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Thread: New gig: Crail (Scotland) (Read 8972 times) |
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S J Birkill
MV Administrator
just a sensible reserve
Posts: 884
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New gig: Crail (Scotland)
« : 03.02.22 at 02:39 » |
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Tony Kingsbury, long-time supporter of Pete through his ever estimable but now defunct Down River Folk Club in Walthamstow (here's their recording of Pete playing Rider To The World's End) is now living in Crail, a small former fishing community near St Andrews in Fife (till now known to me only as the home of Richard Thompson's rogue bookie). And the burgh has a folk club:
In a rare north-of-the-Border appearance, Pete is booked to play the club on Thursday April 7th. Read all about it here, then book your tickets here!
Steve
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« Last Edit: 03.02.22 at 07:27 by S J Birkill »  |
https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=App&action=display&num=1643855940&start=0#0  |
Stephen J Birkill
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Ian Fraser
MV Fresher
I love Midnight Voices!
Posts: 2
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Re: New gig: Crail (Scotland)
« Reply #1: 30.03.22 at 16:59 » |
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Yes, Crail is in Scotland and, at ninety miles from Aberdeen, offers Cynthia and I the nearest Pete gig since 2003 – when HM Theatre was the venue (three miles). That included Clive.
So, really looking forward to reconnecting with songs that were last heard live at the Pheasantry in 2019. That, with Simon Wallace.
And, rather hoping that other MVs might be persuaded to make the journey. I’m sure there must be a few lurking in the shadows. I missed the gig in Eyemouth, so don’t have an appreciation of how many are still putting in the hard miles to hear music they love.
I intended to wear my original PA (guitar) badge to aid recognition on the night but, sadly, initial searches have failed to unearth it. It looks as if the decluttering has been too enthusiastic. Attempts to locate the full head of red, curly hair – by which you might have identified me in the past – met with similar disappointment.
Yours aye
Ian
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=App&action=display&num=1643855940&start=1#1 |
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Ian Fraser
MV Fresher
I love Midnight Voices!
Posts: 2
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Re: New gig: Crail (Scotland)
« Reply #2: 09.04.22 at 02:28 » |
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Pete gave Crail a fine summary of the Atkin/James canon on Thursday which will surely have intrigued newbies while delighting those of us who have been around since the 1968 Footlights.
In a 113-year-old former church, the folk club has found a terrific new home in a what is now the Community Hall. Sound and vision were excellent though if you are tempted by Keith Christmas or Eddi Reader later this year, be advised that it’s currently a bring-your-own-booze-and-glasses venue. If only we’d known.
Cynthia and I travelled the ninety miles from Aberdeen and although we believe quite a few came from a distance, only Rob Spence – from Manchester - declared himself. As he is likely to be filing a review, here is (just) the setlist to let you’ll know what you missed.
Set, the first:
1. (g) I Wouldn’t Hear A Word Against The Spring
(g) Be Careful When They Offer You The Moon
(g) Practical Man
4. (p) Screen-Freak
5. (p) Just The Way You Are With Me
6. (g) I See The Joker
7. (g) Thief In The Night
8. (p) Touch Has A Memory
9. (p) Canoe
10. (p) Frangipanni Was Her Flower
11. (g) Apparition In Las Vegas
12. (g) Have You Got A Biro I Could Borrow?
Set, the second:
1. (p) The Master Of The Revels
2. (p) Perfect Moments
3. (g) BOTBS
4. (p) Between Us There Is Nothing
5. (g) Wristwatch For A Drummer
6. (g) Here We Stay
7. (p) Thirty Year Man
8. (g) Girl On The Train
And, finally:
9. (g) Laughing Boy
BTW, Beware Of The Beautiful Stranger is still on my list for Desert Inland Discs.
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=App&action=display&num=1643855940&start=2#2 |
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S J Birkill
MV Administrator
just a sensible reserve
Posts: 884
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Re: New gig: Crail (Scotland)
« Reply #3: 09.04.22 at 06:31 » |
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Ian -
Much appreciate your support for Midnight Voices !
Thank you for the set-list. We'd love to read your review too, as well as Rob's, perceptive and comprehensive as his always are. Not everyone enjoys the ephemerality of facebook -- I think most of Pete's followers are in it for the long run  . With 18,321 posts in going-on 25 years, MV certainly is!
Steve
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=App&action=display&num=1643855940&start=3#3 |
Stephen J Birkill
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jbannister
MV Fresher
I love Midnight Voices!
Posts: 0
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Re: New gig: Crail (Scotland)
« Reply #4: 12.04.22 at 19:30 » |
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I'd like to thank Pete for travelling up to Crail. I first found him and Clive in a shop called record Collector (I think) in Broomhill, Sheffield in 1975 as a student. they've never left me, and I've seen Pete perform a few times. But he was in the best from at Crail. Strong, delicate, emotive etc. I think doing Joker live is testament to his form. It was epic, and I'm so glad he travelled up, and met an appreciative audience. All the best.
