with Rick Wakeman - it's an official doffing of a musical cap by a real Yes man, a huge endorsement of Fragile's musicianship and ethos. After the gig, I spoke to Max Hunt and Steve Carney and asked how on Earth it all came about, and it seems that it was all at Steve Howe's instigation - a phone call out of the blue - which makes it even more of a professional compliment. No pressure tonight, then…

So Bob, Graham and I arrive at Bilston and the first two closest car parks to The Robin 2 are full to bursting, which is a bit of an indication as to the number of punters who are in town : arriving at the venue, I've negotiated with Mike Hamblett, the club's owner, to bring my camera along, as a night like this certainly needs to be documented ! As it happens, I needn't have worried : although Fragile are traditionally a big draw at The Robin 2, tonight the club is bursting with attendees sporting a wide variety of Yes tour shirts (and a gratifying number of Fragile's own too), all as eager as I to experience this most unusual of evenings and many with cameras and camera phones at the ready. Donald Fagen's "Kamakiriad" is playing on the p.a., I spot several familiar faces from both Fragile and recent Yes gigs, and beer is purchased while Bob and I clue new Fragile attendee Graham as to what's likely to happen. From Fragile's website, we understand that Fragile are to play a set first, then Steve Howe will play a solo set of his own, and then Fragile will return and play a finale with Steve Howe sitting in - a pretty unprecedented occasion, then, and certainly a Yes treat of the highest order…

The lights dim, I nip to a more central position (next to Busby, an old chum and Yes and Fragile gig regular) for a better camera angle, and "Kamakiriad" is replaced on the p.a. by Fragile's own mood-setting music, a selection of short Yes excerpts, themes and riffs scattered amongst the tranquil gurglings of a waterfall (hopefully not generated using the method Rick Wakeman has historically used… :) but it is soon replaced by the more traditional "Firebird Suite" introduction, building to a crescendo as Fragile bound onstage to a hearty cheer of welcome and kick off the night with "South Side Of The Sky". Steve Carney throws himself into his singing with gusto from the start, all expressive gesticulation in his shiny gold jacket, while guitarist Robert Illes is stabbing out those punctuating arpeggio riffs, and the demonic Jon Bastable, upping the sartorial ante as usual in Spiderman top and Harlequin trews, is doing the old bass-player's sway to Chris Squire's chugging, pulsing bassline. Tom Dawe is solid and riff-mungous stage left, the ever-intricate Mitch Harwood is anchoring everything from behind his drumkit, and Max Hunt is studiously and deftly handling Rick Wakeman duties : all of these have settled for a more monochrome look. The song ends with tight a cappella harmonising and we give Fragile a boisterous and hopefully encouraging round of applause : while the band are as musically strong as ever, they are all, to a man, visibly tense on stage - and who can blame them ? Steve Howe is just a room away, lending a critical ear, after all. For the first, but not the last, time tonight I begin to feel for guitarist Robert Illes, who is performing challenging material written by an internationally fêted artist who happens to be within earshot, and I wonder how much pressure he's under, although I learn later from Fragile members that Steve Howe is very much the easy-going, dissembling gentleman professional.

Steve C welcomes us all to "this very special evening", following which Fragile dip into the often-overlooked "Drama" album, playing us a tight and ebullient "Machine Messiah", which segues into the much earlier "Astral Traveller", featuring lovely toms work by Mitch and a dramatic Hammond sound from Max. It's about this time that I finish close up photoing, and rejoin my other two chums (first-timer Graham seems to already be suitably impressed by Fragile's musicianship) in time for Steve C to introduce the next number, only to be followed by a long, mysterious hiatus : "Max can't find the music !" grins Steve conspiratorially, as the song finally kicks off. It's "Time And A Word", given a more Peter-Banksy reading by Robert Illes and accurately harmonised by Mitch, and the audience noticeably join in with the chorus : it's from this point on, I believe, that Fragile begin to enjoy themselves and shed some of the tensions they must be feeling. Next up is, in Mr Carney's words, Yes' "pop song", "Wonderous Stories", and a pretty faithful rendition it proves too, with Jon Bastable particularly faithful to its unusual bassline : this is followed by "Owner Of A Lonely Heart", the "90125" arrangement rather than Fragile's own, slower version, with fine chord work from Tom and a great Tony Kaye keyboard sound from Max. "We thought we'd do that one since it's in the charts !" says Steve C, referring to the recently remixed, downloadable reissue : "Phones out, tops off ?… Maybe not." The cheeky monkey… :)

