Rachel Unthank and the Winter Set - Shrewsbury Folk Festival - 27/8/2006

It was a bit of a suprise to find that Rachel Unthank & The Winter Set were going to be on first, it was after all the main reason we were at Shrewsbury - Gilly had picked up on them beforehand and marked their name with a special rune that allows no obstacles to our attendance! The running order for the afternoon had been re-arranged because somebody was absent, or late, so we had to settle down quick and concentrate hard. "Quick! They're on." Rachel Unthank sang solo and unaccompanied "A Man Like Johnie" and the other 3 members of the Winter Set stood or sat slightly self consciously while we all tuned into Rachel's voice. No standing around for the next number though, Cyril Tawney's "Monday Morning" used 3 voices and the piano - and yes Belinda was deliberately sitting on that metal case as a cushion on the chair while she played piano, they must have left the stool at home! The two Unthank sisters and viola player Jackie Oates sang a verse each of this weekend drinker's lament - the harmonies different each time, sometimes two part, latterly in three and always beautiful.

Instantly noticeable was the rapt attention that pianist Belinda O'Hooley pays to the other artistes, her eyes wide and steeley as she immerses herself into the song and places her notes just right, her playing is skilled and sensitive and is a major feature in the band's sound, often more like another voice than a backing instrument. O'Hooley's other assett to the Winter Set is her dry humour, whithering put-downs and acerbic asides keep the audience happy between songs, the band's close friendship's showing through well - they are all clearly close and comfortable in each other's company, on and off stage.









A few numbers into the set saw the sisters change into clogs and dancing, and then Rachel (back in her wellies) switched to cello for "My Donald" - whaling from the wife's point of view. This song brought out Becky Unthank's breathy vocals and then the band became almost a chamber orchestra during a dramatic instrumental break. The effect was spoilt slightly by the intrusion of some loud drumming going on nearby - a complaint I heard metioned several times from various sources - something for "the committee" to sort out for next year.

Later on, Becky would appear mid-piece, and, all clogged up, dance a brief impetuous dance like a child vieing for the attention of grownups, too usy with something else to appreciate her moves. A swift, low bow and she was off again to shed he clogs before re-appearing for the next piece.

Further highlights included "For Today I Am A Boy" sung by Becky and accompanied by Belinda, followed by Alex Glasgow's poignant "Twenty Long Weeks" - again Belinda's sparse piana comlementing rather than backing the vocals. A rowdy "Away from Hexhamshire" concluded the afternoon set, an interesting and exciting first view of the band, and certainly enough to ensure that we would see them again later in the day.....

..... in the smaller marquee in the evening in fact, where we managed to get front row seats in a fairly well attended concert. "Thanks for coming to see us rather than Eliza Carthy" they quipped, but not without the hint of self-doubt as somebody added "or couldn't you get in there?" Well we were there by choice, and I suspect a fair few of the others were too.

Rachel sang "Cruel Sister" with just piano accompaniment and then the marvelous "Monday Morning". I have one small complaint of the Winter Set, they have tendancy, and it noticeable here, to abandon the last note of a number just a tiny bit too soon - I'm sure it's just a nervous thing, but it grates a little - they need to just savour that last note a little longer, let the audience hang on it before downing tools or stepping back from the mike. (Incidently the same is true of the CD, where the tracks have next to no silence between them.)

The sisters' father is no mean musician either and his "Tar Barrell in Dale" was a good highlight (and currently available as a free download on the band's website) The evening atmosphere seemed to suit the set - Beck's "My Donald" was hauntingly good tonight, with Rachel's cello adding to the instrumental section. "I wish" was fantastic - featuring Jackie playing a Sanuté purchased from eBay - a complex piece of light and dark with some excellent vocal harmonies, and then Becky delivered the coup de gras with Nick Drakes' "Riverman". Becky sings this lovely song with such a fragile vocal that you want to treat it like precious porcelain, breathy and once again with the ever attentive Belinda providing the piano part - this was just brilliant and will be one of the top songs of my year for certain. Again there was sound, particularly deep beats leaking over from the main marquee that slightly marred this fraglile performance.

After such a pearl we were brought firmly back to earth by the next song "Til I'm Cold and Stiff", introduced by Belinda and her Irish Auntie and including a fair chunk of "Abide with Me" before the Winter Set left us again with "Away from Hexhamshire".

What can I say then? Gilly was right, they were terrific and left us eager for more. It's been a great year already and this was one of the highest of the highlights, the Unthank sisters and their friends will be a bright star in the folk firmament for some years.