Rob Clarke album review

ALBUM REVIEW

CD: Long Way North

Artist: Rob Clarke

Website: myspace.com/robclarkeunplugged

“At the end of September, when the crowds melt away, and the sun turns to rain.”

These are the opening lines to September, the first track on Rob Clarke’s new CD Long Way North. As an opening track it sets the standard by which the rest of the album is invariably measured, and in this case it sets the standard pretty darned high.

From September’s opening refrain of harmonica and guitar I was hooked. This is my kind of music – the type that works its way into the brain so well that you find yourself singing it to yourself in your head or occasionally (as in my case) out loud at work. This actually feels like an ‘end of September’ song, and that for me is the sign of a great song.

September is followed by the title track The Long Way North, which is a top class song and the highlight of the album. I can imagine John Denver or Simon and Garfunkel singing this and having a massive hit with it – yes, it really is that good!

With For A Song we find Rob’s distinctive vocals taking centre stage, while If You’re Looking For Love tells us that those people who are looking for love but haven’t found it yet just aren’t looking in the right places.

Zero Not One is the type of song that has only one thing to say but then sets out to say it in as many different ways as possible. In that respect it reminds me of those educational songs on Sesame Street (“brought to you by the letters R and C, and the number 0”) and I’m not sure it fits as well on the album as the other songs do.

But then we’re back with the really good stuff with one of Rob’s recent popular anthems, Don’t Ever Put Down Your Pen, with gentle string accompaniment from Richard Curren. For creative people everywhere the message is “don’t stop creating”!

The haunting, atmospheric Widowmaker moves us from the end of September right into winter mode, and once again Rob Clarke’s voice comes into its own as music and words create a powerful lament.

The album finishes with Unfaithful Friend, If Everyone is Someone, and the upbeat, folky, and appropriately titled final track Farewell.

At the heart of Rob Clarke’s music is real, solid songwriting. Rob’s songs are brought to life on Long Way North by his fine, often husky, voice, while his guitar playing is three dimensional and full of character. This is a fine album from one of Catacoustic’s regular performers and deserves to be heard by a wider audience.

Long Way North is available to buy using PayPal. Visit Rob's MySpace profile and click on the CD cover picture.

Review © 2008 Graham Holland

Family Folk-up does The Bluecoat

The guys at from the Family Folk-up have been busy again.



Not content with putting on their normal Friday gigs at St Brides, they've gone and organised a one day music and arts festival at The Bluecoat and in association with Rooftop Audio!



Saturday 27th September @ The Bluecoat Arts Centre, Bluecoat Chambers, School Lane, Liverpool



3 stages of live music featuring....



Courtyard and Hub (from 2pm)
Buskers, Market Stalls, Street Theatre, Platform Radio DJs, Open studios, Local food and drink, and much more....



Garden & Gallery Stages (from 4pm)
The Travelling Band, Denis Jones, The Sixteen Tonnes, Andy Hickie & the Merry Maidens, John Fairhurst, The Lost Brothers, The Random Family, Sparkwood & 21, Jeff Jepson, The Rachel Wright Band, Arthur Shelton Jones.



The Performance Space (from 8pm)
Martin Carthy & Dave Swarbrick John Smith



Tickets:
£15 for The Performance Space and all other stages
£5 for Garden and Gallery Stages only
Courtyard and Hub events - free entry all day



Available from The Bluecoat Box Office: 0151 702 5324 or online from www.thebluecoat.org.uk
Curated by The Random Family - www.myspace.com/therandomfamily1

New event: Strings Nite

Hi there Acoustic Heads,

So, did you go down to the Hope Street Festival last Sunday and enjoy the fabulous music?

Did you catch any of the Working Class Music Festival gigs last weekend?

Are you all acousticed out? No? We didn't think so!

So here is another new event for the Liverpool Acoustic diary.

Strings Nite takes place every two weeks at The Caledonia on Catharine Street.