Next up is a sideways step to another branch of the Yes family, as Steve and Max surprise us with Jon and Vangelis' "Change We Must" while the rest of Fragile slope off for a towel-down, returning after our applause to launch into "And You And I". Tom, Jon, Mitch and Robert play a central role to the tightness and success of this song, which is at the very least a challenge to play and is, tonight as always, a tribute to the musical strengths Fragile have developed over the years I've been seeing them perform it : not overlooking, of course, Max's pivotal employment of the Triangle… Finally for this set, that Marathon of previous Fragile gigs, the "Yes Medley" has been polished up and buffed to a lovely shine for us : almost half-an-hour of excerpts from Yes' career which leads me to wonder what they're leaving poor Steve Howe to do ! Beginning with "Long Distance Runaround" and "The Fish", the medley spans sections of "Gates Of Delirium" and "Soon", a keyboard showcase from Max comprising sundry Henry's wives, King Arthur themes and very Rick-like humorous inclusions of "Hearts And Flowers" and Mack Sennett-era silent movie chasing, and continues with excerpts from "Hearts", "Ritual" and Mitch's drum solo therefrom, a surprise addition of "Every Little Thing" (from Yes' eponymous first l.p.) and culminating with a highly enjoyable and well-rehearsed rendition of "Yours Is No Disgrace", which, oddly enough, was the first song on Steve Howe's first album with Yes. After the audience's prolonged appreciation has died down, Fragile are off for a well-earned break, which heralds the more unusual section of this evening : roadies clear a place centre stage, and a comfy chair is moved into position, during which refreshments are purchased for our party. Returning from the bar, the room's atmosphere suddenly goes palpably more electric, and I spot from the back of the room that Fragile's Mitch has appeared at a mike stage left, and, nervously but business-like, he introduces Steve Howe, who walks on stage to a maelstrom of applause.

Steve Howe has brought his old Martin with him tonight, and is his usual slender self, in a reddy-brown shirt and with the recent professorial look his glasses lend him : he sits on the comfy chair, checks the tuning, and he's off with a bouncy and deceptively simple ragtime guitar piece as a warmer-upper. It might have been "Intersection" (call yourself a reviewer, Malcolm ?) but I was making my way back through 700 people, juggling a camera, a notepad and three skiffs at the time... however, by the time I reach Bob and Graham, the audience has gone quiet enough for me to hear Steve's strings acoustically over the p.a.'s amplification. Following our applause, Steve comments that tonight's a "very interesting evening", and that he'd "like to congratulate the band" - a testimonial if ever there was one, and we all join Steve in showing our appreciation for a hopefully relieved, honoured and chuffed Fragile. Steve, however, is here to play, and bosts off into the familiar "Leaves Of Green" section of "The Ancient : Giants Under The Sun", throwing himself into his playing, often staring at his own fretting hand as if in surprise : although I've seen him play this solo piece several times I'm always staggered by his technique when performing this one and it earns him a suitably knowledgeable round of applause. Next, Mr Howe raises the contentious subject of Yes' "Union" l.p. - it's no secret that it's, er, not his favourite Yes album - but it's all very light-hearted, as he tells us that whereas all the rest of the tracks on "Union" cost a fortune to record, the one he's about to play "cost about 3/6d" and when we've all stopped chuckling he plays us an excellent "Masquerade", riding the atmosphere straight into a terrific "Mood For A Day", which proves a huge crowd-pleaser.

