Chris Wood
Bury Met
4th May 2013
with Justin Mitchell (Keyboards/Flugelhorn-not at this show!) and Neil Harland (Bass)
SP-CMC-2 >SP-SPSB-11 Battery box> Sony PCM10.micro SD card>BigDee>Mastering>CD wave Editor>Soundforge>Foobar
Many thanks go to BigDee for doing the honours with the mastering of this recording.The sound at The Met,Bury is almost always superb.The resident sound engineer Terry constantly produces superb sound.Chris Wood is very exacting about the sound he requires and his sound checks take longer than most. The Met is probably my favourite venue. I have never known an unrespectful crowd there for anyone. I wish all venues were like it.
This is a great show but I am extremely(!) biased and very opinionated about this performer as I unashamedly regard Chris Wood as currently just about the best singer/songwriter in the folk genre or any other genre for that matter. He has quite rightly been Folk Musician of the Year and received awards for Best Songs. None The Wiser has been nominated for Best song at the forthcoming 2014 BBC Folk awards.He is one of those rare musicians who do not come out with the same safe script/set list very night.It seems the more he likes the sound and the venue the more relaxed and chatty he gets. When he likes the sound as on this night he almost luxuriates and wallows in it. This tour featured 2 excellent musicians accompanying Chris which added yet another dimension to his songs. In one show I saw (not this one) he describes the rhythm to "None The Wiser" as an attempt to emulate the sound of the wheels on the tour bus on the massive Joan Armatrading tour last year. The excited little bit of suppressed gleeful clapping at the opening notes (and possibly the end)to Summerfield Avenue was me as I just love the song, the last verse is IMHO one of the best pieces of writing in song.
If you haven't seen him before do yourself a favour and make it a point to go and see him in 2014.All his CDs including any with the box genius Andy Cutting are worth checking out.
Set 1 43.32
1. Intro 0.51
2. Young Randall 4.05
3. Band Intros & Chat 3.06
4. Caesar 5.00
5. Chat and Intro to Jerusalem 1.28
6. Jerusalem 4.57
7. Chat and Intro to None The Wiser 2.07
8. None The Wiser 3.59
9. Intro to My Darling's Downsized 1.04
10. My Darling's Downsized 5.20
11. Intro to The Sweetness Game 0.46
12. The Sweetness Game 4.29
13. Chat about Martin Carthy & Nic Jones 2.07
14. Cold Haily Rainy Night 4.09
Set 2 67.05
1. Mid Life Crisis Chat 1.30
2. Thou Shalt 6.17
3. Intro to A Whole Life Lived 1.32
4. A Whole Life Lived 4.30
5. The Little Carpenter 5.07
6. Intro to The Poacher 0.58
7. The Poacher (Ronnie Lane) 4.14
8. Intro to Tally of Salt 2.08
9. Tally of Salt 4.42
10. Intro to I Am 1.38
11. I Am (John Clare) 3.20
12. Intro to Summerfield Avenue 0.46
13. Summerfield Avenue 3.59
14. John Barleycorn 4.24
15. Chat 0.28
16. Come Down Jehovah 5.44
17. Intro to The Wolfless Years 1.53
18. The Wolfless Years/Applause 5.43
19. Tuning & Intro to No Honey Songed Sonnet 2.48
20. No Honey Songed Sonnet/Applause 5.22
Not For Sale/Share freely / Support the artists -see them live and buy their stuff.
Kayjaybee