Donnelly & South at Coventry Food Union's "Song & Soil" Bonfire Special
Review
When I broke my duck for attending allotment based gigs back in September when I went to the Coventry Food Union "Song & Soil" event at their base on the Sherbourne Valley Allotments to see Izzie Derry, I was rather pleased to be experiencing what was to me, a unique occasion.
But not for long as I was back yesterday for the next one featuring Donnelly & South with the bonfire playing a more central role.
Their set was later, timed for dusk & if you look at my photos on Facebook you'll see the full range from the last of daylight to night time: I particularly like the colour in the background of the betwixt moment.
What (thankfully) they do not show is the torrential downpour which bisected the set & explains why some photos are in one location & others under cover.
Quite apart from the magic of these sessions with so much else going on (young children were prominent in the vibe until the deluge made their departure prudent), I was looking forward to hearing Lauren & Keith performing their storytelling set. I go and see them as often as possible but I'd not yet caught this side to what they do: though to be fair it's tailored to specific settings including schools. I hadn't seen the guitar Keith uses for gigs with young audiences either: it's quite something as hopefully the photos show.
Thus although they played excerpts from their regular set, such as "My Sister and Laura and Me" and "Tiny Boat" plus a brace of Lauren's most recent fiddle pieces (which we got to hear one and half times since it was during their performance that the rain forced the relocation), we also heard Keith tell a number of his stories (appropriately Hallowe'en orientated) while Lauren played successively an arpeggiated tenor guitar part, her "haunted briefcase" shruti box & fiddle as really effective spooky accompaniments. They got scarier once the children had left and the weather added to the atmosphere.
These are great stories and I hope you get to hear them: though realistically these specific ones probably only get told once a year. I bet the ones they tell at other times are just as good though.
Hats off to them both for being such troupers and carrying on despite getting wet and I'm afraid their instruments did too due to the suddenness and strength of the rain. Their commitment to the excellent cause was commendable & I'm sorry that part of the price was that if you were hoping to catch them tonight at Willow & Tool's Music Parlour at the Harvester in Long Itchington then I'm afraid Lauren has had to take the path of prudence given the effects on her voice. (Incidentally, if you had not heard of the hospitalisation of John McIntosh, aka ‘Tool' then I hope you'll join me in sending best wishes to him & his family).
I'd also like to drop into the review my appreciation of the apple cake (nothing like consuming produce at the place it originates in) and the spookiness of the firework which sounded like a gun shot the moment Keith told a Trump joke.
Donnelly & South have Christmas gigs coming up: look out for the details of these.
The next Food Union Crypt Session is on December 19th with Stylusboy (tickets via: https://www.coventrycathedral.org.uk/events/the-crypt-sessions-2) and on December 21st they have their Winter Solstice edition of "Song & Soil".
