What the folk?

Folk music. Two words to strike fear into any man. Well, not those who like that genre obviously but to most of us, the “normal ones”, it invokes images of Morris dancers and men with beards smoking pipes wearing hairy jumpers.

For me, it was my dad forcing me to listen to Steeleye Span as a teenager. I still shudder at the thought.

So, when I was asked if I wanted to go and see Bellowhead last night at the Old Vic in Bristol, my first thoughts weren’t positive. Admittedly, someone had to explain who they were to me before I could get to that point. They sounded a bit like a heavy metal band to me, something loud and shouty. Then that word appeared. Folk.

I sat in stunned silence, slightly affronted that someone thought I was the type of person to go to that sort of a thing. I mean, I’d had a shave that day and everything. OK yes, I am 39 and not exactly on the cutting edge of music these days, but I do cling onto the fantasy that anyone receiving a lift from me in my car will give me a surprised glance as they come to realise that my CD compilations provide the blueprint for what should in fact be everyone’s default taste in music.

I left work, with laughter on my lips. As if. Then someone sent me a link to them performing live. I found my foot tapping, my kids nodding along, doing a little jig. I realised to my horror that it sounded “quite good”. What harm can it do, I thought? It’s one night out of thousands (and I don’t get out much).

What I got was a revelation.

A delightful duo provided support, beautifully crafted songs old and new that made me sit with a silly grin on my face. Their question to the audience “do you want a happy one or a miserable one next?” made everyone chuckle. Totally disarming and what was this feeling, I appeared to be enjoying it, so much so that I found myself disappearing upstairs in the interval to buy their CD.

What followed was two hours of songs of sheer excellence. Eleven supremely talented musicians ripped their way through song after song that had a heart of folk but were fleshed out into anything from funk to blues to punk at one stage. I didn’t know a single tune, but by the end they had me (as well as every single member of the audience) on their feet.

I have also, never experienced a group that seemed to enjoy what they were doing so much. Two hours felt like ten minutes and the encore wasn’t long enough.

I have made two conclusions from my wonderful night.

1) Widen your horizons and never discount any experience until you have tried it.

2) Go and see Bellowhead. You will not be disappointed. You may even find your view opens to a wonderful panorama that you didn’t see before.

The door to folk music is open. I may not like it all, but at least I’ll step through and give it a go before I make up my mind….