As someone who likes to think "I can pick 'em" (don't we all?), I was thrilled to see those three Canadian 'ramblin'gals', the Be Good Tanyas, at The Borderline in London last night. The club, next to Foyles Bookshop off Charing Cross Road, had been completely sold out for over a week and still there was a long queue (line up) for returns - not bad for a relatively unknown string band on their first tour of the UK!!
I first saw them last year at the Vancouver Folk Alliance Showcase, which was hosted by Canadian dulcimer player Rick Scott (some might remember Rick's story about being picked up by Joni when he was hitchhiking up the Sechelt coast, which I've posted on the list). I know Rick was really pleased when Samantha Parton from the Tanyas said she had grown up listening to his band's (Pied Pumkin String Ensemble) albums. I thought then that the Be Good Tanyas were a name for the future - sublime country stringband harmonies - and Frazey Ford has one great individual voice that really gets the hairs on the back of my neck a'buzzing (or whatever!) They started last night's set with a new song called 'Horses' (new to me anyway, as it's not on their 'Blue Horse' album, which featured Samantha on ukelele (I was amused to hear a hard-nut looking London geezer standing next to me say "wow, you dunt see many uke-players these days". They did most of the songs from their album - "The Littlest Birds" and "Only in the Past" my personal faves - although when someone in the audience shouted out for them to play 'Lakes of Pontchartrain', they said they haven't kept that one up to speed. They went on to play a steaming version of "In My Time of Dying" (well well well!!) and finished their set with Geoff Berner's song "Light Enough to Travel" joined on stage by their friends, Australian trio 'The Waifs', who are also touring over here - really great night. All the best PaulC