It runs from 9.00pm to 11.30pm, and entry is free.

For more information, contact Brian 07890 896 890
or email brifitz103[at]hotmail.co.uk


(Photo of some guitar strings just to get you in the mood!)

Hope Street Feast - this Sunday 21st

Everyone who's anyone will be down at Hope Street this coming Sunday 21st September for the Hope Street Festival - or Hope Street Feast, as it's called in some quarters.

The programme of events has (eventually) been published, and in addition to the stalls, guided tours of buildings, and street entertainers, there'll also be a huge swadge of acoustic music going on throughout the day.

Full details of all of the events can be found at

www.hopestreetfeast.com

MYRTLE STREET STAGE AREA

Open air stage and a seating area where you can enjoy the food you’ve bought from the markets along with a drink from the bar provided by the Phil.

11.30am Ceili Dance Workshop

12pm – 1pm Liverpool Irish Festival present a CEILI - Terry Coyne and friends play the tunes and call the dances to help you work up an appetite

1.30pm – 2.15pm Xander and the Peace Pirates have a bluesy and soulful sound. This Liverpool band play a thought-provoking, happy and inspiring mix of sixties and seventies influenced music.

2.20pm – 2.30pm MDI African Dance workshop performance

2.30pm – 3.15pm Gypsy Brothers: The Kensingston Czech Slovak Roma Band - Liverpool’s very own Gypsy masters make a welcome return.

3.20pm – 3.30pm MDI African Dance workshop performance

3.30pm – 4.45pm T & Latouche - Featuring T Carthy and Glen Latouche of the original reggae folk fusion band Edward II

The Phil’s jazz and roots café

At The Phil’s jazz and roots café your host for the day is singer, songwriter, award-winning playwright and all-round superstar Lizzie Nunnery who will be performing at 11.45am, 12.45pm, and an extended set at 3.45pm

Philharmonic Hall Rodewald Suite: Entrance on Sugnall Street, lift access via Stage Door, Caledonia Street

12.00 – 12.40 Benjamin Wetherill
Describing himself as ‘the Cliff Richard of folk’ this alternative singer sounds “like a nervous dandy being chased by a brass band" according to Timeout.

1pm – 1.40pm Essie Jain
London-born, New York-based Essie’s gentle, warm, open and intimate music sounds very British.

2pm – 3pm Jon Thorne Trio
Outstanding jazz trio led by former Lamb double bass-player

3.15pm – 3.45pm Liz Green
This Manchester-based singer-songwriter won Glastonbury Festival’s Emerging Talent Competition last year.

Everyman Bistro

Everyman Bistro is providing food and live music throughout the day. Enjoy regional dishes and products, choose from a range of Merseyside beers and taste a great variety of farm-made Lancashire cheese. Complement all this with a selection of the Bistro’s renowned salads and savouries or simply pop in for tea, coffee and a scone.

Live music at the Everyman Bistro:

12pm – 12.45pm Stoked
Blues from the Trent Delta and Smithdown bayous

1pm – 1.45pm Helen Maher
Accordionist extraordinaire

2pm – 2.45pm Terry Coyne and Friends
Liverpool’s finest Irish instrumentalist and accomplices

3pm – 3.45pm Oompah Band
The Phil’s brass section in steamy bierkeller action

4pm – 5pm Barry Sutton
Ex-La and current Mirrorball frontman and songwriter

Liverpool Acoustic daily update!

From Thursday 18th September for two weeks Liverpool Acoustic is publishing a Daily Update as part of Art In Liverpool FM, in conjunction with the Independents Liverpool Biennial.

Each update contains information about the acoustic events happening on that day, and features a Song of the Day from a local acoustic artist.

Visit the Art In Liverpool FM website for full details. You can listen on the website or by using the widget below.

Get this widget!

Visit the Widget Gallery

Working Class Music Festival

This coming weekend sees something different on the Liverpool music scene, and it could only ever take place at The New Picket!

