Day 2 of the Festival and we're all still buzzing from last night with Cream of the Barley. Tonight it's Real Time from the borderlands of Northumbria and Scotland.
Judy Denning has previously sung with Jez Lowe and Bad Pennies and has been professionally trained, and you could tell, she has a great voice, well honed and clear. Young Joe Wright, fiddle player with the band is a previous Scottish Champion - and he's only 27 - and you could tell that too - his style is very neat, no need for frills, he plays to the mood and in at least one person's opinion, he holds the band together. The keyboard player on the other hand is always swaying about and making great gestures as if to say "I'm here too"- there's a maverick voice at the back of my head that's whispering about folk music not needing keyboards, unless its a harmonium of course, but I'm not really that opinionated, its just that the last few times I've come across them they seem to be a bit incongruous. Kenny Speirs' guitar and vocals didn't leave much of an impression on me, not to say that he wasn't good at either.
I came away a bit disappointed because they spoilt the act for me when the 2 older men appeared to be publicly bidding for Judy's favours, it felt like old chauvenism and it has no place. Shame really because they did produce some fine moments, Dougie Macleans's Turning Away and a song by Burns to name but two.
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