Hove Folk Club

Janet Russell & Jim Woodland: 6th March 2009.
Report by Harry Bolter.

The first Friday of March brought many folk followers out to see Janet Russell and Jim Woodland at the Hove Folk Club. Janet played the first half while Jim played after the break, being joined by Janet for the last few numbers.

Hove Folk Club has grown in numbers and has gained a reputation for the quality and range of the floor singers. This month was no exception, with unaccompanied songs and guitar solos that made us laugh and kept the feet tapping. Particular mention must go to Sue and Will on violin and pipes (I can't remember what type!) who debuted with an Irish tune and an American waltz. Many of the regulars were seen bending their heads to see quite how Will played them.

Janet set the scene for her songs with her soft Scottish accent, giving enough background information for us to enjoy the poignant lyrics of Dundee, even if the largely southern crowd struggled with the Dundee dialect. Janet sang some of her own songs as well as traditional tunes; she even sang the Leon Rosselson song "Song of the Olive tree" which was sung by Leon at the club last year. "Pigeon and Sparra", an unaccompanied song that cleverly linked many British birds with the threat of climate change, was a superb mix of irony and wit and had many of the regulars laughing. Brighton even got a mention in her song "Breastfeeding Baby" which has apparently become famous around the world in helping fight prejudice against mothers breast feeding in public places.

After the interval - which saw Clive win the emergency hummus, everyone's favourite raffle prize - we were treated to a fine set by Jim Woodland, whose blunt Yorkshire style disguises a humour and passion for song and performing. To be honest, it is hard to remember the titles of Jim's songs as I was really caught up in the performance so I hope you will forgive me if the titles are not correct but "Are We Dangerous" and "I Know a Man who's Doing All Right" stood out for me. Jim had the crowd enthralled by his tales of Yorkshire and living in London, and people joining in with choruses when they were available.

Janet joined Jim for the last few numbers. "The Train Song" - or it might have been called "Sorry for any Inconvenience" - had everybody smiling and singing along with "Mind the gap, tickets please, have a nice day", the song of rail chaos being particularly relevant to the fans of our host Robb's music as they battled engineering works to get to Shoreham last week and Bath this week.

It is hard to get over clearly Jim's presence on stage which strangely has gone unrecorded at present, a state of affairs that will be changed in the near future according to Jim.

Another superb night at the club and the first visit to a folk club for my pals Edward and Craig who, when asked what they thought about an evening out at the club, replied: "It was a friendly crowd, some of the most varied music I had heard squeezed into three hours. We will return - and, by the way, the Harveys was on top form too!"

See you all there next month.

Web page at Harbourtown Records : www.harbourtownrecords.com/russell.html

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