Magicked away on a wave of happiness...
The last gig before Christmas and I’m back at Green Note. I
still haven’t learnt my lesson to get there in time to get a seat, so I stand
at the back; at least I’m close to the bar (humbug)!
We are gathering for Sarah
Spade and the Noisy Boys and an evening of ukulele music. The humble uke
has enjoyed a massive growth in popularity recently. Ukulele groups have popped
up across the country and self respecting guitar players who would never have
been seen with anything less than 6 strings are now proudly standing on stage
with their miniature, but mighty, ukes! It is almost as if the diminutive
dynamo of the string world has finally shaken off the ‘Formby’ shackle and come into its own. It is not that the Ukulele
influence hasn’t been heard – George
Harrison has always championed the instrument – it’s just not been seen. In 1999 Harrison
explained,
“Everyone should have and play the ‘uke’ its so simple to
carry with you and it’s one instrument you can’t play and not laugh!”
The ukulele is the happiest of all instruments and even in Pete Seeger’s great story-song Abiyoyo it is the lowly ukulele that
causes the giant to smile and lie down so that the magician can magic him away
and save the village!
And magicked away on a wave of happiness is exactly what
happens to us tonight. It is an infectious sound that can’t help but make the
audience smile, as sounds from the 30’s right through to the present day are
strummed by Sarah Spade and
wonderfully accompanied by the Noisy
Boys on bass and percussion. With the joyous sound ringing in my ears I
don’t care that I’m standing not sitting. I’m not the slightest bit bothered
someone has stood in front of me so I am straining my neck to see the stage, or
that I can’t reach my glass I placed on the bar due to the crowd!
What would the bright and brilliant uke make of a Joy Division song...
Sarah Spade looks like she has stepped right out of the 30’s
in her red dress, pearls and Hawaiian flower in her hair. Her publicity is
straight out the 30’s too: “Beautiful Voice. Beautiful Face” D.J. Rob Da Bank
(Radio One)! OK obviously the quote is present day but the attitude is pure
30’s. Am I the only one who is insulted by such a quote? Am I really only going to go
to the gig if what I see is as beautiful as what I hear? Am I so shallow? Is
D.J. Rob Da Bank (Radio One) so shallow? And why, oh why, does Sarah Spade need
to put such a quote on her publicity? Would D.J. Rob Da Bank (Radio One) say
that about a bloke playing ukulele?
In any event, she lets the music speak for itself with a
mixture of original and cover versions, traditional ukulele songs (including Leaning on a Lampost) and songs I
never dreamt I would hear on the uke! Delivered with the lovely, light touch
demanded by the instrument, but also with the balanced backing of the Noisy
Boys who prove that beauty is no necessity for music talent! There is an infectious fun feel to each song,
aided by the antics of the Noisy Boys, which seeps out from the stage into the
audience. Standing at the back I see the waves of musical melody wash over the
gathered crowd, people engulfed in their fun-filled foam, giggling as they surface
for air.
The interval is soon with us and as the crowd dissipate to
queue for the toilets. I manage to revive my drink and finish it, and decide to
check out the CDs. The percussionist is sat close by, relaxing during the
interval, and he starts up a conversation;
“Do you play an instrument?”
“Yes – a little!”
“Guitar?”
“Yes and the Uke”
“Oh! That accent’s not from round
here…”
“Yeah, I used to live in the
northwest”
“Whereabouts?”
“Last place was Cheshire”
“Oh Joy Division. They were from there weren’t they?”
“You know one of my biggest
regrets was never seeing Joy Division…”
And so the conversation dissolves into an appreciation of Joy Division! And immediately a
challenge crosses my mind. What would the bright and brilliant uke make of a Joy Division song, and would it make
you smile?!
Set against the
hype, and the false, forced jollity of a commercial Christmas...
As I make my way back to my spot in the corner at the back
of the venue I am still trying to get my head round the fact that I ended up
talk about Joy Division with a
member of a ukulele singer’s backing band! Chalk and cheese, light and dark, now
and then – but I guess it proves the old saying, ‘there are only two types of
music: good and bad.’ It’s a simple
saying and a simple truth, but one that we learn too late in life I fear. The
irony is that although in 1979 I knew who Joy Division were, I didn’t ‘allow
myself’ to like them because they were not the type of music I was
into. That is why it is such a big regret that I didn’t ever see them live -
simply because I wasn’t sufficiently open to the possibility that I could like them.
I had a closed mind when it came to music and a musical closed mind is a cardinal
sin. How apt the album title: Unknown
Pleasures. It’s an album I still listen to, and love, to this day but which
remained unknown to me back then.
Having said that, 35 years ago I would never have believed
that I would ever go to a ukulele concert, yet alone so enjoy playing the
instrument. At least I have now learnt to be open minded when it comes to music (even
if an open musical mind can sometimes let you down – I kept my mind open to the
possibility that Genesis would
produce a good album after Gabriel
left!)
Back to Sarah Spade, and the second half is every bit as good
as the first. The fun continues, and some of the crowd even find space to
dance. This is as far away from a Joy
Division gig as I imagine that it is possible to get! I doubt that in 35
years time I’ll be talking to someone who tells me that their greatest regret
is not seeing Sarah Spade live but
tonight has been an uplifting occasion of great musicianship. Set against the
hype, and the false, forced jollity of a commercial Christmas it has been a
genuinely happy Christmas gig! Even the very unsubtle innuendo in her
obligatory Christmas song raises a genuine smile.
Now home and onto the internet - there has to be a ukulele
tab for a Joy Division song…
Gig: 41 of 50
Date of Gig: Sat. 19th December 2015
Venue
Green Note
Venue
Green Note
Artists
Sarah Spade and the Noisy Boys
Running total of artists seen 87
Sarah Spade and the Noisy Boys
Running total of artists seen 87
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