Friday 16th May 08 - Moonbeams Acoustic Evening at The Old Town Hall, Driffield (1/2) By Steve Rudd

(1/2), (2/2).

A lot of people might not realize as much, but Driffield is fast becoming THE place to play host to a hotbed of musical talent from near and far, and it's all thanks to the impassioned enthusiasm and organizational capabilities of Kelk's Leila Slater.

Leila adores live music so much that she's been putting on Acoustic nights at The Bell Hotel since last autumn, and every event has attracted more and more supporters. This Moonbeams evening was unfortunately the final one before the summer break, but rest assured: Leila is already hard at work booking acts for this coming autumn's season, with a smattering of dates set to utilize Sledmere Village Hall's facilities, as well as The Bell Hotel's.

Moonbeams regulars Jasper & Smirt warmed up the crowd in their own inimitable style, treating the large gathering of acoustic devotees to as much good-humoured banter as they did great songs. A duo keen on mixing and matching original material with cover songs, the most surprising song of their set had to be a sublime version of Culture Club's Karma Chameleon. Had Boy George heard it, he would have been proud.

In a similar fashion, Karl Sloan - who had traveled all the way down from Edinburgh for his short-but-sweet set - hushed the audience by opening with a rousing rendition of a Levellers classic, Fifteen Years. Karl went on to perform a clutch of original songs, his soft yet soulful voice melting hearts with as much precision as Damien Rice's, his strong sense of melody ensuring that his songs are extremely catchy, radio-friendly gems to scupper James Blunt's arsenal. Indeed, his final song was subtly backed by pre-recorded keyboards and a beat to further prove that Karl is an incredibly talented songwriter to watch out for.

Influenced by the likes of Tori Amos and Jeff Buckley, Claire J. Smith returned to the Moonbeams fray for the second time, having played before Chris Helme last year. Hailing from Hornsea, her angelic voice soared to stunning effect, her on-stage confidence and charisma proving that she's a performer without parallel. The divine fusion of her voice and delicate strumming had an intoxicating impact on all those present, her delightful demeanour perfectly echoing her desire to not strive for success at any cost. She's extremely talented, for sure, but she's thoroughly modest about it - and that's an admirable virtue.

Claire even performed one number that she'd only ever played once before at a friend's wedding, the song having been written especially for such an occasion.

Anna Shannon, who lives in North Yorkshire, is well known in the Scarborough area for her extraordinary performances and prowess as a songwriter. There's no wonder her songs have won awards either, because Anna gets right to the beating heart of matters, whether crooning about lost love, childhood memories, the simple beauty of frost on a gate latch in winter, or political pandemonium in far-flung countries. Anna, through her songs, epitomizes exactly what is to be a Folk singer; realizing that 'normal' people have the capacity to be heroes in their own right, she pays tribute to those who dare to stick their necks out for causes they believe in.

For instance, celebrating the courage of Grace Darling, Anna's Just A Tiny Boat atmospherically recounted the fateful night in 1838 when Grace helped rescue nine survivors from a boat that had run aground on one of the Farne Islands in rough weather; amazingly, Grace struck out in a rowing boat with the express intention of saving the strangers' lives, despite the incredible risk to her own. The power of the song couldn't fail to strike a chord, reminding one and all present about how the fine art of Folk songwriting aspires to relate stories precisely of this nature with such devastating sincerity.

Then, as if the crowd wasn't already in bowled-over awe, Anna played A Piece of Africa, a phenomenally humbling song revealing the appalling fear that continues to afflict certain neighbourhoods in various South African towns and cities.

Continued .... Next Page (2/2)

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