how many drummers does it take..? (part 2)
...a while back I posted about the supposed stupidity of drummers (in my experience they are anything but). In that post I mentioned, amongst others, drummer/percussionist Pete Flood who I'd just seen performing with Van Eyken.
Last night Pen and I went to see Bellowhead - an astonishing eleven piece band who perform mainly traditional folk tunes and dances in a style that collides morris, 19th century balladry, jazz, burlesque/music hall, big band and folk rock. Deservedly Bellowhead won "best live act" and "best 
group" at this year's BBC Folk Awards. As when we've seen them before, they were astonishingly good - both loose and tight. This apparent stylistic contradiction is made possible only by great arrangements, and a framework of endlessly rhythmic, wild and imaginative drumming from Pete. I was delighted to discover that Pete had also arranged my favourite track - "Across the Line" on Bellowhead's debut album "Burlesque"...
So - how many drummers does it take to make great arrangements for virtuoso bands?
I managed to take a few reasonable pics, against all the odds (we were 30ft from stage), with a compact digital camera
5 comments:
It was a fantastic gig, it would only have been improved for me if it had been in a more informal venue (even though the Opera House in Buxton is a beautiful small theatre), mainly because Bellowhead's music is designed for dancing, and I couldn't dance. In fact I tried but was asked to stop because we were in the dress circle and there were health and safety restrictions.
Bellowhead had thought of this and came up with a dance for seated persons called the lassoo - Rachel is doing it in this picture - twisting your wrist around like your twirling a lassoo! It made my arm ache and didn't really satsify my twitchy legs!
Didn't the hand jive start because people weren't allowed to dance in milk bars? But I'm sure that was no real substitute either.
You three are a collective mine information!
yeah - but individually we are as dumb as plums - Milk Bars indeed!
I feel you are right about the venue i.e. Buxton Opera House (having been on a number of occaisions) Don't think it lends itself to this type of gig, although as you say it is a wonderful building in it's own right. Dx
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