A shirt on Sunday: Fairport’s Cropredy Convention 7-9/8/2008

Another August weekend, relaxing on the hill with a beer in hand, listening to great music and wondering when the rain will start.

Thursday gave us Whapweasel, of whom I remember nothing, but apparently enjoyed them.
It was our third encounter that year with John Tams & Barry Coope. Tams is best known for his role of Daniel Hagman in the Sharpe TV series. He’s a prolific songwriter with a sharp tongue. My memory is that at Cropredy it was too open and sunny for Tams’ music and there was too much of Barry Coopes’ rather soft material.
The headliners of the day were Supergrass. No-one knew but they were nearing the end of their career, after being dropped by the record label. There was a new album but this was basically a greatest hits set and very great their hits were too. Supergrass have faded from view, as another ‘wacky’ 90s band who weren’t Blur or Oasis, but they held their own and made some great music.

Whapweasel on stage in the distance

Friday started well with DJ Marc Radcliffe’s The Family Mahone – a polite version of The Pogues. The comedic moments were few and funny, while the music was excellent. They were effectively a pub band and seem to have split up, which is a shame as the festival circuit enjoys bands like this.
Apparently I also saw and enjoyed…
Dave Pegg & PJ Wright – Peggy is part of Fairport and this duo came up with some good songs. Again they were all over the festival circuit.
Siobhan Miller & Jeana Leslie – No recollection
Paul Brady – The man who isn’t quite Christy Moore. Vague recollection that he was okay, but I wasn’t blown away, unlike a lot of the field.
Joe Brown with Dave Edmunds – More cheeky chappy-ness from Joe Brown, leavened with the rock’n’roll credibility of Mr Edmunds. They didn’t play many songs together, which felt odd, but it was a really enjoyable two hours from two men I’d never have chosen to go and see in a gig.
The Levellers – On a 20th Anniversary tour and rocking like only they can. That’s another t-shirt.

The threat of rain will not vanquish the knees!

Saturday started, as Saturday does, with the waving of hankies for Richard Digance
The Lark Rise Band is a concept album based on ‘Lark Rise to Candleford’. It’s very, very, trad folk music and really good – mainly because the band are top-notch players.
The Muffin Men with Jimmy Carl Black – One of the longest-running Zappa cover bands in the UK and an audience divider. A third left the field while a third ran to the front and the other just tried not to listen. I was down the front; Janet was hiding in the loos. Original Mother of Invention member Jimmy Carl Black (‘the Indian of the Group’) was supposed to be with them, but he was too sick, and died later that year.
Julie Fowlis – Back to the pure folk thing from one of the best voices on the circuit.
Midge Ure – The now traditional pre-Fairport 80’s legend slot, and one of the best. The singer and songwriter of Visage, Ultravox and his own solo material, Midge has a great catalogue of songs and delivered them with aplomb.

Fairport Convention. It’s their festival, their audience, they can do what they like. And the reason we go back is for nights like this one. The gig was released on CD because of the second half. After the usual jigs, reels guest appearances and story-songs, they moved into a celebration Sandy Denny on the 30th anniversary of her death. A succession of female folkies came up to deliver Denny’s songs from across her short career, but it was a man who stole the show. Sandy Denny provided the ethereal vocals on Led Zep’s ‘Battle of Evermore’, and Robert Plant was invited on stage along with Kristina Donahue (daughter of Jerry, who played with Sandy Denny in Fotheringay). They nailed the song and won the night.

All in all a mixed Cropredy – there was some bands I really didn’t like – 3 Daft Monkeys, Stackridge, Legend (Bob Marley tribute), a few old favourites and a whole bunch of material best heard in a field, with a Guardian reader nearby.

Videos

Some better than others - from Cropredy if I could find them and they weren't totally awful. Copyright lies with the writers and performers. Most of these are unofficial.

Whapweasel

At Cropredy - back in the days when phone cameras weren't that good.
There is a guy at Cropredy every year, videoing everything on the stage, but he doesn't post to the web, which is a shame.

John Tams - Over The Hills

Supergrass - Moving

Peggy & PJ - Jack Frost & the Hooded Crow

An obscure Jethro Tull song, beautifully played.

Siobhan Miller & Jeana Leslie - Tom of Bedlam

Still no recollection, but lovely voices!

Paul Brady - Hard Station

Dave Edmunds (with Joe Brown) - Girls Talk

Levellers - Julie

Richard Digance - Sods Law

The Lark Rise Band - I Have a Bonnet Trimmed with Blue

Rain, wobbling and folk music Cropredy in a nutshell.

Muffin Men - Zoot Allures medley

Julie Fowlis

Midge Ure - Dancing With Tears in My Eyes

Fairport Convention, Robert Plant, Kristina Donahue - The Battle of Evermore