Next, Steve Howe plays us his solo version of "To Be Over", which he performed on the recent Yes 35th anniversary tour, but this time giving us the "with vocals" version, and he follows this well-received piece with "In The Course Of The Day" from "Natural Timbre", which is also beautifully and sensitively played and equally appreciated by the Robin 2 crowd. Steve then gives us a small insight into the perils of songwriting : he says that sometimes you come up with an interesting and promising opening line, and then you encounter "a cliff, a very deep chasm of lyrical… none-ness" ! - and the next song he is about to play for us falls into this category. It was written, he says, while he was living in Fulham, down by the river, which he tells us was "not very cosmic" when inspiration was needed ! When he proceeds to play the song, it's a big surprise : Steve has arranged the central "white lace" section of "Close To The Edge" as a solo piece, so tonight we get to see the real chords to it ! It's quite a treat, very unusual, and he's physically very wrapped up in its performance, and it evokes a very respectful round of applause, whereupon Steve checks the tuning of his guitar again. "Good," he says - "only one string sharp, not the whole lot" and then plays us "Sketches In The Sun" from the "GTR" album. Steve is clearly enjoying himself tonight - as are we all ! - and it seems that "Sketches" must be particularly difficult to pull off, as there is the odd fluffed note, and he gives little smiles when he hits certain of the chords. Following this, there's hardly time to applaud before he signals the end of his 40 minute set with "Clap", which is, as ever, an absolute cracker, and which would have certainly earned a standing ovation, if there had been any seats to rise from ! As it was, there is a huge wave of applause from the delighted punters and, close up, Steve Howe seems genuinely touched : while we are still clapping and cheering, he leans into the mike and says it's time to "bring the Fragile band back", has a brave stab at introducing them all onto the stage by name (he's only met them tonight for the first time), and a guitar tech collects his Martin and exchanges it for… only his yellow Gibson ES175D, the guitar that flew Concorde first class…! Fragile certainly ARE being honoured tonight.

The band take their places quickly, with Steve Carney moved slightly stage left to allow Steve Howe a more central position, between him and a still serious-looking Robert : then Steve C tells us that they've saved songs for this final set that are rather more guitar-orientated ! Top plan, I reckon, as the first one they've saved us is "Siberian Khatru", Steve H kicking the song off with that fantastic riff, and - bingo - Fragile are playing live on stage with Steve Howe. My notes here say "Fragile very tight - seamless with SH" : by which I meant to summarise that "Khatru" is a tricky song to play, with changes in time signatures, syncopation, loads of stops and starts and little places to catch you out timing-wise, and my memory of it is that Steve just played as if Yes were behind him, going on his and Yes' own synaptic timing as it were, and Fragile were there behind him all the way with zero mistakes or sync problems, and if that isn't a testament to their musicianship I don't know what is. Later I'm told that Steve Howe arrived later than planned at the Robin that night, leaving only time to run through "Khatru" twice and the remainder of their shared set once each, with Fragile-specific starts and endings having been previously discussed over the phone. In fact, the only one real indication that the whole thing was hastily arranged was approaching the end of the song, where Steve hastily looks round at Mitch on the drums, equally hastily over to Robert, just to confirm that the song's winding up, and then the final, Yes-tight finish evokes a bellicose roar of delight and applause from us punters, which visibly washes any vestiges of tension from Fragile and evokes several huge grins on stage.

The appreciation for this most unusual of performances is not by any means quick to die down, and a clearly relieved Steve Carney has to move up to his mike and wave at us to stop, finally telling us that "in our opinion, you're all Starship Troopers" : true to his hint, Mitch counts them in and "Starship Troopers" is indeed next up. Stage left, Tom Dawe is leaning forward to see round Jon Bastable in order to catch sight of Steve Howe, with the hugest of schoolboy grins brightening his face. Once again, "Starship" is professionally and passionately delivered, and seamless with Steve Howe's visiting contribution : as the song peaks and Steve Howe steps forwards to perform an epic "Würm", we all clap raucously along in time, if possible even louder than we would have done were it Tom up there unleashing it… ;) A quick glance around again to orchestrate the end of the song, and Steve Howe and Fragile bring the drama seemingly to a close, with Steve Carney doing a quick, prostrating "We're Not Worthy" bowing motion behind his namesake, and they're off for a breather, while the room rings with claps and cheers for their return.

