Music > Live Reviews

Show Of Hands

Norwich Cathedral

07/10/17

Sanctuary: defined as refuge or safety from pursuit, persecution, or other danger. Whether any of tonight's audience for tonight's Show of Hands concert inside Norwich Cathedral require shelter from any of these is not known, but the peace and imperturbability of such a venue certainly provides a personal sanctuary from the week's news stories, and even from the pressures of our relatively laid-back Norfolk existence.

And that, in part, explains Show of Hands' mission in bringing their Sanctuary tour to 18 historic UK church and cathedral venues this autumn. Starting this week in Salisbury and Sheffield the West Country duo of Steve Knightley and Phil Beer, together with double bass player Miranda Sykes, arrived in Norwich this Friday. A Show of Hands gig always reflects life with wit and observation, yet is never afraid to remind of the social and political issues that still remain. As Knightley wryly explains, “it is why most of our singles don't make the Radio 2 daytime playlists”.

The evening starts with a set from New Forest born singer songwriter Kirsty Merryn. My suspicions are normally raised by the sight of a Yamaha electric keyboard at a folk gig, but after just a few bars of her opening number, a version of the traditional ballad The Outlandish Knight, my fears are allayed. Her playing is sensitive and sympathetic, and she possesses a voice that reminds me of Laura Marling's earlier recordings. Self-penned songs are drawn from her upcoming debut album She & I,  inspired by influential women from English history. There are songs about Nelson's mistress, Lady Hamilton, lighthouse keeper William Darling's daughter Grace (performed as a duet with Steve Knightley), and a modern romantic tribute referenced in the style of a Jane Austen heroine. There is also a lovely acapella song called The Birds Are Drunk, and a closing number inspired by a Winter In Ontario. Kirsty Merryn – remember the name.

With a back catalogue of eighteen albums stretching all the way back to 1987 it was never going to be easy to include everyone's favourite Show of Hands tracks on any one setlist, and it soon became clear that the songs selected for this tour had been chosen with the venues very much in mind. Gone are the more raucous sing-a-long numbers, and in their place are some of the trio's more sensitive and thought-provoking offerings – not through any perceived sense of spiritual or reverential responsibility but more to suit the acoustics of these large spaces.

The cathedral nave has been lit spectacularly for tonight's performance, with beautiful reds, blues, purples and greens taking it in turn to pick out shadows on the fluted columns and vaulted ceilings. They begin, perhaps appropriately, with The Preacher, before moving on to Home To A Million Thoughts, a song written especially for the 2012 reopening of the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter. Cold Heart of England, a lament for the loss of family businesses from our high streets and the growth of retail parks, is a wonderful example of Knightley's lyrical conscience in full flow. And then it is our turn as we are coaxed to join in with a seasonally appropriate Hallow's Eve.

The sound is generally spot on – it is never easy eliminated rogue echo from such huge spaces when using a mobile PA system, allowing a haunting air to develop as we are taken through the trio of Requiem, The Lily and The Rose, and The Keeper, all taken from a project to commemorate the centenary of The Battle of The Somme.

To the growing list of genres tackled during the existence of Show of Hands yet another string is added to the bow with the debuting of a 'Cornish Reggae' number entitled Drekley. Its inspiration is explained as the West Country equivalent of  'mañana', as in “we will get that done drekley”. A deft touch of lightness to lift the mood from the sombre remembrances of the First World War.

Exile is followed by Smile She Said, a sensitive duet performed by Knightley and Kirsty Merryn that has the audience totally spellbound. A version of Sidney Carter's ominous The Crow On The Cradle paves the way for another new song, No Secrets, before old favourite The Blue Cockade leads into Innocents' Song and the closing three verse epic that is The Flood.

It has been a wonderful evening, and it has been a wonderful use of the Cathedral space for this sold-out event. But just as we think it is over Steve Knightley is re-joined by Phil Beer, Miranda Sykes and Kirsty Merryn for a 'sans instruments' promenade amidst the audience and around the cathedral space singing Andrew Cadie's Keep Hauling, which serves not only as an inspirational spiritual but provides apt summary to what this whole evening has been about – sanctuary, in true West Country tradition, served up with a rallying call.