Folk That @ NAC
Haiku Salut, Inlay, Mat Riviera, True Adventuers & Tom Eagle
Tonight is the launch night for NAC’s new Folk That night. Organised and promoted by erstwhile NAC barman Will to spotlight music that is loosely folk based but goes off in other directions, this is a great opening night with a cracking line up.
Set up in front of the stage in the auditorium, Mat Riviere kicks things off with a kind of post-folktronica. Almost spoken word vocals over samples and keys, this hints at David Byrne singing with Broadcast but not (yet) as good as that suggests. So, musically, this is enjoyable stuff and it goes down well. There is, though, no sense of this being a live show. Mat Riviere could be playing in his bedroom. With a few more shows under his belt, a bit more confidence and some sense of occasion and this could be very good.
Last time I saw Tom Eagle he was fronting the much-missed (by me at least) There's Someone In The Pond. Solo, acoustic in hand and perched on a stool, this is a different proposition. Eagle is engaging and entertaining. His mix of alt.folk-meets-Amerciana originals and covers deserves a far more respect than it gets from the barflies who chatter ever louder.
Thanks to a missing accordion player, for tonight at least Inlay are a trio of banjo, fiddle, guitar and electronics. Predominantly instrumental, theirs is a restrained, gentle and laid-back take on modern folk, indebted to Lau. This is quietly stunning and the crowd is suitably appreciative.
I've seen solo singer-songwriter True Adventures three or four times and he's always had an acoustic guitar. Tonight he goes electric and, whilst that may not be as earth shattering as Dylan doing the same, it lifts an already decent performer into the very good, bordering on excellent. As with Tom earlier, it is a shame that the performance is almost drowned out by the chatter at the bar.
Haiku Salut are a trio of multi-instrumentalists making music that takes its cues from British folk, electronica, ambient and post-rock and to make music that is rich, immersive and, for the most part, gorgeous. As with Inlay, there are suggestions of Lau but also Jon Hopkins, Mogwai’s quieter (soundtrack) moments and even a smidge of David Holmes. Frankly, the trio are a bit too po-faced and this seems, at times, more like a classical recital than a gig but that is just nit-picking. At times, a few members of the audience break into some rave moves but it is mostly a case of swaying gently to some inventive and evocative tunes.
A brilliant first night, and it has to be hoped that Folk That will become a regular event, but I have to wish Will much luck in topping this one.
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