Luckily, there's still enough Yes fuel in the tank for another one, and barely were our hands burning with insistent clapping before they all trot on stage again. A brief, heartfelt word from Steve Carney thanking us for our part in their most special of evenings - you're very welcome, Steve - and Steve Howe kicks off the opening to "Roundabout", as tight and as glorious as the two preceding numbers, with Steve Howe clearly enjoying himself, with Fragile clearly just as happy simply to be there, and with Steve Carney mounting the drum riser at the end, the better to see what two months ago he wouldn't have dreamt of seeing. All too soon, "Roundabout" is brought to a close with the "Steve Howe first, then everyone playing the same riff in a big finish" method Yes sometimes use, and then they're down the front bowing in a long, happy line, and then off, the lights come up, and we're all off home, having been privileged to attend an event you rarely get to experience, and which I'm certain will remain among Fragile's fondest memories.

A final thought : over the years, Yes' interpretations of their own songs have evolved and changed, but Fragile have been successfully trying to duplicate the original feel and sound of the songs, which is why the usually unsung Tom is so central to the Fragile sound, adding those extra fills and chords which a single guitarist can't do on stage. With Steve Howe at the front and Fragile backing, the arrangements were aurally a lot closer to the originals than the ways Yes have ended up playing them : although it would be fruitless to make comparisons too closely, in some ways I felt that the arrangements sounded more faithful on the night Fragile played with Steve Howe, which consequently made that aspect of the evening more enjoyable for me. Spare a thought for poor old Robert Illes though…! :)

I've seen Cloudstreet doing spots at several Woodman singers' nights, and been frankly impressed by this Australian duo's humour, intelligence, and sheer well-rehearsed tightness and quality of their performances. Consequently, tonight's date has been in my organiser for months, and Bob and I set off earlyish to get a good seat : we reach the Woodman as the heavens open and it begins to rain heavily, and scurry inside for beer, chats with the regular club members, and to say "hi" to Nicole and John and wish them a good gig. Cloudstreet have brought a selection of CDs with them, and Bob and I have a quick shuftie at what's available : me because I've come intending to buy some of their music, and Bob to decide which CD to choose when he inevitably wins the raffle…

Ian gets the night under way with a spot from Trev and Medium Paul, the half of Nothing To Prove which isn't on holiday. They open with one of Paul's entitled "Antes", possibly so-called as Paul's Better Half is a Latin lady, and follow it up with a nicely performed banjo tune during which Trev will call out "theme !", "verse !" etc off mike, as they only learned it yesterday. Their well-executed spot finishes with "I Will Do", another of Paul's in the same vein as "Take This Job And Shove It", and as Paul is a teacher, shirley the unofficial anthem of UK teachers everywhere nowadays… Following our appreciation for Trev and Paul, Ian's band co-members Barry and Corinne take the stage for the second spot : I am pleased to see Corinne has her classical guitar at the ready, though a tad concerned on hearing Barry tell us he's got a bad throat this week. Was there cause for worry ? Pah ! Starting off with a sensitive "You Decide, My Love", it's clear that Barry's voice is entirely up to standard, and their second number, "I Can't See Tonight", is simply beautifully sung : while Corinne, as ever proficient and tender, musically proved herself once again the unproclaimed heroine of her band. Sadly, it was then a case of "from the sublime to ridiculous" as your humble correspondent was summoned to the stage to "follow that" ! One can only hope that that audience felt that some kind of standard was upheld on being regaled by my renditions of Jasper Carrott's "Bastity Chelt", Cosmotheka's "Harry, Harry, Harry, Harry", and Jake Thackray's clothespeg-tastic "It Was Only A Gypsy"…