The Liverpool Working Class Music Festival is a series of three concerts featuring some of the UK's best socially aware and radical musicians. Some, all, or none of the musicians may or may not be performing acoustic music during their sets, but that doesn't really matter given the quality of those on the bill.

The festival is the brainchild of local folk hero Alun Parry and Liverpool Acoustic asked him why he was putting on something so different from what we've seen so far this year. "The purpose of the festival is to ensure that Liverpool's working people are represented culturally in Liverpool's European City of Culture year."

Tickets are available online, by phone, or in person and can be bought for individual concerts. Alternatively you can save some money and buy a weekend ticket for all three concerts for only £25. Full details of how to buy your tickets can be found at the website

www.workingclassmusic.org.uk

Friday 19th September 2008

Start: 7pm Prompt

£10

Dick Gaughan

A singer for the oppressed, wherever on this planet they may be. And out of that solidarity, Gaughan burns. There is fire. There is anger. There is cauterising scorn

Leon Rosselson

A prolific songwriter for over 40 years, Leon is an icon for radical songwriters everywhere. Best know for his oft-covered classic The World Turned Upside Down, Leon was branded by the Daily Telegraph as "possibly the world's most accomplished mischief maker."

Attila The Stockbroker

Brighton & Hove Albion fanatic and punk poet/songsmith Attila The Stockbroker brandishes his trusty mandolin as a weapon against all that needs to be changed.

The Alun Parry Band

A cross between Woody Guthrie and The Jam, Parry is Liverpool's most respected radical musician, tackling each subject with a rare mix of insight and humour.

Young Kof

Incisive Liverpool rap artist with much to say. His outstanding The N Word is challenging and hard hitting. A young outspoken writer and performer who demands attention.

Saturday 20th September 2008

Start: 8pm Prompt

£12

The Men They Couldn't Hang

Fresh from their appearance at The Glastonbury Festival, these stamp-yer-feet folk rockers promise to have The Picket bouncing.

The Alun Parry Band

A cross between Woody Guthrie and The Jam, Parry is Liverpool's most respected radical musician, tackling each subject with a rare mix of insight and humour.

The Prelude

Top Merseyside footstompers with a Pogues-like sense of riotousness.

Aidan Jolly Band

Superb North West songwriter and agitfolk campaigner. His songs are impassioned and community centred. Appeals to folk rockers and chill out merchants alike.

Claire Mooney

A superb stage performer with wonderful presence. A force the music world clearly needs.

Sunday 21st September 2008

Start: 7pm Prompt

£10

Roy Bailey

Billy Bragg regards him as powerful as The Clash, and Tony Benn calls him the greatest socialist singer of his generation. Currently touring with Tony Benn with their Writing On The Wall show which won them the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award for Best Live Act.

Robb Johnson

A legendary figure on the political folk scene, Robb is the creator of some of the Left's most potent songs.

Tracey Curtis

Terrific songwriter with wonderful accented vocals, often seen playing support to Chumbawamba.

Chanje Kunda

Hard hitting and critically acclaimed, Chanje has worked alongside some of the most influential modern poets such as Benjamin Zephaniah and Linton Kwesi Johnson.

Al Baker

The world's coolest Dr Who fan. Represents the coming generation of political folkies, with hard hitting lyrics, a fair share of wit, and energetic angry delivery.

It's worth mentioning that the event couldn't have happened without the support of the sponsors in the trade union movement.

North West TUC

Unite

Unison Liverpool

CWU

Another Media

FBU

Opportunities for musicians willing to travel

Liverpool Acoustic has been contacted about some opportunities for local acoustic musicians to get gigs outside the city.

Acoustic Magic

Clear Blue Skies is the name of the acoustic duo which has created the Acoustic Magic event. Derek and Hairy(!) are looking for artists from across the UK and around the world to get involved.

