Dorking was a weird one. En route to Heathrow from Gatwick, we’d decided to pull off the M25 to miss the rush hour and hopefully find a good value fry up. We were wiped. I’d not slept on the plane and after a 6am start at the delightful Cynthia and Mike’s house on Vancouver Island, 9am BST felt like the end of a very long day – the day before, in fact. I pulled into the first car park I could find and we were greeted instantly by a chalk board boasting “Full English, £5.95″. Excellent. That’s what I call serendipity. Jetlag is new to me – whilst Joe was in a shop I found myself standing in the blazing sunlight on Dorking High Street watching Monday morning happen to everyone but me, as if through some sort of broken lens, finding that it took immense effort to produce even a single fully formed thought. Bizarrely, we kept seeing things we’d seen in Canada – quite unEnglish things – an advert for Ice Cream sandwiches, a bottle of Clamato juice, which is the main constituent of Canada’s favourite cocktail and then, as we left Dorking, a vineyard. Yes, a vineyard. You have to imagine the extra strangeness these things acquired under the circumstances, especially as our visit to Dorking was a completely spontaneous decision.
Anyway. Dorking, don’t be put off by the name, it’s lovely.
And so to Italy. Italy was gorgeous. I’ll have more to say about Italy in my next post but in the meantime here’s my first installment of photographic highlights;
(five countries in three weeks and he’s banging on about Dorking!?)
Mantova
Mantova
Mantova
Mantova
Bianzano
Bianzano
Bianzano (not quite successfully focused, I know, but a lucky moment none the less!)
After nearly a week the full force of Canadian July sunshine arrived, lifting the mist and the spirits of the already chronically cheery Canadians at Islands Folk Fest. Our hosts, Mike and Cynthia looked after us fantastically as we spent these last few days near Maple Bay, looking over to Salt Spring Island, where we’d started our Islands’ adventure. Everything was starting to sound quite storybookish. The morning ferry ride between the mountains and back to the mainland was nothing short of jaw dropping and it was with heavy hearts that we said goodbye to Canada.
We’ve been in Canada a week now, so we’re approaching half way through the latest leg of The UFQ world tour. This is my first time anywhere in the world that requires a long haul flight to get there and it’s been absolutely incredible. Here are some behind the scenes pictorial highlights of the first week here, all taken with either the iPhone’s built in camera app or Hipstamatic and posted using Blogpress for iPhone.
In a classic twist of diary-type fate, I’ve just enjoyed the craziest logistical weekend of my life.
Thursday : 8pm
The Old Dance School played at the delightful Chipping Norton Theatre. Chippy, it seems, is the UK capital of yarn bombing. This was much to the delight of Aaron, pop culture guru that he is, as he has been following this trend of woollen graffiti that’s been sweeping Europe for a couple of years now. Lovely gig, lovely pie.
Friday 3am
Sat in the back of my new sports camper (OK, people carrier) at a service station just outside Stansted I unscrewed the front of my cajon in order to fill it with UFQ CD’s and luggage. I finished just in time to catch half an hour’s sleep before check in. The Urban Folk Quartet World Tour continues!
Friday 9am
After finally persuading the good folk at Ryanair that we are not dangerous spies or health and safety risks and that the only thing we’re guilty of smuggling is a deep-seated contempt for their booking procedures, we arrived at Santiago De Compostella in a state of much glee. As you can see.
Friday 2pm
Following a riproaring and exhilirating game of “find the rentacar” and a long journey across land and… land, we arrived in Ortigueira in beautiful Galicia. We were just in time for soundcheck, which was promptly rained off.
Saturday 3am
After a very long day, with technical issues and inclement weather behind us, we managed to grab a couple of hours sleep before returning to the festival. They were in full 3am swing but to us it was the beginning of a new (and very long!) day. I’d never done a gig like this where they set all the drummers up on different risers and wheel them onto stage before, so watching this happen, surrounded by revelers, whilst my first coffee of the day kicked in was bizarre to say the least!