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=App&action=display&num=1643855940&start=4#4 |
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S J Birkill
MV Administrator
just a sensible reserve
Posts: 884
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Re: New gig: Crail (Scotland)
« Reply #5: 12.04.22 at 19:58 » |
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jbannister -- against all odds, Record Collector is still going strong at that address in Broomhill. Unfortunately the same can't be said of Rare and Racy, the magical books-and-records shop on Devonshire Street: the landlord forced them out in 2017 on a promise to redevelop the site. It remains derelict.
Steve
PS -- I removed your unintended duplicate post.
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https://peteatkin.com/forum?board=App&action=display&num=1643855940&start=5#5 |
Stephen J Birkill
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Rob Spence
MV Fixture
Hypertension Kid
Posts: 185
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Re: New gig: Crail (Scotland)
« Reply #6: 13.04.22 at 09:22 » |
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Steve: you are right about the ephemeral nature of Facebook. This forum remains the place for the dedicated Atkin / James fan. And since flattery gets you everywhere, here follows a review of the Crail gig.
Crail is a small place, and my fear before arrival was that the audience for our man would be sparse. But the very English Tony Kingsbury, who runs the Crail Folk Club, had obviously judged his audience well. The hall was full. The seats were arranged in what I've seen called "cabaret style" around long tables, probably seating about six at each. We had missed one vital element of this gig before our arrival in Crail - following standard government practice in Downing Street, it was BYOB. Luckily, we'd seen that vital information on the posters in the village, so we came prepared, though not as prepared as some veterans of the club, who arrived with bowls of crisps, bottles of wine, and cut-glass goblets.
Tony gave a brief history of Pete and Clive, and then welcomed Pete to the stage. He went straight into a three-song medley on guitar, beginning with a rarity: "I Wouldn’t Hear A Word Against The Spring", which he said was "unrecorded" though as some have pointed out, there is a demo. Pete hinted there might be a proper recording soon. The medley finished with "Practical Man", a song which seems to be ever more relevant given the excesses of the world of pop music.
Switching to piano, Pete then gave us a great version of "Screen Freak", contextualised in his introduction by reference to Clive's friend Bruce Beresford, a screen-freak who went on to become a highly successful director of Oscar-winning films. To my unmusical ear, Pete seemed more comfortable on piano than guitar at this gig - almost literally: there was a point where he perched awkwardly on a stool to play, and couldn't get his foot position right. He stayed with piano for one of the highlights of the evening, a lovely version of "The Way You Are With Me", infused with yearning and regret. That late song is surely becoming one of the classics of the canon.
"I See The Joker", given notably savage treatment on guitar, was preceded with some thoughts on Putin, who, it is to be hoped, feels those crosswires on his brow. It struck me as Pete took on the persona of the mafia boss that his voice is barely changed over fifty years, and he still inhabits those songs so well. The lines about being in the clear at barely fifty five could apply to Pete, who looked very trim at 76, in contrast to most of the generally mature audience.
The first set finished with two greatly contrasting songs: "Apparition in Las Vegas" which always amuses with the baroque excesses of its lyric, and "Have You Got a Biro?" which must be the best-ever song of young infatuation.
Some local singers began the second half, and whilst they were competent, I was a little impatient to see the dreamboat sail again, and could have done without the raffle which followed the singers. Anyway, Pete kicked off his second set on piano with "Master of the Revels" taken at its original tempo, segueing into "Perfect Moments", another classic sounding as fresh as the day it was written. Also on piano, Pete launched into "Between Us There Is Nothing", a song which gave some lyrical trouble at Eyemouth, and did so again here: what does lie beyond Soho? We will never know. It didn't spoil the rendition though, and I think many in the audience wouldn't have noticed. Pete was word-perfect for the fiendishly difficult lyric of "Wristwatch" and then produced a triumphant version of "Here We Stay", which he dedicated to Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "Thirty Year Man" was as poignant as ever, before "Girl on the Train" with the now quaint line about "Ten quid from the bank" finished the set. Pete asked if anyone had a request for the encore, but had already decided on "Laughing Boy", which was an excellent choice. So - a great tour around the collected works, including rarities, early and late works, presented with Pete's customary good humour and leaving the audience well satisfied.
I had a chat with Pete and MV Ian Fraser after the show, and Pete was obviously very pleased at the turnout and the success of the gig. Venues like Crail are vital for the survival of live music, and Tony Kingsbury is to be commended for his imaginative programming. The club, according to the landlord at our B&B, is generally very well attended. I'd guess that many in the audience last week will not have come across Pete's work before, but they will certainly be returning to it now, I think. All in all, a triumph!
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