…and then it's the part of the evening I've been looking forward to - Cloudstreet taking in "The Woodman" as part of their 2004 UK tour folks ! Nicole and John have been in Britain since the end of last year, embarked on a thorough schedule of folk club gigs, sessions and festival appearances, and have been successfully delighting audiences wherever they appear. Although Nicole is a fine and talented flute and whistle player, and John plays nimble, solid rhythm guitar which frequently sounds open-tuned when it isn't, for me their forte is their dual harmonies, and it's to this strength they play with their opening unaccompanied number, "Diggins-Oh". It's an Australian Gold Rush song, sung in modal harmony, and described by themselves as a traditional Australian 'gardening song'… and it's a well-rehearsed, precise piece of harmony singing which has the audience joining in with its shortest of refrains. Visually, Nicole is a slender lady singer wearing a dapper waistcoat, curly-toed jester boots and a clear expression of enjoyment in her singing, with a smile which can vary from innocence to very very cheeky indeed : while John is a more compact, flamboyant entertainer, conducting his own singing like a cross between Pavarotti and Joe Cocker, a jester in his own right like an Aussie Timothy Claypole (if you remember "Rentaghost", of course.. :).

Having warmed the Woodman audience up nicely and evoked some warm applause, Cloudstreet tell us a musical tale about a narrowboat called "Violet Sarah", owned by some friends of theirs in Stratford, and which features John on guitar and Nicole on flute : a jaunty, infectious song with subtle time changes and a jolly chorus the singing Woodman audience joins in with heartily, somehow even avoiding being caught out by a dead stop in the last refrain ! "Lady Maisry" is next, one of the dozens of Child ballads concerning that Lady but specifically warning of the dangers of courtship and childbirth, followed by a Cloudstreet favourite from the Woodman singers' nights, "The Shape Of Things", an unaccompanied song about 'betrayal, revenge and geometry', and a masterclass of performance timing which is enthusiastically received by the audience. This is followed by a second Child ballad, the charming "Two Sisters", in which we are all educated as to the true employment of a beaver hat… and then the first half is brought to a crescendo by Cloudstreet's genuinely amazing performance of "King Willy", a further Child ballad and made famous by Martin Carthy to boot. I won't spoil it by telling you how they achieve it - you'll have to buy their CD or go and see them - but believe me, their arrangement is an absolute triumph, the only other possible way to perform the song and thus the only other definitive version of "Willie's Lady" ever : judging from the explosion of applause following the song, the Woodman thought so too !

After the half-time break, and a warm-up solo number from Medium Paul, who as a native of the North East, asserted his moral right to tell us the awful story of "The Lambton Worm", there was a surprise rupturing of the space-time continuum when Bob failed to win the raffle… Luckily, however, quantum stability was swiftly restored and Cloudstreet are welcomed back on stage, to begin with an exquisitely arranged acappella rendition of "The Briar And The Rose", which is joined with traditional harmonising and gusto by the Woodman attendees. Cloudstreet have manifestly put a frightening amount of time into rehearsing their singing - they're beautifully in tune, synchronised to an almost Cosmotheka-esque degree and even their respective vocal qualities complement each other. Following this, we're entertained by an everyday anecdote of Australian life coping with snakes, all of which is a preamble to an optimistic and amusing solo song by John, called "Out On The Highway" and sung to the tune of a certain Sinatra hit, and which is purely included in the set as an advert for selling the Cloudstreet tour van when they go home ! Next up is "The Blacktown Jig", featuring tight and inventive flute-playing from Nicole and ably underpinned by John's guitarwork, and then we're treated to another of our favourites from their singers' night appearances, "Muckle John", an ode to the last Court Jester which features some excellent and tightly executed time changes and speeding up.

Another opportunity for a good sing is presented to us now as Nicole introduces the next song, "Green Man", written, it would seem, by John while in the shower. Earlier in the set, the Green Man, pagan symbol of the merging of humanity with the forces of nature, was mentioned fondly as part of Cloudstreet's trip aboard the "Violet Sarah", and Nicole now explains that in her other guise as a clay-working artist, she makes Green Men whenever she can get the firing clay and has even brought some to sell ! Thus having tied up a few loose ends, they launch into the song, which has a splendid chorus simply begging for harmonies and the Woodman faithful do not disappoint : in many ways it's the high point of the evening, a super song with a catchy and infectious melody and clearly a testament to the acoustic properties of John's bathroom ! Cloudstreet then sing us "The Fairest Flower Of Serving Men", to an original tune by Nicole : she tells us with wry amusement that when learning the words from a songbook, she had overlooked the possibility that there might have been an index at the back and thus missed the tune section at the back of the book altogether ! She needn't worry though - it's a fine melody, another one easily harmonised with (not to mention John's magnificent and indescribable lute solo !) and is, as it turns out, a powerful finisher for their second set and we applaud thunderously to show our appreciation of their exemplary evening's entertainment. Oddly enough for the Woodman though, Ian seems to have worked out that it's "only just gone ten past eleven" - funny how often that happens ! - so there's plenty of time for Cloudstreet to emerge from their hiding place behind the left speaker and perform a final song for us, the beautifully sung and nicely allegorical title track from their new CD, "Fiddle Ship", and after a final good clap from us all, the evening's over and it's time to buy CDs, buy Katie a Green Man for our garden, and have a post-gig congratulatory chat with John and Nicole before heading home for bye-byes.