Most of the gigs take place in Northumberland and the north east of England so anyone from Liverpool who wants to take part would have to be able to travel, but it may well be worth it for the experience and the extra exposure it would bring.

You can read a local (Northumberland) newpaper report about the event here.

If you are interested then contact Derek Allan via his MySpace profile at myspace.com/clearblueskies

Mostly Acoustic

This is an event run by Rob Dart and Foggy, the guys behind Mostly Toast Productions.

Most of the Mostly Acoustic events take place in the Nexus Art Cafe in Manchester city centre, although a number of extra shows happen in other venues around Greater Manchester.

Their MySpace profile has a full list of dates and event details, including which ones have slots available for people to play. So what are you waiting for? Manchester isn't as far away as Northumberland, is it?

myspace.com/mostlytoastproductions

Liverpool Acoustic in Liverpool Echo

For those of you who don't buy the Liverpool Echo, or those who buy it and don't read it from cover to cover, we thought we'd tell you that Liverpool Acoustic has been featured within its pages. No, not in the classified section, but in Jade Wright's popular Friday music section.

We've included here a link to the article online for those of you who didn't buy the Echo on Friday, or those who bought it and have already used it in the rabbit hutch.

Read the full article here.

Many thanks to Jade Wright for giving Liverpool Acoustic a bit of extra publicity. You can read Jade's music blog at musicblog.merseyblogs.co.uk

New event: Acoustic Bliss

OK, so you've been out to a cracking acoustic event every night of the week since Sunday.

It's now Friday so tonight you'll go out to Music@Mocha or the Eggy Jam.

But afterwards you'll find yourself lying in bed wondering how you're going to fill your Saturday night. The thought of either the Eurovision Dance Contest on BBC1 or X Factor on ITV1 (& ITV3 & online...) sends you into a cold sweat. (Come on, admit it. You need your daily fix of acoustic music just as much as the next acoustic aficionado!)

Then worry no more for Acoustic Bliss is here!

Acoustic Bliss is a new weekly acoustic event from Sue Cullen, the woman behind Acoustic Dream.

It's taking place every Saturday* at the Blackburne Arms Hotel, Catharine Street, and starts at 9.00pm. There is a 1.00am bar and entry is free.

Any acoustic artists interested in signing up to play in a relaxed setting can email suecullen[at]merseymail.com or message her via MySpace

myspace.com/suejacousticdreams

Saturday 6th September is the opening night and playing are Laney Murphy and Ian Lewis, Zakk Hartley and Ned Murphy

*Did you see the asterisk next to the 'every Saturday' bit? That's because once every three months or so the Acoustic Bliss gives way for the return of Acoustic Dream at The Zanzibar. And it just so happens the next one is on Saturday 27th September. All monies from these gigs is donated to the Walton Neurological Centre and aim to raise awareness of dystonia. More details are available from the MySpace profile above.

Liverpool Acoustic Newsletter - September 2008

Welcome to September - new term, back to school, and all that malarky. And if it's lessons in how to listen to great acoustic music you're looking for then Liverpool's the place to be. So, pay attention at the back - we may very well be asking questions later...

SPOTLIGHT

In the Liverpool Acoustic Spotlight for September 2008 is Lizzie Nunnery. Lizzie is an extremely talented singer/songwriter with a unique style and captivating voice. Did we mention that she's also an award-winning playwright? Head on over to the Spotlight page to hear all about her and listen to four of her best songs on the audio show.

DIARY

The Liverpool Acoustic Diary has reached a real milestone, ladies and gentlemen. September is the first month since the diary was started (back in April) when we've got at least one event happening every single day. But there's still room for more and the diary continues to fill up with more weekly, monthly, and one-off events than ever before. If you're a musician and you'd like to add your local acoustic gigs to the diary then drop us an email or use the contact page on the main website. However, make sure you give us all the details we need - we can't put an event into the diary if we've got a start time but no finishing time!


