The venue this evening was a rare step into the Folk Club
world, although the band are regulars in such accommodating places up and down
the country. The Woodman Folk Club host their weekly show nights at the point
where the suburban Black Country breathes in the rural air and is only a couple
of miles from Kim’s home town of Stourbridge. It was easy to detect that the
hosts were delighted with the large turnout, cementing the appeal that the band is
collating around the area. In line with Folk Club tradition a couple of local
acts were given the spotlight preceding both sets, but plenty of time was
allowed, probably approaching an hour and half, for Kim Lowings and the
Greenwood to breeze through nearly twenty of their songs.
Free of the ailments that hindered her on album launch night
last October, Kim was in a vibrant mood for this near-hometown gig, engaging in
jovial band interaction, clearly keeping the audience informed of her song
choice and splendidly showcasing her vocal calibre. Not afraid to ditch the
beloved dulcimer on a couple of occasions, Kim opened her first set by
returning to The Be Good Tanyas number she has perfected ‘The Littlest Birds’. This part of the show
rolled along with a mixture of traditional and original songs permeated by
another interesting cover to match the opener. It was a brave move to carry out
a rendition of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Carey’,
and somewhat a surprise after seeing a fair number of shows over the last three
years. However Kim pulled it off to a tee with that difficult vocal precision
commanded.
The remainder of the first set saw Kim mainly in familiar territory
as she put her own stamp on the old time favourite ‘Dark Eyed Sailor’. This track featured on the new album which also
included two self-penned songs ‘Monsoon’
and ‘Maggie’s Song’ that thrilled the
audience during this first set. Three other Kim originals made an outing this
evening in ‘Phoenix’, ‘Deepest, Darkest
Night’ and ‘Off to Sea’. If one
highlight was to be picked from the opening forty minutes on stage, the latter
song made a very strong case. The remaining song before the break was the new
one previewed. ‘Farewell My Love So Dear’
was introduced as a song with German folk origins and bodes well for a future
likely to be a continued fresh mix of traditional, originals and smart covers.
Following the usual break, complete with obligatory raffle,
the band bounced back on stage with a couple of traditional favourites in ‘Bonnie Labouring Boy’ and ‘Devil and the Ploughman’. While Kim
was in solo vocal mode, she tackled ‘The
Allotment’ and gave an interesting insight into the tune ‘In the Spirt of the Rusalkas’, which
was one of the few songs not to appear on any of her releases to date. ‘Cuckoo’ and ‘The Wonderful Mr Clarke’ also lack a recorded status but prove
regular live numbers. The same can be said of ‘Away Ye Merry Lassies’, a popular audience participation song along
with the encore feature ‘The Flounder’
containing a memorable refrain being hummed around the venue. Two of Kim’s
softer tunes completed the slightly longer second set in the love song ‘Stay’ and the title says it all, ‘Lullaby’, a beautiful piece of artistry
found on the excellent HISTORIA album.
Keeping tabs on Kim Lowings and the Greenwood over the last three years has been an entertaining, informative and enjoyable pre-occupation. The relaxed, accomplished and executed performance of their songs, borrowed and owned, tonight easily rivalled and possibly exceeded all previous live listening experiences. So commendation to the Woodman Folk Club for hosting a super evening and for Kim and the guys in continuing to neatly evolve as a band.