The verdict ? Go And See Them. If there's a friendlier, more genuinely likeable Australian couple around, certainly I'd be delighted to talk to them an' all - Cloudstreet are approachable, witty and intelligent, and both blessed with a self-effacing, cheeky irreverence and a healthy sense of humour, and every facet of that comes over in their songs, singing and arrangements. "Hot Harmonies and Beautiful Ballads", it says on their website. Can't argue with that !

A late tea, Bob arrives, a quick call to Mr Taxi Man and we're off to The Woodman to see Quicksilver, a duo comprised of Artisan's Hilary Spencer and Grant Baynham, Birmingham's finest. In case you're wondering, they're called 'Quicksilver' because quicksilver is another name for mercury, the chemical symbol for mercury is 'Hg', and the 'H' and 'g' stand for Hilary and Grant : apposite or what ? The Woodman is pretty full already, I get the beers in, and Medium Paul entertains me with his Anarchist and Zen Buddhist jokes while Ian Monro tunes up on stage. It's a warm summer night and with the added heat of a roomful of Quicksilver fans, it's already pretty warm on stage, and the fire door at the back of the stage has been opened for ventilation. Ian takes the graveyard spot himself and is very warmly received, especially for a fine rendition of a Jez Lowe song : he's followed by Bryn Phillips who whips the audience into participation frenzy with "The Throckmorton Coat". Barry Priest follows, with his fine voice lending great sensitivity to a couple of more sombre numbers, while it's left to yours truly to find the level with the arguably more risible "The Lodger" and "Our Hamlet".

Then Quicksilver are called to the stage, to a keen and anticipatory round of applause. Grant sits stage left, plugged into a small practice amp, while Hilary stands to his right in a flowing gown : both of them are wearing head mikes, call-centre style, which will prove a great enhancement over the evening, producing a great vocal sound while allowing both singers freedom to wander the stage. Grant chooses one of the guitars he's brought, checks the tuning, and despite the heat, it's still in - so the two of them glance and nod at each other and they're off. The opening number starts "We're Baynham & Spencer..." and is a very tongue-in-cheek introduction to themselves : Mr Baynham is out of the blocks with some jazzy, seemingly effortless playing, and we're treated to some of the nicely counterpointed harmony vocalising Quicksilver are famed for. We also get an early hint of an almost sibling-like relationship between the two : right at the start, Grant fluffs the opening words, Hilary teases "What're you doing ?" and Grant grins sheepishly in reply !

Following our applause, Grant explains the choice of the name Quicksilver, the 'Hg' part of which he reveals was taught him by one Roger Conibear, one-time physics teacher at King Edward's Grammar School. I'm delighted to learn that he and I are fellow Grammar Grubs and can't resist a little heckle about sadistic games masters past. Burt Miles, anyone ?

Meanwhile, Quicksilver are already feeling the heat onstage : Grant reaches for a beige towel conveniently placed atop his guitar stand, only to dislodge the guitar he's only just hung there and it falls to the stage with a clunk. "It wasn't me !" claims Hilary, while Mr Baynham checks the stricken instrument. It proves OK though, so Grant offers the pesky towel to Ms Spencer. "D'ye want a towel down, lass ?" he says : Hilary eyes it in distaste, remarking "this was white when we started out...". "...3 years ago", comments a dry voice from the Naughty Corner... Next up is Quicksilver's anthem to the glories of Folk Festival mornings, "Sing In The Day", whose infectious chorus brings enthusiastic harmonies from the Woodman punters : this is followed by a Tolkienesque "The Halls Of Maroniel", an almost Childe-ballad with an intricate minor middle section which Grant almost loses himself in. My notes read simply "top playing" - Grant's playing is just beautiful, and the crowd are quick to show their appreciation.

