Salut! Live

Andrew Curry writes: Following on from our two conversations about the records we’ve been listening to, today Colin and I are talking about our highlights in terms of concerts. You can read about the records here and here. There are links to some of our coverage from the year in the conversation. 

(Image via PickPik.com)

Andrew: We’ve had a decent number of concert reviews on the site this year, and one of the things that struck me about them was the number of people who have been doing a farewell tour of some kind.

We both went to see the Oysterband and June Tabor, I saw Show of Hands on one of the 30 or so gigs in their final tour, and although we didn’t see them, Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band played a final concert just before Xmas. There were even rumours that Dylan may finally have stopped touring. People seem to be getting to the age where the rigours of being on the road are a bit much for them.

Colin: I was going to say that farewells aren’t what they used to be but of course it’s a bit deja vu. I saw a Watersons’ farewell at Les Cousins, the famed Soho folk dive, in 1968 and they just kept coming back. Oysterband´s goodbye must be the longest in history but at least it’s planned that way. There’s naturally a lot of sadness when it really is coming to an end—witness the responses at the Steeleye Span Facebook group to our 12 Songs of Winter starting with In Dulci Jubilo from the Carnival Band ‘s Tapestry of Carols album. Maybe they’ll just have to hope for a comeback tour. It’s not clear yet whether it's just the end of the Carols and Capers concerts at Christmas or total disbandment.

Andrew: And with Show of Hands, Steve Knightley’s back on the road again even if Phil Beer is spending more time on his boat. You could tell at their gig in Bush Hall that Steve was still having a great time, but Phil was counting down the days until he could say goodbye to touring. 

Of course, we also managed to say goodbye to Barbara Dickson’s touring career a bit prematurely on the site—if I remember correctly she got in touch to explain things.

Colin: Barbara’s non-retirement wasn’t clear at first, but what she meant was that she was retiring from touring with full band. In an interview with us she explained that she would continue live performances in a smaller format.

Andrew: We should probably explain that although she’s best known as a huge music theatre star Barbara Dickson started out as a folkie and has kept coming back to those roots through her career, playing with Scottish folk legends such as Archie Fisher. 

Anyway, what are your highlights from the year?

Colin: I actually remember Barbara from her folk club days. She was a regular and very welcome visitor to the clubs around the North East that I ran or frequented.

Thin pickings for me this year as far as live music is concerned but I absolutely loved both the Fairport Convention gig at the Union Chapel in north London and the Oysterband/June Tabor farewell concert at the Barbican (we both reviewed it: this was yours, Andrew). 

These artists are all treasures of folk and folk-rock and we ought to be grateful for how long they’ve endured and what they’ve given us. I did manage a couple of excellent visits to one of my favourite venues anywhere in the world, the blues bar Ain’t Nothing But… behind Hamley’s in London’s West End. When I’m in France there’s always lots of music—from jazz, blues and rock to reggae and variété française—in the bars and open-air along the promenade (my home is on the Med). 

Andrew: There was a bit of theatre at the Oysterband band gig as June Tabor came on stage. The band had already started the intro to Mississippi Summer, which is the song that opens Freedom and Rain. She came on quite slowly—she is 77 now—and I worried that her voice might not have held up. Then she opened her mouth, and filled the Barbican, and you realised that her voice was as good as ever.

I should also talk about Canadian band The Fugitives’ gig at Conway Hall, which I didn’t manage to review for the site. It was at Conway Hall in central London, which has been trying to build up its folk listings, though I don’t know how successfully. 

It was bad luck for the band, because the gig was on the same night as the England-Netherlands semi-final game at the Euros, and obviously they couldn’t have known that when the gig was booked.

The crowd definitely seemed a bit thinner than it might have been, and quite a lot of the audience were following the match on their phones. But to their credit, the band made the match a feature of the show. 

And then, as they were heading into the final number they said it was still 1-1, only to have someone shout out that England had just scored, right at the death, so the rest of the set was pretty upbeat. They’re a good band, and I’ll find a reason to write something about them next year. 

And looking forward to next year—thoughts about the site?

Colin: Salut! Live embraces change. There’s a lot about the site and its companion Facebook group that we wouldn’t want to alter. Our commitment to folk music and related forms, without being purist, is unwavering. But change happens, not always noticeable to readers, and there will be more tweaks in 2025. Our Artist of the Week slot, which has been a fixture of the Facebook site for most of 2024, and often echoed at the site, will become Artist of the Month, complemented by an Album of Month.

I need to record my thanks to you, Andrew, for the rigour and ideas you have brought to Salut! Live. We’re in a better place because of it. Thanks, too, to Bill Taylor for his many fine contributions from Toronto. He’s now taking a break and finding someone to succeed him as North America Editor won’t be easy. Finally, I offer seasonal greetings to all of our readers while warning any from Tyneside that if Sunderland get promotion, there’ll be a special playlist.

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Read more: What we’ve been listening to in 2024, part 1, is here.

And Part 2 is here. 

And do go and visit our Facebook group.