Bournemouth Folk Club

KIRSTY McGEE & MAT MARTIN

The Centre Stage, Bournemouth

May 20, 2010

Nearing the end of a thirty date tour promoting her critically acclaimed new album No.5, Kirsty McGee, ably assisted by ace guitarist Mat Martin, headlined at the Bournemouth Folk Club in front of a disappointingly low turnout. The Manchester based singer/songwriter delivered an eclectic mix of jazz, blues, bluegrass and folk, concentrating largely on material from No.5 and her 2008 offering THE KANSAS SESSIONS.

Kicking off with Lamb and the bluesy Omaha, she quickly slowed things down with the anti-war number Last Orders and a beautiful love song Sparks. The catchy Alibi Blues was followed by an enchanting lullaby Sandman and Danny Schmidt’s mellow Fire Storm, one of the few covers that Kirsty feels comfortable performing. The strange Killer Wasps, about getting rid of a wasp’s nest with a hosepipe (!), led to the closing song of an excellent first set, the stand out No Way to Treat a Friend; a most gorgeous ballad and one of the highlights of this or any other evening.

Having closed the first set with a beauty, she opened the second with another; the wonderful The Last to Understand. These two songs were worth the admission fee on their own. Another anti-war number Gunsore was followed by the love song Dust Devils. Great songs were the order of the evening; Stonefruit which has been very well received by the music press and the gorgeous love song Bliss (the title track to Miranda Sykes’ latest album) led nicely into The Profit Song which Kirsty wrote following a dream, hoping that it wasn’t someone else’s song! Closing with the excellent Faith, Kirsty was brought back for the inevitable encore for which she chose Tom Waits’ All the World is Green, another stand out song and a fitting finale to a great evening.

Whilst an impeccably behaved audience listened intently, Kirsty’s habit of singing some way from the microphone made it difficult at times for those not familiar with her music to make out some of the words. This was a pity as she is such an accomplished and experienced songwriter. Mat Martin provided excellent support on vocals as well as demonstrating his virtuosity with a vast selection of banjos and acoustic guitars. Well known for her work with the ‘Hobopop Collective’, Kirsty is a seasoned entertainer who will continue to thrill audiences for many years. This was yet another fine evening’s entertainment at the BFC.

John Roffey