"Distraction" is next, originally a rare instrumental by Django Reinhardt and Ivan de Bie ("Don't get me started on Django Reinhardt" says Grant respectfully) and we're treated to an all too brief sample of Hot Club magic, with a jaunty lyric sung charmingly by Hilary and tastefully harmonised by Grant. Watching the intricacies of Grant's playing, I'm reminded for the nth time how much skill is always needed to play Django's material, while he himself managed it playing left-handed with only two-and-a-bit functional fingers...

Following a substantial round of our appreciation, we get a colourful introduction to the next number, "Seal Song", which centres on a sea bay in the wilds of Scotland where Grant would play his guitar and seals there were plentiful enough to pop up their heads and listen. "It was the best audience he'd had in months", Hilary teases mischievously... ''Seal Song" is very sweetly delivered, a slightly different, evolved arrangement, and somehow more melancholy, than the 'Grant Baynham's Shed' version. Talking to Grant after the gig, I'm reminded of the lyric and notes booklet which came with his 'Shed' tape, where Grant expressed a hope that a 'proper' singer would someday perform ''Seal Song". Looks like he got his wish. :)

Back to the lighter side of the set now with Flanders and Swann's "Misalliance", tale of those tragic, incompatibly twining plants. Grant is using the open-tuned guitar which fell over earlier, and he tightens the tuning before turning his amp back up : the amp duly spits out a crackle. Almost synaptically, Hilary declaims "Who did that ? Wasn't me !" and Grant grins in reply : the two of them clearly share a mutual fondness and a healthy lack of pomposity. "Misalliance" is, once again, sung with sensitivity and a prominent sense of humour, and when the two doomed honeysuckle uproot themselves at the end, the Woodman crowd can't resist a genuine, sympathetic "aaah..." and our applause is just as genuine.

As an introduction to the next song, Grant tells us of Lou & Peter Berryman, two unusual comic songwriters whom Quicksilver met when in the US/Canada, Grant simply describing them as 'bonkers', but also mentions them in the same breath as Thackray, Lehrer, and Flanders and Swann, which is high praise indeed. In Hilary's opinion, Peter looks like "a teddy bear in a cowboy hat", to which Grant adds that it's more like "a man who's swallowed a real bear and left its arse hanging out" ! After mental portraits such as these, is it any surprise that the subsequent song, "Double Yodel", is an ode to two frontier types joined in a mutual love of Alpine noises ? Splendid.

A third guitar, a battered little black number, is now brandished by Mr Baynham. "This," he declares solemnly, "is a 1936 Gibson Kalamazoo. And it's a bag of shite !''. When repaired by Russ Wooton, however, it proved capable of a nice western swing sound... until Grant fitted a neodymium pickup to it ! "When I heard this, I laughed for 3 days !" Mr B says, turning the amp up to eleven and blasting out a riff worthy of Angus Young with the air of a little boy with a new chemistry set. Glancing meaningfully to his left, he adds "At last, I can be louder than the biggest gob in English folk music !" The resultant 'dirty blues' song sends organiser Ian scurrying swiftly off to shut the fire door from the outside in deference to the neighbours, while Hilary sings forth like some Northern Janis Joplin and Grant's right leg jerks unconsciously back and forth during a remarkably hi-octane solo. Rock on, Quicksilver ! The song proves a crowd-pleaser and also the well-received end of their first set.

Interval beer is secured, and there's time for quick chats and for passing quotes and heckles to Pete - there have been two belters in the first half alone ! - and then it's the raffle, surprisingly not won by Bob tonight. Then, presumably in a fit of desperation, Ian calls me up to do a quick middle spot. As Grant hasn't included any Jake songs in the set yet, but has already namechecked Tom Lehrer, I plump for "Poisoning Pigeons In The Park" and a rare and unfeasibly accurate outing for "The Elements". Could have gone a lot worse...

