Young Bands, Old Fans

GREAT, WE'VE GOT NEW FANS.....OLD ONES

In the last two days we've seen two of our favourite bands, both of whom we only discovered in the last twelve months.  They might not be quite in the class of the mighty Lau (who is?), but both offer something different musically and are great live performers.  More to the point they are both acts who, having first heard them live, offer CDs which don't then disappoint.  This isn’t often the case with street acts (which one of these favourites most certainly are).  The live performance is exciting and attractive then the hard copy turns out to be flat and derivative.  That's happened a few times....

I can't recall which of them we saw first, as both were Festival discoveries last year.  Let's go with today's candidates initially, because they were in their proper form when first viewed.  That will make more sense when I move on to the second of my choices later!

There are a lot of musicians and bands busking in Edinburgh throughout the summer, but that number increases exponentially in August when the potential audiences are so much the greater.  It's said that around two million people pass through the city, which has a bit more than half a million inhabitants, during the festival month. And the vast majority of them are looking to be entertained, hoping to see something new, original, exciting.  The Spinning Blowfish meet all these criteria.

The line up of instruments isn't especially different.  You can see many similar.  There's a drummer, a guitarist, and a piper (Highland bagpipes, requiring a bit of puff rather than a strong elbow).  They play some traditional Scots tunes, plus a few of their own compositions, and there’s an EP for sale, five tracks for five pounds.  And their sets usually last around half an hour.  So far, so conventional.

So what marks them out?  There are two things that strike the observer immediately, and one more that becomes apparent when they introduce themselves.  Most immediate is the music itself, or, more specifically, the arrangements.  They are obviously highly competent musicians, but there is imagination at work here.  To be able to present 'Scotland the Brave', one of the most hackneyed tunes in the nation's 'popular' repertoire, in a manner that makes it sound fresh and interesting is some achievement.  Then there is the performance.  The guitarist and piper pogo in formation, spin around whilst playing.  They are obviously enjoying themselves and this communicates itself to their motley audience.  Once you start watching you have to stay.  And they get the crowd involved.  The patter is amusing, at times both corny and surreal, and gets all before them clapping along and cheering, attracting further observers.  This is a proper 'live' act.

The guitarist’s accent gives a hint of the other unusual aspect of this band.  They're from the three 'M's.  The drummer from Madrid.  Our amusing guitarist (and banjo player) from Milan.  And, completing the exotic line up, a piper from Musselburgh (a wee town on the north eastern edge of Edinburgh).  An international line up.  I'll enjoy them while I can and hope they get discovered soon.  They deserve so much more.

Our second discovery was even more accidental.  At last year's festival the bandstand in Princes Street Gardens was reactivated during the month to provide a showcase for local bands.  There were allsorts, from school choirs through to heavy metal via chamber quartets, pipe bands and folkies.  We checked it out as often as possible and found a couple of bands that caught our ears.  One was another bagpipe fronted ensemble, Pipedown.  The other more of a pop/rock outfit who had a lead singer we particularly liked.  They went by the excellent name of Flatpack Society.  On a couple of the occasions we saw them they opened up with a guest female vocalist who came from a band called Jules and the Blue Garnets.  She had a fabulous, truly wonderful, voice, but we only got to hear about four numbers from her.  Pity.

Earlier this year we went to a local folk club and enjoyed the support act.  One Jules and the Blue Garnets.  The same amazing voice accompanied by the lead guitarist and percussionist from Flatpack.  And they were great.  Original songs, clever arrangements, and that sensational voice.   (Maybe every bit as good as Emily Smith?)  After their set I went over to say how much I'd enjoyed the performance and bought their eight track CD.  Which has since had a fair bit of play in the Crawford household and we have learned to sing along (off key) with all the songs.

So when there was a chance to see them again yesterday we grabbed it enthusiastically.  It meant a trip along the coast to North Berwick, but as that's an old haunt of mine, with many memories, it was no hardship.  A lovely sunny day, the seaside and a Speigeltent.  The support band were competent and enjoyable.  Jules and co were superb, relaxed and confident, and the songs beautifully delivered.  This was home territory for them as they hail from the little holiday town, and they had a good audience, including several from Jules' family.  The performance was definitely worth the trip for us, with a high grin factor, and it was a shame we had to rush off afterwards to get to a Fringe gig back in the city.

It was seeing the aforementioned family members that brought back to mind a thought I've had several times in the past.  We love discovering new music, finding contemporary bands and musicians we enjoy to add to the list of those who've been going for decades.  But sometimes I wonder how the bands feel?  Is there a bit of good news/bad news going on?

Great, we've got a couple of new fans, people who obviously appreciate what we're doing and get a lot of pleasure from our work.  But.  They're probably older than our parents.  Not much street cred in that, is there?  How did we end up attracting oldies?

I hope not.  Whilst in no way wanting to make a comparison with the great man, I doubt many young bands were offended by interest from pensioner John Peel in his later years.  Good music is good music.  Are good fans just good fans, whatever their age?  The disparaging term 'political correctness' is much abused, but actually represents a steady pushing back of the boundaries of bigotry.  Racism, misogyny, homophobia etc, remain forces which need to be resisted, but the war against them is fighting from much higher ground than it did thirty years ago.  (Although sometimes Twitter suggests otherwise....)  But ageism remains a thing which has yet to gain the recognition of its fellows.  Perhaps because it's only something you can notice once you pass fifty or so?

So how do young bands view older fans?  They're polite of course, but what are they really thinking?  It's an odd situation to find yourself in, where you want to give your support and can't be sure how well it will be received.  But I'm an optimist.  They're musicians and all they see are music lovers.  I'll settle for that.