Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin, Garstang Unplugged

This was my first visit to Garstang Unplugged and it has to be one of the strangest locations of any pub I've ever been to sandwiched, as it is, between the west coast main line and the M6 motorway. The gig was a sell-out and on arrival we found that extra chairs were being brought in and set up near the stage. So despite arriving close to the advertised start time, my wife and I had seats down the front.

First on was local band Hence the Tortoise. Strange name for a band but they entertained us with songs about setting up a profile on a dating web site, the fizzy drink Creamola Foam and a moving number written for friends of the singer whose only child had died at the age of 18. If the gig hadn't finished quite so late I may well have bought a copy of the singer's cd released under his own, rather than the band's, name.

After a shortish break Phil and Hannah took to the stage. Songs from their latest album Mynd benefited, I felt, from the stripped down arrangements of their live performance. Hearing songs such as 'The Nailmaker's Strike', 'Song for Caroline Herschal' and 'Thirty Miles' have made me want to give their cd another listen.

Both Phil and Hannah are multi-instrumentalists with Phil's dobro playing being particularly impressive and Hannah switched with ease between violin, banjo and tenor guitar. Their influences are many and varied with Phil playing some wonderful 'happy blues' harmonica in tribute to the great country bluesman Sonny Terry. He also showed that men are capable of multi-tasking as he has developed a talent for beatboxing while playing his harmonica and keeping time with his foot on a stomp box.

Having seen them before, supporting Show of Hands, I recognised some other songs such as 'The Painter', which Hannah dedicated to her German grandfather, and their versions of 'Death and the Lady' and 'The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn' went down well with the Garstang crowd. There was quite a relaxed feel to the night as it was something of a homecoming for Phil as he is a Lancashire lad and he told us how he had played gigs nearby when he was starting out.

The only complaint I would have about the gig was the extended break in the middle of their set to draw the raffle, which must have gone on for a good half hour. I can appreciate that folk clubs such as Garstang Unplugged need to raise money but having the raffle half way through the main act's set just destroyed the atmosphere and I'm sure I wasn't the only punter who found themselves looking at their watch wondering just how late the gig was going to finish. Here's a suggestion – why not do the raffle between the support and the main act?

That aside it was a great evening of music. Phillip Henry and Hannah Martin are certainly one of the best duos on the folk circuit. Go see them!

Colin Bertram

14/03/2014