Well, yet another superb Fritwell Live on the 22nd of March. An eclectic lineup of great musicians from all over Great Britain dished-up a Paella of musical treats.
A slightly expanded Frets and Strings set at the beginning set the tone. Carl explained that they had chosen some gentler tunes from their massive repertoire as they just liked playing them. This they did with the usual amount of chuckles and grimacing.
13-year-old Finn Miller-Jones was next up with a great set, demonstrating how quickly he is growing into playing in front of an audience. He is managing to get his freshly broken voice under control. Ben Wheeler followed him with a set including his self-penned tune. Ben’s guitar playing is developing, and his voice is fabulous! – What is an Acciaccatura BTW?
Fritwell Live would not be the same without the laid-back, cool grooves and deep, syrupy vocals from Will Vetcher. He delivered once again, particularly with his slightly upbeat version of Leonard Cohen’s Halleluja.
Resident wordsmith Colin treated us to a poignant poem before launching into some snappy one-liners, which even made him laugh! A short interval before Father Ian Critchley delivered salvation to all of us sinners, with a very entertaining song about pies and the vital role LARD has to play in their creation.
An extended set by The Dyfies was delivered brilliantly. Si’s words are most poetic, while Janine’s soaring flute fills the hall with soothing melodic passages. The perfect accompaniment to Si’s increasingly ambitious guitar playing! – Si promoted their Band Camp channel, which has a lot of “mini albums” that they have recorded recently. Well worth a listen and a download!
Alyce returned and silenced the room with her amazing voice and catchy self-penned tunes. Another short burst of hilarity from our Colin and then Carl of Frets and Strings fame delivered three self-penned songs, including a recently completed one called Muriel. The room speculated about who this new subject of his love was until Carl explained that he wrote it about a bottle of wine and intends to continue this object-based writing style by working on a song about a packet of biscuits!
Frets and Strings returned to deliver a competent finale, finishing with the fastest version of The Model – We are getting it checked, but we are fairly confident this was played at a record-breaking speed.
The sound was immersive and articulate, which we have come to expect when Mike is at the desk.
Many thanks to the bar staff (Christine & Angela with some early assistance from Col & Mick) & all who helped deliver another special Fritwell Live. Long may this institution continue!
All proceeds from bar sales of this community led event will go to the new Village Hall Fund.
CB
Massive thanks to Carl H as a true friend of FVH for his passion in organising these Live Nights + the rest of Frets & Strings – Paul W, Ian C + Shaun C + of course our talented local musicians – Ed
