Friday 8 February 2019 Phil Beer 10, Storm Erik 0 !
Phil had to overcome both the elements and a major road closure to perform at the Canopy Theatre in Hungate Church, Beccles on 8th February.
The start had to be delayed to allow over 20 people travelling from the Norwich area to find a way around the closure of a section of the A146.
Thankfully, once Hertfordshire based singer/songwriter Kelly Oliver got things underway, it became a memorable evening for all the right reasons. Focusing mainly on songs from her most recent album containing interpretations of traditional songs from Hertfordshire, Botany Bay, Kelly delivered a short but highly enjoyable set and won a lot of new fans
Phil joined her on fiddle for a lovely version of The Trees They Do Grow High. Hopefully it won’t be long before we see her back in Suffolk again for a full show.
Phil treated the audience to a journey through his long and eventful career, punctuating the songs with humorous and interesting anecdotes about his life, musical influences and the array of famous people that he has collaborated with over the years. Tony Rice, Mike Bell, Graham Gouldman, Nic Jones and the Albion Band were just a few of the artists discussed and each of these was accompanied by an appropriate song including Seven Curses (a great favourite of mine from the Albion Band’s Give Me A Saddle, I’ll Trade You A Car album), played with a stripped down fiddle accompaniment.
The very receptive audience were treated to a good mix of songs drawn from the tradition, pop, country and current singer/songwriters (including Reg Meuross and a certain S. Knightley esq) and the sound was expertly handled by Jon Benns, enhancing the venue’s natural great acoustics.
Phil really enjoyed the show too and plans to return to the venue in autumn next year, all being well. Watch this space for details!
Martin Lovett (all photos courtesy of Dimity Gosling)