Saturday 315am – 430am
What a gig! The biggest gig I’ve ever done – we played to about 25,000 people and they really went for it. The question and answer clapping was quite something with such a huge crowd – you can watch a video of “The Stoney Steps” and the percussion track below. We had an absolute blast but had to dash straight off stage if we were going to make the next flight…
Saturday 730am
We arrived just in time to check in and grab a final chorizo sandwich to say goodbye to Spain after such a brief visit.
Saturday 12pm
Enjoying a (pricy) spot of lunch in Zurich, awaiting our transfer and swatting up on German. Chek out the “dating” section…
Saturday 5pm
Bremen! After a lovely flight on a propellor plane (love them) from Zurich, we were picked up by the good folks from Breminale in time to zoom across the city and soundcheck. The venue was a circus style tent by the riverbank and the weather was gorgeous. Each band had their own retro caravan dressing room and we were treated really hospitably by Volke and the Radio Bremen team. After soundcheck we were treated to homemade Turkish food and Bremen’s very own Beck’s beer. After the day we’d had, that was very welcome!
Saturday 8pm
15 hours after finishing in Spain, we were on stage in Germany… on the same day! We were greeted by another terrific crowd who really got behind us and as the show went on the tent bulged at the seams with more and more people cramming in. They were one of the best singing crowds we’ve had in a while too, singing their hearts out in “Gamberro” and those we met afterwards were lovely. We were followed by Zapp4, a contemporary dutch string quartet (above) who we had a great time hanging out with. We searched out a bratwurst (pfff, tourists, eh!?) had another beer and retired to the hotel, exhaaaausted but very happy.
And so another leg of The UFQ world tour is over in the blink of an eye. But what a blink! Next stop, Canada…
Hello folks! It’s been a little while since I posted but an awful lot has happened. I wasn’t really sure whether to try and include so much in one post but thinking back to the genesis for this blog, I remembered that before I got swept up in a whirlwind of half-baked culinary criticism, the point of this blog was to record my experiences in pictures and words succinctly. So here goes…
Beachbreak
I wasn’t sure what to expect at this one. The Urban Folk Quartet were playing in the excellent Chai Wallahs tent, which tours many of the better festivals and is a favourite at Shambala. The festival itself, however, is very mainstream and marketed explicitly as a student festival. We had a lunchtime slot too, so this was a bit of an unknown.
As it turned out, there was nothing to worry about. The gig started with a half full tent of hung over students, reclining with the obligatory straw hats over their eyes but by the end the tent was full of people on their feet dancing. A first for me was the spontaneous creation of a dancing area, into which lanky athletic types would bound to perform break dancing moves, including one boy who performed three complete backflips!
After the gig we had some tasty lunch, checked out the excellent and very friendly Medicine Creek and headed for a swim in the sea – we were lucky to arrive on the sunniest day (see aove), as swimming mid June in South Wales isn’t always an option. On the whole, this seemed like a great emerging festival, although I suspect that if I attended as a punter I’d spend more time trying out the outdoor activities than watching anything on the main stage. I also found it very strange that there was noone under 18 or over 35 in sight, all day.
Glastonbury
As Glastonbury has to be just about the best reported festival in the entire world, I’ll keep this brief! Yes, it was muddy. I found that after about fifteen hours the trench foot and muscle fatigue engulfed you in a sort of numb bliss that was quite euphoric. For me, the whole experience was defined by scale. Whilst there were undoubtedly some miraculous things going on in intimate, hidden corners (like the jaw dropping, beatific Church of Bono) I found my self less interested in the smaller scale things that were similar to what you see at other festivals and it was the large, collective experiences that really won me over. Whilst I’d have imagined it to be the last thing that would really move me, singing along to Coldplay in such an enormous throng of people was totally invigorating. Feeling the mutual respect of an enormous crowd for musical heavyweights like Paul Simon and BB King was incredible, as was seeing an old college friend who’s now in a very successful rock band, playing on “The Other Stage” to thousands of fans.
