Big Session, Leicester
Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 6:36 pmDid anybody else make it to the Oysterband's Big Session Festival in Leicester this year? My wife and children and I were in England to see rellies anyway, so we jumped at the chance to see three of my favorite bands in one weekend: Oysters, Mekons, and Men they Couldn't Hang. All three were amazing, especially the Oysters. The Mekons were a wild shambolic party. TMTCH were an incredible thrill, since I'd never been so fortunate as to see them before. They played a strong greatest hits set, but the pest part was Mr. Swill singing a solo a cappella version of "Barrett's Privateers"--mesmerizing!
Lots of other good acts, too. My children (8 and 3) particularly loved 3 Daft Monkeys, a sort of Cornish gypsy fiddle/guitar/bass/kick-drum trio. They taught us an excellent new word to know: "hubbadillia," from the Cornish, meaning approximately "the noise emanating from a party that one is not at..." My wife likes the more traditional stuff, and Waterson:Carthy and Uiscedwr were fine acts in that vein. There were lots of guys-with-guitars type singer/songwriters, of which Kris Drever was my favorite. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to Swill's solo set, which is my gratest regret of the weekend. We also enjoyed Show of Hands, whom I'd heard of but never gotten around to hearing. As I'd suspected, they were a bit feathered-hair-70s-earnest for my tastes, but not so much as not to be impressive.
A great weekend, and I'd recommend it to anybody making their 2008 plans. It's smallish as festivals go, but they treat the punters right. There's a great kids' area (which we made ample use of), reasonable prices on food and everything else, a fine real ale tent, and a really nice vibe. When it poured with rain, they even arranged tumble dryers for the poor chumps who were camping...
Lots of other good acts, too. My children (8 and 3) particularly loved 3 Daft Monkeys, a sort of Cornish gypsy fiddle/guitar/bass/kick-drum trio. They taught us an excellent new word to know: "hubbadillia," from the Cornish, meaning approximately "the noise emanating from a party that one is not at..." My wife likes the more traditional stuff, and Waterson:Carthy and Uiscedwr were fine acts in that vein. There were lots of guys-with-guitars type singer/songwriters, of which Kris Drever was my favorite. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to Swill's solo set, which is my gratest regret of the weekend. We also enjoyed Show of Hands, whom I'd heard of but never gotten around to hearing. As I'd suspected, they were a bit feathered-hair-70s-earnest for my tastes, but not so much as not to be impressive.
A great weekend, and I'd recommend it to anybody making their 2008 plans. It's smallish as festivals go, but they treat the punters right. There's a great kids' area (which we made ample use of), reasonable prices on food and everything else, a fine real ale tent, and a really nice vibe. When it poured with rain, they even arranged tumble dryers for the poor chumps who were camping...
