Regular readers (I believe there are a few!) will not be surprised to know that Last Night's Fun have been added to FolkingAbout's list of bands with that special "must see" rune, and so it was that we organised ourselves to get over to Shaw (an undertaking not considered without some gravity as it involves getting around Manchester in the rush hour and the rain) to see the lads play their second gig of this Autumn's UK tour. The Playhouse 2 in Shaw is a lovely venue, small and friendly with a good size bar with comfy seats, cheap beer and a singing barman. We found ourselves on the very front row, which, for some reason the locals seem to shun and sit a few rows back, but it meant that we were literally on the stage and close enough to catch Denny's cold should he sneeze too much. LNF were very ably supported by local duo "Better Late" who warrant a separate report which will follow later, but it was with keen anticipation that we cheered Denny, Nick and Scott onto stage and wondered what the night might bring.
Chris was on form with his introductions and banter, merciless to Nick who remains the butt of so many comments, the audience taking some stick tonight s well, but once the first notes of a piece are played, the laughter is put aside and their 3 faces become intent, their eyes sometimes closed, their fingers and elbows and lungs and minds all become part of one entity, that of Last Night's Fun, whose sum exceeds that of Sherburn, Bartley and Scott as individuals. It was a joy to be so close to the band - it meant that all the usual distractions of movement and other peoples' heads being in the way were gone, and we could concentrate fully on what was unfolding in front of us:
A trio of instrumentals to start, then Denny's voice came to life for "The Moving On Song", thankfully not showing any ill effects from his cold, and his fingers working their stuff on his strings, visibly bending the notes, his strumming hand a blur. Nick's piping gained a genuine and warm compliment from Chris (it's not all banter, see) following another set of 3, including "The Tempest" , all of which had Nick to the fore, then it was back to Denny for "Next Market Day". I reckon Denny must have one of the most talented little fingers anywhere having watched it reach across the fretboard and pin down a string seemingly miles away from any of his other fingers, and his use of the lower strings as a bass while the strumming the higher strings plays the rhythm is quite remarkable. Meantime Chris was lovingly drawing out long notes from his concertina, barely moving at times, and we could see him mouthing the words as he was drawn into the song.
This song progressed into a sort of jazz guitar/concertina instrumental, slowly raising the ante, then, with a snatched word from Chris, they change up a gear, Nick's pipes start to soar and Denny slides his capo up 2 frets mid-strum and they're off into another fabulous tune! In "Roseville Fair" we find Chris playing a flute-like part on his concertina during the singing, the band joining together to end the first half with a cracking instrumental. Many of these are un-announced so I'm not able to tell you what they're called.
The second half started as the first with a few un-announced tunes before we were treated to the more subtle side of the band's output, Denny singing "Sammy's Bar" with Nick providing bass drones on his pipes and Chris using his concertina very gently to play those long quiet notes over the drones. In "Doxford Hall" things were much more up-tempo and I swear Denny was producing some bass notes without touching the strings! It was fantastic, no other word.
Mal had buttonholed Chris early on and requested a song, so at this stage we got "May Morning Dew", sung by Denny, no guitar, eyes closed, hands reaching out imploringly at times, simply accompanied by a pipe done and a few concertina notes, Denny's voice has a power that does more than justice to the songs he sings, and this was a major highlight, such control and passion in his voice - and all done without notice or rehearsal - just sublime. The song was actually preceeded by Nick playing a solo "I am asleep, please don't wake me" which gave us a chance to concentrate on his playing, and watching his fingers it seemed that they have evolved into pipe playing fingers, somewhat more agile than most and able to quiver and shake under control to wrest the magical sound out of the instument.
Then a dose of what Chris called "Double Garage Music" - "The Cliffs of Moher" in which his concertina seemed to develop into something much bigger and produced a huge sound, and suddenly the half was over.
For an encore they started with "Autumn Child", Nick managing to on his pipes slide between the notes on his pipes in a beautiful and haunting manner, a "top in" from Chris - he was locked into this piece now, you could see it on his face, and as they progressed the tunes featured call and response between Nick and Chris, the atmosphere was incredible, the players were rapt, Denny with his cheek on top of the guitar listening hard as he played, eyes closed, Nick too, eyes closed, head back, feet pounding the floor and Chris was bouncing on his seat, side to side and rocking as his feet too joined the rhythm - the sound was almost orchestral, "so much energy here" I wrote and the air must have been crackling as they drove on to a climatic ending.
It was a huge cheer they got at the end, and the band were buzzing after that, they had it seems, reached that extra level where everything was just en pointe and all three minds, souls and bodies moved in absolute union to produce something so special - an experiment Chris said later, and one that worked!
FolkingAbout are scheduled to become LNF groupies over the coming weeks as the tour regulary comes in range - join us and catch them if you can - three men in the rare altitudes of ability - one top group.
Tour dates etc at http://www.lastnightsfun.com/index.html where you will also find details of the new live album "Live from the Mac"
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