The Old Dance School gigs all went really well and as you never know what you’re going to get at festivals, we were lucky to play to appreciative crowds with decent sound. Each gig was different – the Small World stage (above) was an intimate evening slot with people huddling in, round tea and candles and away from the rain. The Bimble Inn gig had a great PA and atmosphere and was surrounded by a tangible rise in the spirits of the whole festival, as the sun finally beat down. The Bandstand was really fun, as it sits on the apex of three prominent concourses, so your audience is a mix of the transient and the dedicated. This was also where I saw the excellent Violentango, below.
Two very different festivals and both brand new to me. It never ceases to amaze me what a diversity of festivals this country now has to offer, from the tiniest to the absolutely epic. It’s also fascinating that the festival industry seems to be booming in a time of such economic trouble. I don’t have access to any statistics but certainly through my experience it seems the UK festival scene is wider, stronger and generally healthier than ever before. The press often focus on the “experience” of a festival, which seems to have become something of a rite of passage. But putting aside camping, swimming in mud, getting a henna tattoo and all the other associated festival ephemera for a moment, standing in amongst all those people and really feeling like part of something mutual, positive and present it’s not hard to see why we love live music even at the hardest of times.
And so with a whole host of new melodies and rhythms, chords and lyrics all (hopefully) locked away in our slightly weary brain boxes, our time away came to a close with a meal from Adam. In his typically enigmatic way, Adam seemed least visibly bothered about the competition and it’s hard to say if he was aware that he was favourite to win. Ever humble, he’s a hell of a chef but would be the last to let you know. By about day five I was beginning to see why they only have four contestants on Come Dine With Me. I wondered if the novelty had worn off early for the participants… but night on night, whether spurred on by the points, the desire to humour the small ginger one taking it all far too seriously, or just sheer hunger, each member of the band delivered great food. Adam kept things relatively simple but achieved absolutely everything he set out to do expertly and with great ease. Bass players, eh? After sitting up, to our great surprise we were casually presented with a starter – mouth watering steamed asparagus served with melted butter – in my case, goats’ butter.
This was followed by juicy homemade beef burgers made with onion, garlic and mustard, accompanied by salad with garlic and thyme potato wedges.
And to finish, the most delicious chocolate pudding I’ve had in years. Chocolate pudding is not something I often get to eat, what with being lactose intolerant, so this was an absolute highlight of the week for me. Made with dark chocolate and goats’ butter it was creamy and rich but not too moist, topped off with chocolate sauce and soya cream. Unbelievable.
I’m going to take a few days off blogging now and when I return I suspect my posts will have a little bit more to do with travel and music than food, although my increase in subscriptions seems to show that some of you out there have enjoyed this little gastronomic tangent, so who knows. I’ll leave you with the final results. In reverse order;
It’s the last night of our time here in The Cow Shed and frankly, we’re all pooped. After yesterday’s dinner, we pushed on with the rehearsal late into the night and after today’s final push, we’ve got three new pieces fully finished, ready for our gig at the Edale “Folk In The Field” event on Saturday, and several more well on the way.
But back to the competition! Aaron’s dinner came right out of left field and what might sound like a risky choice, proved to be the perfect dinner for the day after Helen’s roast. We were served roasted sweet potato soup for the main but like many things in life, it was all about the details – in this case the accompaniment. Warm poppy seeded bread rolls, pickled onions, black olives, feta and a local whiskey cheddar (yup) were set out alongside a carafe of red wine. Chet Baker was on the stereo. I think this is a good place to point out that whilst some of these meals might have sounded extravagant and expensive, we’ve actually found that with each person providing food for everyone else just once, mostly comprised of ingredients from the local shops and with no meals out, we’ve saved loads of money and time compared to the usual expenses of a seven piece band. This hearty, wholesome and very tasty main was a perfect example of this approach and although I’ve said this a few times already this week, it really must have been a contender for top marks.
Pudding was totally unexpected. Aaron had created beautiful little dairy fools with sweeties for the others and for me a very special Tom themed variation…
…he even served me a glass of orange Lucozade to go with it and anyone who knows me can account for how deft a move of persuasion that was.
