The Crypt Sessions #3
Review
I must surely have been to gigs on Fridays the thirteenth before & go away with it. However this was definitely the first in a crypt (the Wyley Chapel underneath the Coventry Cathedral ruins) which added a frisson. It also inspired Izzie Derry to go very gothic in her apparel.
However there were antidotes to any sense of dread: Izzie was performing with The Silver Wye to raise funds for the Coventry Food Union and that act of giving must have dispelled ill spirits. Given the number of songs about light, reaching the sun, carefree youth, luck and love generally, these too had the right effect. And there was an altar with plenty of candles too. Wes omitted "The Getting Place" from The Silver Wye set and (though I think he doesn't really agree with me) since I feel it has a Mephistophelian theme, that was appropriate. Much as I love it.
The gig's reason alone should commend it, but of course the chance to see such great talent in such an intimate space (it was much smaller than I'd anticipated) was hugely enjoyable too. Both are amongst my favourite artists (I'm not sure how many reviews they've mustered from me over the years) and I've seen them inside & out, in small spaces & larger ones, yet I still think their impact is amplified up close & in intense proximity. It's also the first time I've seen them both on the same bill: not least because because they have not done so for a long time nor many times. Which is a curious quirk of fate now rectified.
There were other uniquenesses or at least rarities: I certainly had not seen Izzie in such a space for quite some time and I honestly cannot recall having heard her song "Young and Free" live before. So a double pleasure. It was the second time I'd caught her inside a fortnight though the context was completely different & was greatly appreciated. In fact given the bout of laryngitis she was coming down with on the previous occasion & which led to a cancelled gig last weekend, it was equally good that she was there at all.
On the other hand, I'd never seen a two person variant of The Silver Wye before: in the absence of drummer Ben Haines and (double) bassist John Parker, Wes Finch & Matt Lakey retweaked their arrangements accordingly & it worked really well: one might question whether there was adequate room for all four anyway.
Apart from this novelty, they ranged across their ever growing body of work and included two new tracks, "Finisterre" and "Unfailing" (review to follow) which they've worked on with Mason Le Long and which you can get via their Patreon page. It says much about the quality of the songwriting as well as playing that their songs, which actually feature intricate and sophisticated arrangements as integral parts of their being, work well live even when you subtract half the performers & especially two of the finest players of their instruments around.
So everyone went home very moved & very happy and the Food Union was boosted accordingly. I do commend the series to you though on both artistic and altruistic grounds.
Next up in the Crypt (again for the Food Union) are The Treble Makers & Sophie Hadlum on 11th July: the former are a quartet from amongst WorldSong. Well can you imagine fitting them all into a space that limited? (tickets via: https://www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/events/the-crypt-sessions-4)
