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Aye, I thought you could really see the years on Martin Carthy during his set on Saturday (especially with his guitar playing, which has always been so certain, staccato and accurate), but exactly as you say, they’ve earned a lot of leeway and still a joy to see them perform now! I’ll keep an eye out for LR’s next gigs…
Ah, no other London plans beyond Wednesday at the moment, we’ve actually had a really busy summer and we want to take some time to finish up and record an EP’s worth of our own stuff before getting back out there….
owl
Oliver Schick
Nice coincidence. You sounded good for the brief snatch I was able to watch.
Leon was very good--very politically-minded, talking a lot about Labour, Israel, and Palestine. He played a new song relating to all that, which was excellent. He was also very funny: 'A woman came up to me and asked me to play my song "Penny for the Guy". I'd never written a song called "Penny for the Guy", though. But then she showed me this CD, "Rosselsongs", and there it was. I'd forgotten all about it.'
Leon had some trouble with remembering the lyrics at times but given how many songs he has written and must know and how wordy many of them are, his memory is holding up very well--if I remember this well when I'm his age, I'll be very happy. Martin Carthy forgets lyrics, too, but both of them have more than earned the right.
He can put such excellent sets together without repeating himself much because of his repertoire of good songs. One of my favourite songs of his ('Fair's Fair') is on his latest record (2016). 'Active Ageing' is also very good. He played that when I saw him at the Poetry Café last year.
He does say on the record sleeve that at 81 it's his final recording--that was two years ago. Given that there's already at least one new song and he doesn't really look as if he's in a mood to retire, I really hope it's not his last, after all.
Anyway, I'll make sure to look out for Embers gigs! Unfortunately, I can't make Wednesday--will you be doing anything else in London soon?