We went to the Americana Festival at The Sage yesterday. They had a free show in the concourse and we caught three acts. I say 'we' but in fact Bren went shopping half way through! First up were The Lost Brothers, who were not brothers and didn't seem to be that lost either, judging by the quality of their repertoire. Tight guitar patterns, lovely harmony vocals and a warm and easy stage presence made them very watchable and listenable.
Next up was Jon Allan, performing with and without his band. The guy had a good voice and is obviously a gifted song writer, but he left me kind of cold, mainly due to his rather annoying stage presence, which included jibes at the band, reference to being in Newcastle (not Gateshead) and finishing every number with "thanks very much folks". Is it me being pedantic, or could he have varied this a bit?
Then it was the turn of The Midnight Ramblers bluegrass band, who I had been looking forward to hearing. They didn't disappoint musically but were a bit too serious looking.... and I DO prefer my bluegrass bands to wear hats, a la Bill Monroe. Never mind, a brilliant set and extremely tight riffs from flat picking guitar, banjo and neat mandolin playing, backed up with a lovely walking bass throughout.
Also spied at the festival was friend Stephen, who was filming the sessions for The Sage.
We went to the Americana Festival at The Sage yesterday. They had a free show in the concourse and we caught three acts. I say 'we' but in fact Bren went shopping half way through! First up were The Lost Brothers, who were not brothers and didn't seem to be that lost either, judging by the quality of their repertoire. Tight guitar patterns, lovely harmony vocals and a warm and easy stage presence made them very watchable and listenable.
Next up was Jon Allan, performing with and without his band. The guy had a good voice and is obviously a gifted song writer, but he left me kind of cold, mainly due to his rather annoying stage presence, which included jibes at the band, reference to being in Newcastle (not Gateshead) and finishing every number with "thanks very much folks". Is it me being pedantic, or could he have varied this a bit?
Then it was the turn of The Midnight Ramblers bluegrass band, who I had been looking forward to hearing. They didn't disappoint musically but were a bit too serious looking.... and I DO prefer my bluegrass bands to wear hats, a la Bill Monroe. Never mind, a brilliant set and extremely tight riffs from flat picking guitar, banjo and neat mandolin playing, backed up with a lovely walking bass throughout.
Also spied at the festival was friend Stephen, who was filming the sessions for The Sage.
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