david uk
09-27-2008, 08:39 AM
it's not often I see someone live who I don't know and they knock me sideways, but this happened last night.
I went with my friend Sue to see Adem (I'll post about him another time- a great experimental folk artist, and very attractive gentleman :rolleyes: ).
This was in a very small club in Birmingham. Adem often champions other acts with heaps of generosity but yesterday when we saw that the support act was Mary Hampton we thought "who she?"
well what can I say, she took to the tiny stage with her two guitars and I was spellbound for an hour. I'm not generally into folk music per se, but her voice, her songs, her shy humorous rapport with the audience were amazing.
My initial reaction was that this reminds me of Hair of Spun Gold by Janis, and there was an element of that, but much more besides. She mixed her own songs with a couple of traditional English folk songs and one old American song.
At one point she explained that, as it was just her and her guitar, we could accompany her on the next number, a song about an island in the middle of the sea. She suggested that in the instrumental parts we all rattle our keys gently to symbolise the waves- oh wow, what an effect! it worked so well....
Listening to her album now and it is sending shivers down my spine.
a youtube live clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bALiKkO_B-Q
She has a myspace page
http://www.myspace.com/maryhampton
one funny anecdote- I went to buy a cd and chat to her, and asked her to sign the cd, at which point I handed her what I thought was a pen- we both looked at each other and fell about laughing. I apologised and said "my friend has given me her lipstick, I'll be back with a pen :p
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h190/daviduk1/maryhampton.jpg
I went with my friend Sue to see Adem (I'll post about him another time- a great experimental folk artist, and very attractive gentleman :rolleyes: ).
This was in a very small club in Birmingham. Adem often champions other acts with heaps of generosity but yesterday when we saw that the support act was Mary Hampton we thought "who she?"
well what can I say, she took to the tiny stage with her two guitars and I was spellbound for an hour. I'm not generally into folk music per se, but her voice, her songs, her shy humorous rapport with the audience were amazing.
My initial reaction was that this reminds me of Hair of Spun Gold by Janis, and there was an element of that, but much more besides. She mixed her own songs with a couple of traditional English folk songs and one old American song.
At one point she explained that, as it was just her and her guitar, we could accompany her on the next number, a song about an island in the middle of the sea. She suggested that in the instrumental parts we all rattle our keys gently to symbolise the waves- oh wow, what an effect! it worked so well....
Listening to her album now and it is sending shivers down my spine.
a youtube live clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bALiKkO_B-Q
She has a myspace page
http://www.myspace.com/maryhampton
one funny anecdote- I went to buy a cd and chat to her, and asked her to sign the cd, at which point I handed her what I thought was a pen- we both looked at each other and fell about laughing. I apologised and said "my friend has given me her lipstick, I'll be back with a pen :p
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h190/daviduk1/maryhampton.jpg