The Stables, Wavendon - 28 / 9 / 2017

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keithmeredith
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The Stables, Wavendon - 28 / 9 / 2017

Postby keithmeredith » Tue Oct 03, 2017 6:14 pm

Founded by legendary jazz musicians, Dame Cleo Laine and Sir John Dankworth, the Stables houses a superb 398 seat amphitheater that is the Jim Marshall Auditorium. This was to be the venue for our latest dose of the Giltrap drug, supported on this occasion by Carrie Martin.

We had heard much of Carrie, all of it positive – and although we had been introduced to her on previous occasions, we had been thwarted in our attempts to see her perform live.

Within minutes of our arrival, Hilary had both greeted us warmly and recruited us to duty on the merchandise table – where CDs by both Gordon and Carrie were fairly flying out to appreciative customers. We were, of course, more than happy to oblige.

The theatre had attracted almost a full house for the concert – Gordon’s popularity has not been lessened by his recent hiatus from live performance. Tonight’s proceedings, however, were to begin with the delightful Carrie Martin.

I was a little unsure of what to expect as a diminutive figure approached a stage that – with both Gordon’s array of instruments flanked by Carrie’s collection – resembled a small guitar emporium. Carrie mounted the rostrum and introduced herself it seemed a little nervously – in an appealing sort of way – but when she began to sing I was amazed. Usually my musical tastes veer towards instrumental pieces, but this mellifluous, honeyed, silken voice broadcast gentle poetry to my shell-likes.

The gathering was graced with beautiful compositions from Carrie’s new album – Seductive Sky - all original pieces from a fertile creative talent - and she demonstrated no mean ability with the guitar too. Among her arrangements were: Maria in the Moon, Dancing Dragonfly, Purple Heart and, my favourite - accompanied by Mr. Giltrap in the second set – Holly Blue.

As I listened to the lyrics of this latter piece – it’s about a butterfly – I could see in my mind’s eye this fragile lepidoptera sitting on my arm; raising goosebumps and eliciting a tiny tear. My reputation as a tough, macho biker dude is clearly in decline.

Carrie’s withdrawal from the stage and Gordon’s appearance was very slick – one off: one on – and the evening’s entertainment continued in the more familiar Giltrap manner – i.e. with amusing narratives from a distinguished career, witticisms and jests (often directed at himself). Oh! He did some guitar playing too.

Gordon’s selection of music included a varied mixture of pieces from his latest album – The Last of England – together with well-loved melodies from his extensive back catalogue. I particularly enjoyed Appalachian Dreaming on the resurrected car boot guitar: G’s interpretation of Davy Graham’s Angie: a formidable Dodo’s Dream and – with cathedral reverb selected – The Lord’s Seat. Loren, Ania’s Dream, Dublin Day and Down the River also featured – together with a fun piece dedicated to a feline entitled Po Faced Tilley.

I was not alone in noticing a definite extra element in the musical presentations of this evening. Certainly, Gordon was on dazzling form – clearly enjoying himself and demonstrating his formidable skills in an impressive manner – and Carrie’s beautiful, sincere and thoughtful compositions and genuine, open and captivating performance contributed significantly - but I felt that there was something more. Perhaps it was the historic nature of the venue: maybe the professional sound management or the acoustics – or perhaps the sheer joy of listening to wonderful music – but there was unquestionably a ‘sizzle’ evident in the atmosphere that lifted this event to exceptional level.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow opined that music is the language spoken by angels. Both Gordon Giltrap and Carrie Martin are undoubtedly fluent.

Moodyblue
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Re: The Stables, Wavendon - 28 / 9 / 2017

Postby Moodyblue » Wed Oct 18, 2017 6:44 pm

Went to this and loved it.

Had waited for Gordon to do some live stuff for a while now so was thrilled he was playing near me.
Especially loved the moment where Gordon suddenly stopped playing mid song. I think he described it as a 'senior moment' but the ever professional Mr Giltrap simply made a joke about it and carried on playing superbly.
The balance of the set list worked wonders. The concert flowed beautifully from piece to piece.
The sound was pretty much perfect for the very appreciative audience.

I thought Carrie Martin came across as 'confident' with lots of smiles by the way.

One thing about the concert that intrigued me, What was this new piece of kit Gordon used? On closer inspection it appeared to be a 'Line 6' box of tricks used to layer guitar tracks on top of each other. On closer inspection, it seems to be able to emulate all kinds of guitar sounds but I believe Gordon simply used to it to layer one piece on top of another.

I really wanted to ask many questions at the end of the concert but the line was too long and I'd probably have bored Gordon to death on being far too inquisitive....especially about that box of tricks and the benefits of custom made guitars.

Hope it isn't too long before we get to hear you play once again Mr Maestro. :D

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GORDON
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Re: The Stables, Wavendon - 28 / 9 / 2017

Postby GORDON » Fri Oct 20, 2017 6:48 pm

Hello Moody Blue.Thankyou so much for those very kind words.


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