From: owner-lucy-list-digest@smoe.org (lucy-list-digest) To: lucy-list-digest@smoe.org Subject: lucy-list-digest V9 #49 Reply-To: lucy-list@smoe.org Sender: owner-lucy-list-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-lucy-list-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk lucy-list-digest Monday, July 2 2007 Volume 09 : Number 049 In this issue: [lucy-list] Lucy in Bedford, England ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 2 Jul 2007 01:11:22 +0100 From: "Matt Bloomfield" Subject: [lucy-list] Lucy in Bedford, England After two albums and too many years Lucy has made it back to the UK. I had been looking forward to this for weeks, I've had the new album for a while and know the songs now, but there's nothing like Lucy live. Normally, I hop on a train up to London for shows but as Lucy was playing the Borderline which seems to have got much noisier than it once was and has less respect for the music than it once did, I thought I'd venture north instead to the Ent Shed, in Bedford. I'd not been there before and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The website (www.entshed.com) is very 1990s and all indications, which were quite correct, were that the venue is just a shed bolted on to the side of a pub. We arrived quite early, hoping to get some food before the show. It wasn't really a foodie pub though - it seemed pretty run down to me. I think we arrived in the middle of a fancy dress party or a stag do as there were several blokes in togas, dresses and make up; I don't know, that might just be a typical night out in Bedford... Once the rabble cleared out we had a table and a pleasant enough pre-show drink. Doors opened slightly earlier than stated but there didn't seem to be much of a queue so we held back a bit. When we eventually entered, names where checked and hands were ticked with an indelible black dye so that you could get in and out to the bar. After much scrubbing, the tick still remains stubbornly tattooed on the back of my hand. The shed itself is just that. It could be a larger version of the one at the bottom of the garden where dad goes for a quiet beer and to watch the football while avoiding peeling the vegetables for Sunday's dinner. There are spot lights on the ceiling, a sound system with a little mixing desk and a raised stage area for the performers. CD sales were to the back of the room and behind those were the loos. Our dallying meant we were seated right at the back. Really not a problem in such a tiny place, we could still see everything. The opening act were called Blackheart (http://blackheartmusic.co.uk/) and consisted of a male guitarist and a female singer. They were an English folk duo and were English and folky. Okay if you like that sort of thing but quite bearable if you don't, she had a nice voice. Unfortunately, songs about Wigan and Bolton don't quite have the romantic allure of my favourite Americans singing of New York bars, Lake Pontchartrain and the west Texas sun, consequently Blackheart didn't really do much for me. Lucy opened with Broken Things and then Amelia, from the new album. Both of those were requests and Lucy said she was pleased to get requests before the show started. In fact there were several more requests after she announced that and we very nearly had an evening of only requests. We got The Thief on request and Land of the Living, two of my favourites, and My Name Joe (bit of trouble remembering the lyrics to that one!) was also played on request. I think a good eight or ten songs from the set were requested rather than planned. A show of hands revealed that well over half had not seen (and perhaps not heard of) Lucy before. The venue was full though so they must be an adventurous lot those Bedfordians. It's a great little venue and if it were my local I'd probably bowl up each week just to see whoever's on. There was absolute silence while the songs were performed. Some venues seem to enforce this behaviour, some don't seem to care, some, like this one, just have polite, respectful audiences and this is the best kind of venue. It was possible to lose yourself completely in the words and music. I was so happy to see that Lucy had piano. I don't know if she brought it with her or if it belonged to the venue. We had Brooklyn train performed on that which then became I Still Miss Someone and then later in the show, Just You Tonight which is just beautiful when performed on the piano - I still remember it from the Jazz Cafi a few years ago. It was a real treat to see it again. Back on the guitar, Lucy sang a new song; embarrassingly, I can't remember the title but the song was brilliant. She wasn't sure if it was finished but it is, she was just being modest. Look out for it. I didn't keep a set list (it look liked the chap a few seats away did so perhaps one will appear). There was so much new and old material, so many of my favourites. In no particular order, I remember: Broken Things Amelia The Swimming Song My Name Joe Ten Year Night End of The Day Just You Tonight The Thief Manhatton Moon Ring of Fire The Gift Today's The Day Line in The Sand (Request) This is Home Land of The Living The Red Thread Don't Mind Me Brooklyn Train As I said way up at the top of this message, it's been two albums since Lucy's last visit and I'm happy to say that they're now signed along with the others. No need to say that Lucy was as gracious as always when signing. It was an excellent show and though she's had a good reason not to travel I hope she doesn't leave it quite so long before the next trip. Matt - ---- http://www.mattbloomfield.co.uk ------------------------------ End of lucy-list-digest V9 #49 ****************************** This has been a posting from the Lucy Kaplansky mail list digest To unsubscribe send mail to Majordomo@smoe.org with "unsubscribe lucy-list-digest" in the body of the message