Communion have done themselves proud with this one-day event. The quality of the line-ups throughout the day made it impossible for some to decide who to see. At four great venues as well. The weather was great, a free beer on entry and the community feel to the day that Communion have done so well to not only achieve, but maintain so strongly.
First up was the haunting sound of
Daughter in the beautiful and full St. Stephens Church. The simple, yet effective set-up of Elena Tonra and guitarist Igor Haefeli again creating a prefect ambient sound for Elena to deliver her strong vocal. The songs carried through the church beautifully and I don't think anyone wanted the set to end. You may recognise her song 'Landfill' from radio play and sessions on BBC6 Music, if not I strongly suggest you check it out! It is on her self released ep 'His Young Heart', which can be downloaded or purchased at gigs. She has recently signed to the Communion Records so watch out for her in the future. She is gigging around London
Next up, another artist I have recently posted about,
Michael Kiwanuka. What more can I say about his charming personality that woos the audience from start to finish. The soulful, up-lifting rhythm of his songs and his quaint, pure vocal felt right at home in St. Stephens and it felt like one of those church scenes in the movies when he has everyone in the aisles clapping along to his final number. Michael's Debut ep is out on Communion Records as of June 13th, but you can get it on itunes now. The title track 'Tell Me A Tale' was a particular highlight.
Over at Shepherds Bar
Tom Williams And The Boat gave an assured performance in front of a fairly modest crowd, that grew as the set went on. They got everyone going though with their rock-tinged folk. The six-piece have put together something quite special and the violin parts stand out as excellent to me. This is showcased best in the track 'Concentrate', my favourite of the bunch with a fantastic chorus and very cleverly written lyrics that make this one stand out for me.
Back at St. Stephens and
The Staves harmonies in the church were simply breathtaking. Like the UK's answer to Mountain Man, only better in my opinion. Some very well written songs that you just get lost in. One of the few acts that when I actually like to close my eyes through a couple of the songs to really appreciate their beauty.
Marques Toliver was my stand-out performance of the day. The charismatic American decided after two of songs on stage that he would unplug his violin and come and play to us in the middle of the church. He belted out the first track for his recently released ep called 'Butterflies Are Not Free'. The track called 'Charter Magic' was received amazingly as the bustling hub of the festival was silenced. Many had beaming smiles on their faces. After a couple more in that fashion he returned to the stage to share with us that it felt how a concert would be back in "olden times", but it was better because "Then, you would all be wearing wigs and I'd be a slave". He then played 'Step Back And Remember' on his auto harp using a kick drum. After the intro he told us that the beauty of the auto harp was that you could sing anything over it and proceeded to give us a rendition of 'Scrub' by T.L.C. before getting with the heavenly song.
I caught a few songs from
Kill It Kid at Ginglik. Their new heavier rock sound that they have found since dropping the violin from their songs, sounded amazing in the intimate underground venue. Their most recent single 'Pray On Me' sounded amazing. It's currently 'Single Of The Week' on Kerrang Radio. Things are looking good for this four-piece from Bath having recently been out to America for SXSW. Very much looking forward to what these guys produce next.
Lucy Rose played a set with her full band at Shepherds Bar to a capacity crowd. I could easily imagine Lucy playing these songs alone as the songwriting and guitar were of a very high standard, but what was brought to the songs by the band which included cello and violin was a whole different dimension. The strings were very strong and complimented the songs very nicely. There were at times a real caribbean feeling groove, which I loved!
Seeing
Treetop Flyers for the first time since the Glastonbury Emerging Talent final was very nice indeed. Their rocky take on the folk revival that has been going a while now is really good. Reid delivers a great sounding vocal and the songs are all 'hits' in my opinion. Each one hooks you in. A very strong set and ones to watch out for at Glastonbury. I hear they are playing a lot there!
Fink finished the night off perfectly for me with a set of comforting ambient sounds; the very meaning of easy listening, Although very musically intense and interesting at the same time. Appearance-wise, you wouldn't at first expect such a smooth and soulful voice. I was surprised by how much sound the three men created on stage and the church acoustics only made it sound bigger.
I topped the night off at the after party with a lot of the lovely artists and people that I'd met over the course of the day. It was a wonderful finish to an event where each venue was so well programmed. Everything just seemed to fit in perfectly with where it was. The sense of musical community was ever present and the level of talent on show never dropped. Lets hope we see this again next year!
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