BILLY STRINGS
Islington Assembly Hall,
London UK

26th March 2022

Lineage:
Church Audio CA-14 omnis > CA-9200 > Edirol R-07 (@24/96) > Cool Edit Pro 2 (Edits, downsample)> CDWave > TLH
Recorded 30' from house left suspended stack

Recording, transfer & artwork by boombox

2 sets - no support

Set 1 (70m45s):
1. Tuning
2. Slow Train
3. Ernest T. Grass (The Dillards) >
4. Must Be Seven >
5. Hide & Seek
6. Love & Regret
7. Haul De Woodpile Down (Sam Patterson Trio)
8. In The Baggage Coach Ahead (Traditional)
9. Band Introductions
10. Long Forgotten Dream >
11. New Country Blues (Emmit-Nershi Band)
12. Dust In A Baggie

Set 2 (79m58s):
1. Tuning
2. The Fire On My Tongue >
3. All Fall Down Jam (John Hartford)
4. Taking Water >
5. Ice Bridges
6. Foggy Old London (Jimmy Martin)
7. Fire Line >
8. Reuben's Train (Traditional) (inc. 3rd Stone From The Sun tease)
9. Bound To Ride (The Stanley Brothers)
10. The Wart (John Hartford)
11. Hollow Heart
12. Away From The Mire
13. Brain Damage (Pink Floyd)

No encore due to 11pm curfew

boombox's notes march 2022:

I could only do the first of Billy's inaugural UK shows as I had rearranged tickets to see Eric Gales the following night, but was not too disappointed as for me, he chose to do most of his big hitters the first night and we got some new Hartford material amongst the covers as well. For anyone who has never experienced a Billy Strings show, I can't recommend it highly enough. Billy and his band far exceed any hype and well-deserve all the accolades. I have no doubt that even if you think you don't like bluegrass, there will be parts of this show you will like and other parts you will REALLY like. Tough to pick my favourite tracks, but some of the long jams were quite breathtaking.

In terms of the recording, although there are a few nearby chatters audible at times, overall it's a very nice capture. This was a very loud show, filled with a very enthusiastic audience, but it came out really well - probably the easiest recording I've mastered in a long while. All it needed was very gentle clip restoration in one channel, overall volume adjustments, the patching of one very brief mic bump and a few very loud claps which needed taming.

I can't make the next show in December, but look forward to attending the inevitable return next year. I suggest you do the same. :-)

Images for all shows as well as full size images for this show.

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