Here are just some of the highlights for September:-

Monday 1st - Come Strut Your Stuff open floor poetry and acoustic music at Liverpool's Egg Cafe. It starts at 8pm but if you want to perform you'll need to be there closer to 7.30pm to get your name on the list (and claim a chair!). Hosted by Graham Holland and September's guest co-host Dave Harley. Features Stan the Harper.

Tuesday 2nd - The launch of the new, weekly MochAcoustic night at the Mocha Lounge on Lord Nelson Street. Hosted by Guy Taunton, with help from Rachael Dunn. See the diary entry and news item for more info.

Friday 5th - This month's Music@Mocha at the Mocha Lounge from 8pm to 12am features Stan (the Harper) Ambrose, Terese Bernabe, Richard Batty, The Trestles, Stuart Todd, plus resident DJ Simon Mack (Public Notice) playing a mix of Latin, Funk, Swing & Beats. This event is preceded between 6pm and 8pm by Amanda's Couch, a social event for writers, poets and other creatives, with guest speaker Liverpool Acoustic's own Graham Holland.

Saturday 6th - Acoustic Bliss is another brand new, weekly acoustic event. It's run by Sue Cullen (Acoustic Dream) and takes place every Saturday at the Blackburne Arms Hotel on Catharine Street. The only exceptions to the weekly rule is when Acoustic Dream takes place (see 27th). Full details are in the diary entry.

Saturday 13th - Family Folk-up presents... @ St Brides Church, featuring The Mojave Collective (fresh from the launch of their new CD), Thomas-Joseph and Murphy, Mela Cody (very special acoustic-ish set), and The Random Family.

Friday 19th to Sunday 21st - Working Class Music Festival - this is the event that Liverpool's Capital of Culture year has been crying out for. Organised by Liverpool's own Alun Parry the event features a fantastic array of performers including Dick Goughan, The Men They Couldn't Hang, Atilla The Stockbroker, Rob Johnson, Roy Bailey, Young Kof, Al Baker, and Leon Rosselson. All, some, or none of the performers may or may not be acoustic at any given point during their set! Full details and ticket information from www.workingclassmusic.org.uk

Sunday 21st - Hope Street Feast returns for another day packed full of music, food, dance, art and creativity in a vibrant celebration of culture and life. The full programme of events isn't released until 7th September but there's sure to be a fair few acoustic artists featuring in the fabulous family feast of fun. Check it out at www.hopestreetfestival.com

Monday 22nd - Kaya (Metroacoustic, Acoustica) launches her debut album Balloon In A Cactus Field. More details from www.myspace.com/kayaherstad closer to the time.

Saturday 27th - The Family Folk-up presents... at The Bluecoat - a one day folk festival with two stages showcasing 12 unsigned and independently labelled acts from Liverpool and the UK (including The Travelling Band, Denis Jones, The Sixteen Tonnes, The Random Family, John Fairhurst, Sparkwood & 21, Jeff Jepson, The Rachel Wright Band, Arthur Shelton Jones and Andy Hickie and The Merry Maidens) stalls, food and entertainment. Headlined by a very special performance from legends Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick, with support from Liverpool’s finest, John Smith.

Saturday 27th - This night sees the welcome return of Acoustic Dream. It's an acoustic showcase and takes place every three months or so at The Zanzibar. It also raises money for the Walton Neurological Centre and raises awareness of dystonia, a neurological movement disorder. Full details on this event are to follow.

You can find out more information about any of the above by clicking on the name of the event in the Liverpool Acoustic Diary.

NEWS AND REVIEWS

Thank you to Christopher Stevens for submitting the review of the Satori & Song opening night in July. If you fancy yourself as a budding music journo then why not write something for the News and Reviews page? You get full credit for your work which appears online and is emailed to literally some(!) people who have subscribed via email.

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Remember to add the new 'From' address to your friends list so you can see any pictures that are added to the news and reviews posts.


Graham (on behalf of the Liverpool Acoustic team)