fRoots

[ian]

There's a good Colin Irwin piece about the rival events for Saturday in today's Guardian G2 section, with interview quotes from many participants. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/apr/23/british-folk-music

But don't forget that the real St George's Day is today and the event to be at is at Cecil Sharp House tonight . . . http://www.efdss.org/news.htm#stgeorge

[ian]

We had a good sunny day manning a fRoots stall in Traf. Sq. and meeting the curious general public. Concert seemed good and well received. I'm not a great judge of numbers but I'd guess 10,000 or so.

Can anybody report on the Tolpuddle event? Would anybody care to post personal reviews of either, or add to the one of Thursday's fab gig at Cecil Sharp House, on the Gig Reviews board http://froots.net/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=3

And if you have any snaps from any of the three, please share them on the Readers's Photos board – http://froots.net/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=8

In terms of earlier concerns, there were certainly some BNP lowlife skulking around trying to offload literature and scumabilia, plus a small selection varying from thuggish types in St George flags, lots of tattoos and eyes far too close together to batty old dears who looked like they'd just been let out from the Last Night Of The Proms, but they were all largely being shunned and looking somewhat bemused by the proceedings. We even flogged a festival issue to one of the B.O.Ds, but she might have been swayed by the Malewink:Saucy cover pic . . .

[diane easby]

The Tolpuddle event was quite a lot like The Clash at Rock Against Racism in Victoria Park 30 years ago but, sadly, nothing like so big, though it did have better sound and not a glimpse of the nasty right. Indeed, you couldn't help hoping they might turn up to give Billy Bragg something to snarl at, but the music, interspersed with speeches from high-profile trade unionists and politicians (nearly all women but for Islington's mayor), reinforced the point well enough.

Residents from social housing towering over the pretty, spring-like Edward Square basked in welcome sunshine, hanging onto white, mauve and green suffragette balloons, and enjoying the parallel of Martin Carthy's John Barleycorn melding later into Billy Bragg's England Half English.

Between sets from these two, Leon Rosselson also played a mighty set in this, his 50th year of songwriting, in which he was joined by Robb Johnson when they duetted on Red & Green and World Turned Upside Down*.

[ I'm just back from a Chris Foster gig with Leon in the audience where he was still enthusing about the significance of yesterday's rally. As an aside, I wonder just how many (if any other) current performers could pull in both Leon and Andrew Cronshaw, neither of whom even did a floor spot?]

Meanwhile, back in what used to be part of Copenhagen Fields just north of King's Cross where 175 years ago, 100.000 people had gathered to demand the release of the six Dorset farmworkers sentenced to transportation to Australia for union organisation, tributes were paid to Spanish Civil War veteran and union leader Jack Jones (both Robb Johnson and Billy Bragg performed songs in Spanish in his honour.

Only one thing marred these two celebrations in square a couple of miles apart and this was that they occurred simultaneously, How much better it would have been if everyone could have been at both.

*Edit to amend song title which I had inexplicably screwed up.

[jimmoray]

[Fee Lock]