Gig Review: Steeleye Span Coventry 20/12/2009

Steeleye Span played the twenty-ninth night of a thirty date UK tour at Warwick Arts Centre on Sunday and delivered a professional performance of material from throughout their forty year career. The band have survived constant line-up changes, member illnesses and Mike Batt during that time and now feature Maddy Prior (vocals), Rick Kemp (bass/vocals), Peter Knight (fiddle), Ken Nicol (guitar/vocals), and Liam Genockey (drums), with multi-instrumentalist Pete Zorn joining the band on stage having previously filled in for Kemp.

Maddy Prior is undoubtedly the leading lady and although links and vocals were shared and a couple of instrumental tunes included, the band peaks when Prior takes charge. She has enormous stage presence even before she sings and twirls mesmerically in a scarlet gown, but her voice is as commanding and strong as ever, particularly resonant on Child ballad The Great Silkie of Sules Skerry, performed by Prior with Knight's violin as sole accompaniment. Other highlights included opening murder ballad Little Sir Hugh, Genockey's drumming on The Three Sisters and Cold, Haily, Windy Night, sung by Kemp.

There was slightly more of a focus on post-Tim Hart material (though only one track from 2009 offering 'Cogs, Wheels and Lovers') but Hart, who is in poor health, did feature on the interval entertainment, a forthcoming album of nursery rhymes. A couple of songs were less engaging, with Steeleye's distinctive electric folk at times sounding curiously more dated than a few of the ballads. This perhaps contributes to what is at times a slightly surreal atmosphere. An institution, a band almost as old as the university, had rolled onto campus with routine commercial bustle, although the unlikely site of Prior selling raffle tickets during the interval, flanked by two security men, was still unexpected!

This was a seasoned, not seasonal display, with Christmas tracks from 'Winter' and surely a staple encore classic Gaudete omitted in favour of "Unconquered Sun", a winter solstice song targeting the (niche) pagan druid market and an encore comprising a singalong rendition of All Around My Hat and blues-tinged Hard Times of Old England, featuring solos from most of the band. You can't criticise performers for being too well-versed in their songs and it did not feel as though they were going through the motions - but perhaps lacking the emotions you might expect from a 40th anniversary gig. The average audience member definitely remembered the first time around and a 25th anniversary sweater adorned one bearded patron. To borrow an album title - now I would have been six...

Set List

Little Sir Hugh
Cold, Haily, Windy Night
Seagull
Sheep-Crook and Black Dog
Babylon
Bachelor's Hall
I Live Not Where I Love
Si Begh Si Mohr
Gallant Frigate Amphitrite

Interval

All Things Are Quite Silent
Ranzo
The Great Silkie of Sules Skerry - Peter Knight & Maddy Prior
Unconquered Sun
Van Diemen's Land
Peace on the Border
The Three Sisters
Irish fiddle tunes
Bonny Black Hare

Encore
All Around My Hat
Hard Times of Old England