Then it's back to the talent with the return of Quicksilver to the stage for what Mr Baynham tells us will be a "ruder" second half : "There's a 'bastard' and a 'bugger' in this one !" Hilary adds with relish. The song is called "Middleton Hiring Fair", kicking off with an unbelievably twiddly intro and proves a truly intricate and splendid affair, in which I also noted a 'tosspot' and a 'slime' in the lyrics too ! Barely has the applause died out before Grant catches Hilary's eye and says "Shall I get the little chap out ?" and everyone hears it, courtesy of his ever-present head-mike, and giggles. But it's the 1936 Gibson Kalamazoo who's the little chap concerned, and it's used with fluid and tasteful effect on the next number, "No-one Writes A Blues Song Anymore" : Hilary is in her element on this one, conducting herself like Joe Cocker, her almost sleazy blues vocals sitting nicely with Grant's frankly super playing.

"Promise" is the next number, sung with relish by Ms Spencer, a rather cheeky little number about impending relationship naughtiness which extols the myriad uses of Angel Delight ! Following this, Grant gives us a rundown of all the keys the next song, "All The Things You Are", modulates through, and it's a daunting list : but Mr Baynham seems more than up to the task and Hilary's vocals add a nice, wistful quality to the romantic lyric. Next up is "The Kiss", Jake Thackray's juicy tale of impromptu passion and paternal butchery : Hilary and Grant share the vocals and, unusually, each respective part is in a different key, seamlessly alternated by Grant as the two singers swap verses. As if it wasn't hard enough to play to start with...

After the considerable applause for "The Kiss" has subsided, Hilary tells us an anecdote about recording the next number, "Spring", where Grant's last-minute arrangements of the song were so very last-minute that she found him still working on it while she was engaged in a midnight 'comfort break', with the recording session the following day... Clearly, however, the extra arrangement time was well spent : Mr Baynham's chord-work is nothing short of glorious and Hilary's engaging vocals are synchronised beautifully.

It's sadly drawing the end of the evening now, but not before we all get a chance to let rip with some Woodman harmonising on the chorus-friendly "England Green" : Grant seems delighted with our effect and tells us how he's glad to be back in "God's Own Acre" (the Midlands, of course). Then the night is wrapped up with a cultural, cosmopolitan touch as Quicksilver deliver a sweetly arranged "La Vie En Rose", sung in Piaf's French, as Grant says, because no translation does it justice : Hilary's passionate rendition, all pathos and sensitivity, is very much a contralto Piaf, and it's an eclectic finale to a night of the highest standard of musicianship.

But Ian's not going to let Quicksilver get away with it that easily : after all, it's only ten past eleven... so our applause brings them back on for a final number. Grant introduces it with a lengthy but entertaining story about having to perform this song at a gig in Batley, where innocent requests for directions lead via, er, creative map-drawing to a pub punch-up ! You had to be there... All too soon we arrive at the encore, "Ain't Misbehavin'", featuring a super bluesy vocal by Hilary and a very fast solo by Grant, and with the Woodman crowd applauding fit to bust, this evening of high quality is over.

The verdict ? Quicksilver are certainly one exceptional act. David Love reviewed them a year ago and as far as I can see, they've just got better : more relaxed with each other and with their audience, while that tight twin-harmony delivery gels beautifully and, individually, Hilary and Grant can be by turns witty, touching, poetical and on the mischievous side of smutty. And that's before you get me started on Mr Baynham's fluid, jazzy, elegant and skilful guitar work. If you miss them next time, more fool you...

Coming up gigs… Well, unbelievably, the Woodman have asked me back for a 4th gig on Friday 2nd December, so I'll definitely be there. :) I plan to see Dr Feelgood in the Rock 2000 Café, try and get into the sold-out Foo Fighters at the NEC, and plan to see Jethro Tull next year in the Symphony Hall. And there's always than slim chance that big Elvis will do Stourbridge Town Hall or the Robin 2 (I live in hope).