Show of Hands round off Saturday with no room to dance

Bristol Folk Festival 2012 review

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Bristol Folk Festival 2012

Saturday 5th to Monday 7th May 2012
Colston Hall & O2 Academy, Bristol, BS1 5AR, England MAP
£80 (£70 concessions) for the weekend

Daily capacity: 4,600

My Saturday begins with Belinda O'Hooley & Heidi Tidow, whom I like because they sing about proper folky topics. They kick off with 'The Tallest Tree' and later we get "environmental love song", 'The Last Polar Bear'. They know all about music too; scales chords, harmonies; they've got 'em all. But my favourite thing about O'Hooley and Tidow is this; although they care passionately about the environment and about social justice, making their case powerfully in their songs; they still find time to take the piss out of Carol Decker of T'Pau. They also have a ready knack for roping in an audience. 'Gentleman Jack' is a tale of secret seduction and the chorus takes the form of an audience sing off between "Team Belinda" and "Team Heidi". I'm in Team Belinda and we lose terribly. I'm blaming Carol, my mind was elsewhere.

Over in the main hall, Josienne Clarke and Ben Walker make the most of their prime time afternoon slot, getting the room bubbling for afternoon headliners ahab, who are a man down due to illness. They are seated as they perform, and it's a charming set that they give us. They converse readily with the audience, creating an intimate kind of vibe. It's a lot like being at a house party, of the beer and bikini sort, ah those were the days...

A quick flit back across the hall gets me to the other stage in time to catch Katriona Gilmore & Jamie Roberts. It's an energised performance of stories within songs, given an extra boost by a loud and punchy PA system. The loudness befits the power of the material but there is a real clarity too. Jamie is from Yorkshire and believes in getting his money's worth from his guitar. You can hear every tap, every thump and every note of the nifty runs he does. Katriona is more than a match on fiddle, vocals and mandolin and if that's not enough to suck you in, she has a fine line in jokes about badgers.

It's a change of scene next as Ewan McLennan takes to the stage. Ewan sings both traditional and self-penned material, and has mastered the art of getting the two to sit together comfortably. This is probably due in no small part to that fine, seasoned voice of his. To say he's mastered the art of guitar playing is something of an understatement, it's fast it's nuanced and it's very sensitive. He can also talk to the audience whilst tuning – genius. His heartfelt 'Banks of Marble' is my favourite, a festival highlight for sure.

Back in the main hall Karine Polwart gets them singing along straight away. There are songs about birds, songs about skype, songs about Charles Darwin and Songs about Donald Trump and his hatred of the prograding dune systems of Scotland. Everyone loves Karine, and she's followed by a brilliant if slightly harassed performance by Show of Hands. The source of the bother is a lady called Cathy who, though she is on her hen night, is actually in love with Steve and Phil. Her sentiments are proclaimed on a home-made banner which she waves whilst chasing them whenever they make a move to leave the stage.

Steve, Phil and Miranda carry on like pros and it's during 'Country Life' that little pockets of dancing break out. This is no mean feat. It's an all seated concert, and thanks to the Bores on the Doors and their dastardly schemes, there is very little dancing space. Some brave souls manage to get it going though, and others follow. The performance continues, Phil solos like a rock legend on 'Keys to Canterbury', and by the end the end there's singing and dancing wherever there is room. It gets me wondering if there shouldn't be a folk festival rule making it mandatory to provide some sort of space in which human beings can fulfil their innate dancing urge. You know, a bit like chicken farming. Now there's a countryside issue worth singing about.

review by: James Creaser

photos by: Ian Wright