Gigspanner @ Norwich Arts Centre

Whatever the pitch for drawing an audience to see Peter Knight's Gigspanner at Norwich Arts Centre –  affirmed fans, the curious, those 'in the know' or simply those like myself with a fond remembrance of Knight's time with Steeleye Span, we were all to be united, bewitched and enraptured by the colour and virtuosity of the trio's double-set performance, part of a tour to promote their third album, 'Layers of Ages'.

Playing beneath the banner of 'Folk East' on a stage anchored by percussionist Vincent Salzfaas'  congas, and flanked by the mirrored posturings of Knight on violin and guitarist Roger Flack, Gigspanner set out their stall like a global market place for traditional folk music. Yes there is a fair share of 'hey-nonny-no' lyricism, but it is sometimes easy to forget that, with the exception of the  Knight composition Louisiana Flack, these are traditional songs that require the respect and reverence that have been earned over generations.

Knight's deft bowing weaves a path that is everything from willowy and light (She Moved Through the Fair) to dark and chilling (Death and the Lady) embracing the spectrum of moods, but it is the existential variety of rhythms from Salzfaas that takes us on the journey embracing everything from African to Cajun, whilst Flack's rock sensitivities and guitar work completes the uniqueness of this fusion. The sight and sound of the 'four-hand-fiddling' during Louisiana Flack draws gasps from the audience as Flack beats the violin strings with dowelling rods whilst Knight continues to increase the speed and intensity of the traditional bowing. The didgeridoo-style vocalising accompanying Sharpe Goes Walkabout provides yet another atmospheric diversion that still stubbornly refused to completely let go of traditional folk influence.