For the past twelve years, eleven-piece folk ensemble, Bellowhead have blurred the lines of roots, jazz and rock with a collection of critically acclaimed, inventive albums and a reputation as one of the best live bands on the planet, headlining numerous folk festivals and winning a number of awards along the way. But it would seem that all good things must come to an end, Bellowhead have decided to part ways with a final tour and an indispensable double live album/DVD collection.
I’ve been fortunate to have seen Bellowhead on a number of occasions, from an intimate stripped down set at The BBC Club to a previous jaunt to The Symphony Hall and each time I’ve been left near speechless and (and like the rest of the audience) desperate for more, so there was no way I was going to pass up on one last dance.
Before the main event the quickly filling Symphony Hall was treated to an exceptional set by folk up and comers (and previous Radio 2 Folk Award nominees) Mawkin, an energetic five-piece that offer an energetic rock fueled take on the folk, combining acoustic strums, searching fiddle and melodeon with a rousing rhythm section to create a compelling and invigorating set. From the stirring opener, I Can Hew, to inspired set closer, Shanghai Brown via a stunning rendition of Eliza Carthy’s My Love Farewell, complete with brother Delarre harmonies (frontman guitarist Dave and James on violin) and the band’s obligatory instrumental reel, The Frenchy Set with it’s glorious flights of fiddle, the bands short yet fully formed set received a much deserved, enthusiastic response from the Bellowhead faithful, leaving the stage to great applause and a number of new fans.
After a short break, the lights drop the crowd let out a rapturous show of appreciation and the eleven members of Bellowhead hit the stage majestically revealing Amsterdam with it’s stunning string arrangement and Jon Boden leading from the front with his deep, warm croon lulling the audience in before unleashing the infectious and energetic Roll Alabama and the first instrumental jig of the night in the shape of Parson’s Farewell, Boden picking up his violin and joining the likes of Rachel McShane and Sam Sweeney captivating the audience and urging them to clap along, by now the horn section are in full flight, dancing away, whilst offering bursts of support.
From here on in the gig turned into a celebration of Bellowhead, folk who had already been squirming in their seats were up and dancing as the band delivered tales of love lost, desire and the odd sea shanty with bursts of instrumentation, glorious rolling rhythms and Boden up front leading his band on like an orchestral circus master. Highlights came thick and fast from tales of love lost and gone astray such as Betsy Baker to the sing-a-long shanty Fine Sally. Bellowhead on top of their game, reminding how far they’d stretched and bent the parameters of the so called folk genre as they delivered a stunning slab of glittery disco folk in the shape of Fire Marengo, featuring a glorious funky rhythm created by Ed Neuhauser’s helicon and Pete Flood’s inventive drums, Boden revealing a suitably glitzy waistcoat mid song urging more dancing from the ever responsive audience.
By the time Roll The Woodpile Down swaggered into focus the majority of the capacity hall was on their feet, hollering and swaying in unison, celebrating the bands final hurrah, the band played on, delivering a discordant punky thrash of Little Sally Racket featuring a suitably sinister lead from Boden and Brendan Kelly impressively blowing up a storm on two saxophones at the same time, followed by fan favourite Gosport Nancy. The band wrapped up the set with another instrumental jig in Sloe Gin and a euphoric New York Girls, before the band could take their bows and leave, the wanting masses summoned Bellowhead back to stage, no one wanted this to end including the band themselves who seemed to be having an absolute blast as they delivered a stunning London Town and the obligatory Frogs Legs & Dragons Teeth complete with infamous Sam Sweeney leaps, the all dancing brass section and huge grins from the likes of Boden and John Spiers. Again the band took their bows and existed the stage but the audience demanded one more song to send them off into the night and Bellowhead obliged with the track that began the original journey, a sprightly finale of Prickle Eye Bush before bounding off for the last time and pastures new.
Bellowhead will be sorely missed by anyone who’s ever seen the band live or indeed bought an album, they invigorated the folk scene by molding an inventive and highly original sound from an eclectic mix of influences, never failing to deliver on disc or indeed in the live arena, the world will be a poorer place without Bellowhead, but it’ll be intriguing to see where the likes of Boden, Spiers and the alike turn up next.
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