Three acts tonight. My new found friend, Andrew Perry, a guitar and fiddle duo from London called the Cock Fiddlers and Simon Sparrow and his friend Martin. The Constant Service with a bit of history, I'm told, is a real pub rather than one of those brewery 'pretend' pubs. Might have been a tad noisey tonight but at least it is alive. Not a bent nose, bow tie bouncer or a pound a pint in sight.
Andrew Perry had the unenviable task of opening to a pub part filled with those who came to hear the music and those who came to chatter to their mates. No matter. I'll come to hear West Texas songs strained through an old sock rather than be force fed musick on sad FM or 'hip' TV.
Andrew Perry ploughs on regardless. Tonight, maybe, he should have stuck with the twelve string because it resounds off the walls as he growls on West Texan David Olney's Deeper Well. I have to strain to hear the delicate majesty of Ian Tyson's Summer Wages or Olney's Women 'cross the River. He had opened with John Prine's Everybody and rallied against the chatter with Robert Earl Keen's Paint The Town Beige but it was Deeper Well with that twelve string that started to make headway above the noise.
With the pub filling Andrew Perry ends with Lyle Lovett's Skinny Legs and Guy Clark's Come From The Heart. I figured that Clark's The Cape might have been a better bet much to do with me spotting a guy in a Batman t-shirt. Early on it was a night for the twelve string to blanket the chat but that, as they say, is the way it is with pubs and short of a trip to Austin I'll suffer the chatter just to hear the songs of West Texas.
The Cock Fiddlers promised more than they delivered. At least for me, anyway. However, they managed, even unmiked, to get their acoustic sound across. My problem with them was that they seemed so mismatched. The fiddle player knew his way around his instrument but the hamfisted chords of his guitar playing partner seemed to drag the music down. Just didn't click for me even if they did receive a fair amount of applause from the audience. Organiser Seffy had announced they were off to Virginia for a fiddle contest. I wish them well and good luck. They are going to need it for those West Virginia musicians play as sweet as a Jack Daniels.
The final act were spot on. Simon Sparrow and Martin ?????? couldn't have ended the evening any better. A perfect pairing. Simon played a Gibson acoustic and sang most of the vocals while Martin blew amazingly fired runs from an acoustic wired with pickups under the strings. Martin looked a dead ringer for Steve Earle and his performance had just as much energy as that great Texas musician.
I thought the combination of their vocals, the softer warmth of Simon's vocal and Martin's hard edged wail worked real fine. It was Martin's guitar playing that topped it off. Did he fly. Fast hard picking straight out of a Tennessee beer joint. The duo performed originals by Simon and some brilliant covers.
"Anybody here like Buck Owens?" asked Simon. "Yeah," came a roar back and the duo thundered into Tiger By The Tail at a pace that rocked the joint. Martin's guitar picking on this one would have stopped the beertenders in a Tennesse dancehall. They had the audience singing the chorus. Superb.
The duo also did a pair of great covers that pretty much defined their broad range of influences. One was by the grand master, the man in black, Johnny Cash, the other from his latterday counterpart the diesel stained 'ol Corazon himself, Steve Earle. Simon and Martin had the rhythm good and nailed down between them, which just lifted the vocals and gave a springboard for some corking guitar picking.
Afterwards Simon would mention to me that he has just returned from my favourite little 'ol Texas town, Austin where he got to hang out and play with one Dale Watson amongst some fine musicians.
Organisers Lone Coyote Productions, Seffy, Nicky Mitchell and Erika Edwards and Linda on sound take a bow. Real music in a real pub. West Texas comes to West Sussex. Pity I have not caught more of this festival which looks to be an inspired range of acoustic music from traditional to blues and country. For details check their website:
Mike Plumbley
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