Strawbs-John Wesley Harding: Lostbrook 2.0 Volume 2

2012-09-05 Vienna VA

I had scribbled this show on my calendar months ago, but having previously seen the Strawbs 22 times, I really had no intention of attending. When my Sony M10 arrived, I quickly changed my mind. This would have been my first attempt with the new recorder had The Fixx (Vol 1) not intervened. I was glad to have some hands-on experience with the new recorder, but this actually turned out to be more difficult than my prior outing. I arrived at Jammin Java quite early but not to grab a front table. On the contrary, I was in search of that elusive sweet spot. When I arrived, the sound check was in progress, with nothing but a black curtain separating the front of the venue from the performance area. The first thing I observed was that this was going to be quite a bit louder than anticipated.

After the sound check, Chas Cronk emerged from behind the curtain and exited through the front door. I could see him hanging out in front of Jammin Java by himself. No other early arrivals in the club appeared to notice him so I began a debate with myself: Left-shoulder Lostbrook said, "Leave him alone. Don't be a groupie." Right-shoulder Lostbrook countered with, "You've met him before. Just go up and introduce yourself." I casually strolled out the door and re-introduced myself to Chas. I reminded him about one of the times we had met - the barn in West Virginia (LBTS Vol 99.) He laughed and said that the band had just talked about that gig that very day. He said it was colder than a performance they once did above the Arctic Circle. I also reminded him of a mutual acquaintance that we had, and the conversation took off from there. I didn't want to wear out my welcome so I excused myself shortly after and returned to the bar for another beer. Within minutes, Dave Lambert appeared, stopped by the ATM (like a real person) and walked out the front door. He was sitting by himself at a table on the front porch rolling a cigarette. I looked at the faces of the early arrivals and, once again, no one batted an eye. Perhaps they were listening to the voices on their left shoulders. I went outside, plopped myself down next to Dave and re-introduced myself. We had almost the same conversation as I had had with Chas, and we laughed about the barn and our mutual acquaintance. We also spoke of the Strawbs in their glory days, of their popularity in New York, and of the end of the era in both progressive rock and radio. The conversation then took an unexpected but delightful turn. Dave noticed a poster advertising guitar lessons at Jammin Java. I mentioned that my 16-year-old son had recently picked up the guitar, and though he had made amazing progress playing tabs, he wasn't very interested in music theory. Dave had some interesting comments, and while I was in way over my head, it was a thrill to talk about chord progressions with one of my favorite guitarists of all time. The M10 was in my pocket for both conversations, and while it crossed my mind to turn it on, I discovered that even I have some limits. I returned to the bar once again, expecting Dave Cousins to emerge and repeat the same scene, but the curtain was gone and it was time to find that sweet spot. I wasn't sure I wanted to talk to Dave anyway. Some time ago, I had attempted to contact him through the band's web site to seek permission to release my Strawbs collection. I've never done that with any other band but I felt a personal connection with the Strawbs and I thought it was the right thing to do. I never did get a final answer through the web site, and when I spotted Dave in the wings several times before the show, I didn't approach him. I knew I would have the opportunity after the show and needed time to decide - some questions are better left unasked.

The opening act was John Wesley Harding, and though he had released 17 albums, I had never heard a single note. His performance was excellent. In addition to being a great songwriter, he was both charming and witty. Furthermore, he was a big fan of the Strawbs. If you're unfamiliar with his work like I was, I should warn you: these songs will get stuck in your head.

This was the opening night of the Strawbs brief tour, and once again, Dave Cousins took us on a "journey through space and time," regaling us with stories from the Strawbs extensive history. I've heard many of these tales before, but I never tire of them. I would buy a ticket if there was no music and just Dave's stories. There were a couple of opening night issues, including a few off-notes and a short in Dave Lambert's microphone. I also thought the crowd was a bit tentative, but I had bigger concerns. The volume in this small room was very loud, and there appeared to be a bit of distortion, especially on the pedal and vocal effects. On top of that, I was not comfortable with my levels, and I wasn't in a good position to check them as often as I would have liked. I also didn't want to handle the recorder too many times. You'll hear me fumble with it occasionally between songs as I attempted to adjust the levels due to the dynamic extremes of this performance. It was then and there I decided to expedite my plan to buy external microphones.

After the show, I was still undecided if I was going to approach Dave Cousins. Jammin Java emptied out quickly however, and there was hardly anyone waiting to speak with him. I shook Dave's hand, reminded him who I was, and told him that it was nice to have "You And I" back in the set again. There was much we could have spoken of, but I noticed someone else get on line behind me. I quickly decided to ask my question and phrased it in the vaguest of terms: "How do you feel about fans trading live tapes?" Dave immediately said he was fine with it. With great relief, I told him that I had many tapes from 1984-85, but I didn't risk mentioning that I had taped the show that night. I mumbled something about "increasing the fan base," excused myself "until next time," and yielded to the next person on line. Moments later, I was in the car, the M10 plugged into my stereo, re-living yet another Strawbs experience.



Recording Equipment: Sony M10(24/48)
Transfer: Micro SDHC>PC>Sound Forge 9.0(minor edits)>WAV>CQ Mastering>FLAC(16/44.1)


Taper: Lostbrook
Mastering: CQ
Artwork: ethiessen1


Strawbs

01 John Wesley Harding Intro>The Man Who Called Himself Jesus (6:46)
02 The Weary Song (6:08)
03 Copenhagen (8:20)
04 Josephine, For Better Or For Worse (5:10)
05 New World (5:55)
06 Oh How She Changed (6:31)
07 The Hangman And The Papist (6:54)
08 Benedictus (5:12)
09 Ghosts (10:53)
10 Grace Darling (6:31)
11 Remembering>You And I (When We Were Young) (7:54)
12 Cold Steel (5:33)
13 Shine On Silver Sun (5:41)
14 Autumn (9:53)
15 Lay Down (6:50)
16 Midnight Sun (6:12)

Dave Cousins: vocals, guitar, banjo, dulcimer
Dave Lambert: Vocals, guitar
Chas Cronk: vocals, bass, guitar, pedals



John Wesley Harding (opening act)

17 Dave Cousins Intro>Making Love To Bob Dylan (4:27)
18 Uncle Dad (6:12)
19 Starbucks (6:16)
20 In Paradise (6:32)
21 Unknown 1 (The Dealer's Daughter?) (2:21)
22 Unknown 2 (The Coolest Girl In Canterbury?) (5:00)
23 Wreck On The Highway (Bruce Springsteen)(4:02)*
24 Save A Little Room For Me (5:42)

* With David Lewis (vocals)

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

Images for this show: