Last week’s Limbo was another winner. The Set Up did exactly what they prescribed to do in their name and set the night up perfectly. The Travelling Band made it for the gig in spite of their van blowing a head gasket in Manchester and, with four out of six of the band arriving in a mini instead, played an enchanting acoustic set. And then Withered Hand came on and took it to the next level with a full band in tow, including Neil (banjo, vox) from Meursault and Alan (drums) from The Leg (of Paul Vickers And The Leg fame). It was great.
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The Set Up is an old band from Austen George, who has been focussing predominantly on solo material and the acoustic guitar of late but what a bonus for us that the old band were keen to do the gig as they’re a great trio, with Murray Briggs (Aberfeldy) on drums and Lewis Rosa on bass. Having not managed to get a proper sound check, they begin with one. Giving all their instruments a good workout to warm up, getting everyone into the room in the process, they then announce to the assembly that ‘that was just the sound check so ignore what you heard’ (‘it was the best sound check i’ve ever heard’ replies someone from the crowd). The Set Up take their musical cues from the likes of Cream and they play fantastically well together but really this band is all about Austen George. Austen is a mean guitarist and a talented song-writer and he has it all out on show tonight, using a slide and then picking away at some incredibly intricate parts. With this Sixties blues-rock sound threatening to make a big come-back this year, it wouldn’t be at all surprising if Austen finds himself and his band in high demand come summertime.
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Next up it’s The Travelling Band, who have managed to make it to the show under some duress, after leaving their rhythm section in Manchester and then piling into a mini with all their guitars and a mandolin (easier than you might imagine with four people in such a small car). So, full props to them for making the gig but their vibe is 100% acoustic as a result. However, not only do they have some good guitarists in their ranks, but they are individually all also possessed of some fine vocal chords, which makes for some beautiful close harmonies at times. Apparently The Travelling Band all like to take turns writing songs and so a fair bit of instrument-swapping takes place on stage as a result. They also have some hilarious between-song banter, which consists largely of one of them saying something a bit banal and then Joe, who comes across a bit more like the front-man on stage than any of the others, taking the piss out of what his band-mate has said and invariably raising a laugh from the crowd. This eventually ends up with one of his cohorts calling him ‘a nob’ on stage, very audibly, in front of the assembly – all quite light-heartedly, mind, but still – to which Joe has some flippant retort and they fire into the next number. It’s actually really really funny and serves as a reminder that this bunch of lads are just that and completely bona fide in their musical endeavour. Then Steve announces that they’re gonna do an old Mancunican folk song, before explaining that it’s actually not really old or a folk song (engendering more cheeky banter) and the band drop a gorgeous cover of The Stone Roses’ Waterfall. This is possibly the night’s most memorable moment but, not to do a disservice to their own material, only because they perform it so well. Anyway, The Travelling Band are a revelation and we expect to see them again.
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Finally, Withered Hand, alias Dan Willson, takes to the stage and immediately usurps everything and everyone in the room with his eccentric personality and high-pitched voice. Tonight Dan has decided to bring the full outfit with him for the occasion, so we’ve got cellist, drummer, banjo and backing vox as well as Dan on lead vocals and guitar. Withered Hand is most definitely anti-folk rather than straight folk. Everything about his stance is slightly awkward and suggestive of someone who loathes anything that isn’t a little bit alternative, his attitude totally punk as he lightly ribs The Travelling Band (‘this is an old folk song, err, no it’s not’) and then fires into New Dawn – one of his more uptempo, fiery and utterly infectious numbers. This part of the gig alone demonstrates what’s wonderful about Dan’s style. He’s deceptively soft and gentle on the surface. When he comes on stage, he’s making fun of himself as much as the band who’ve been on before and then he tears your head off with the raw brutality and pure honesty of his work. So you get this juxtaposition of musical fluffiness (all acoustic guitar, banjo, cello, light drum beats etc) with lyrical attitude (ouch, he’s rapier sharp). So, much like Meursault’s contrast of visceral electronic beats and industrial-sounding production with anguished, haunted vocals, Withered Hand is quite disarming and very refreshing. You can see why Neil and Dan are such good pals and will clearly both be riding all the way to the top of the tree, as the rest of the world wakes up to Edinburgh’s punk-rocking, anti-folk, musical revolution.
Pictures of Withered Hand, The Travelling Band and The Set Up by David Forcier.