We’ve just finished Adam’s meal – the final offering of the week and I’m counting to count the votes – Another post will follow to wrap this up once and for all!
It’s been a beautiful couple of days here in the Welsh hills. A lot’s happened, so I’ll give you a quick lowdown and then I think I’ll let the pictures do the talking. Firstly, we’ve finished up some more new tunes which, after all, is why we’re here! It can be quite a drawn out process working on new music in a band of seven people and sometimes you just have to keep pushing until you come to a musical solution that works for everyone. As the days have gone on here we’ve really settled into a rhythm of hard work and I’m so thankful we’ve been able to have the luxury of filling so much of the day with music. I’m sometimes sceptical about the worth of working away in an “inspiring” location but it’s been incredible being able to break up the day by stepping out the door for a good walk or swim in frankly sublime surroundings and then getting back on with the writing.
Helen cooked last night. A full blown sunday roast. Slow cooked Welsh lamb with mint sauce and gravy (butternut squash for Laura), parsnips, roasties, cabbage, carrots… you get the picture. After an afternoon swim in the river, Helen had piled her hair loosely onto the top of her head, and this combined with a long grey cardie gave her the air of an off duty geisha.
I’ve really struggled to find anything to say about the meal itself – apart from slightly burning of the bottoms of the soya-based Yorkies, Helen served a perfect roast dinner, followed by an apple and rhubarb crumble, with a style and grace that just made the whole thing seem infuriatingly easy. With the barn being open plan, she carried on rehearsing as she went, gliding from the rehearsal space to the kitchen and back almost in the blink of an eye. I really hope you don’t think I’m exaggerating here – I wish I could find some sarky put down to slip you but it ain’t gonna happen.
After an early start this morning and several hours of intense tunesmithing, Laura had to head back to Brum. So we took a couple of hours off to catch the end of the sunshine and explore the valley a little more. At the bottom, a hidden plunge pool in a shady glade and at the top an equally awe-inspiring, if much more modern vista.
Aaron’s hearty sweet potato broth is just about to get dished out so I’ll leave you with some shots of our downtime.
Big thanks to my guest bloggers for the last post. To be honest I think they were nicer than they needed to be!
Yesterday turned out to be quite a day. We got very close to our first fully finished, full band piece of new music and as the weather closed in we pushed on into the evening without so much as a glance towards the live final of Brian’s Got Talent, or whatever it’s called.
As the looped practise of my new, spindly bass line to accompany Helen’s 7/8 “A” section caused my brow to knit and Helen’s arm to go into involuntary spasm, Robin slunk off to the kitchen to start his prep for dinner.
This main of salmon with green beans, cherry tomatoes, garlic, mushrooms and new potatoes was very good. I would say that this was definitely the most grown up meal we’ve had so far and it would’ve perhaps been a contender for top marks all round… if it hadn’t been for the fact that Robin had called us to the table a full hour before it was ready.
It was explained that this was due to a “malfunction” with the electric oven. The delay didn’t prove to be as detrimental as you might think, as in a stroke of serendipity we discovered that Robin’s desk was in fact a table football table that he’d covered over with some wood from his van before we arrived. A few frantic tournaments and a full-blown, three verse song of apology from Robin later and dinner was ready.
Pudding was comprised of iced berries with homemade dark chocolate sauce – yet another variation on the hot/cold fruit/sweet theme, although admittedly with perhaps just a smidgen more class than mine. The chocolate was organic – 100% cocoa solids. The whole evening was presented with a certain uncharacteristic formality from Robin, with a level of care that inched towards (but never quite became) sycophancy, dished out on a bed of bossa nova that spilt around the lofty barn as if someone had left open the door of some distant elevator.
As the work has got more intense here, I feel that the competition has been getting more intense too – the pressure put on the cooks is really mounting. To be honest I’m hoping it might lighten up a bit tonight over Helen’s lamb dinner, which I can smell slowly roasting right now…
