How could I resist an event with a name like that? Headliner was American songstress My Brightest Diamond; a charasmatic, eccentric character with a startlingly haunting voice which she marries to electric folk with impressive results. Did a great cover of Prince's "When Doves Cry" complete with beatbox and some, um, "funky" dance moves. Supports Clare and the Reasons once again astounded me with their brilliance; the gorgeous "Pluto" is one of those few songs that successfully combine quirkiness and utter lusciousness without coming across as irritating- for lovers of Regina Spektor et al. I'd recommend them wholeheartedly. Zorro-lookalike Paul Frith, the organiser for the evening, was less impressive performing his own material; string arragements were decent (courtesy of the Reasons) but the songwriting and lyrics were painfully wet and generic. Luckily, he redeemed himself with a parochial folk reimaging of the Oompa Loompa song, which showed more imagination than the rest of his set combined. Add in some three-song mini-sets from London anti-folkers Jay Jay Pistola and Rodney Fisher and you've got the best bargain of the year so far.
(Photo: Estrelas e Limons (Flickr))
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