Mike Heron & the Trembling Bells at Exeter Phoenix

A week ago we ventured out reluctantly (given the temperatures) to see Mike Heron and the Trembling Bells at Exeter Phoenix. It had been billed as a standing gig, so we were relieved to find that the venue had actually been laid out with tables & chairs and that the evening was not going to be a repeat of the Johnny Marr sweat-bath a week or so earlier. I must admit that I wasn't familiar with the Trembling Bells and that my knowledge of Mike Heron really dated from Changing Horses - an album recorded after Heron and Williamson had given up drugs and converted to scientology which, unsurprisingly, was not regarded as one of the Incredible String Band's best.

However, from the moment that they took the stage we could see that we were in for a good night. Although most of the Mike Heron songs predated my String Band days, his unique delivery was unmistakeable and the arrangement of the songs by the drummer, Alex Neilson, was appropriately hippyish, with plenty of percussive and other folky effects. As luck would have it we found ourselves sitting next to Deb and Jez Winship. Jez has done a brilliant review of the gig on his blog Sparks in Electrical Jelly which traces the origins of many of the songs to relevant String Band albums and also fills in with information about the Trembling Bells material. So rather than try to top that (as if I could) I have just posted below a selection of photographs from the evening:

I've just looked back at my blog and it was April 2012  when we saw John Renbourn & Robin Williamson at the Phoenix. That gig was a bit disappointing (although Renbourn's guitar playing was masterful) and as a result I never posted any photos - but I may get around to doing that soon. Suffice it to say that Mike Heron and the Trembling Bells provided a far more satisfying evening and I will be looking out some of those older String Band albums that Jez mentions in his review, as well as investigating the recorded output of the Bells. To finish up, here is a taste of Mike Heron and the Trembling Bells doing Log Cabin Home in the Sky at the Hyde Park Picture House:

Old Folkies + Bruce Kirkby Sculpture at Totnes

It's been almost a month since I last posted - partly because life has been busy, partly because of blog weariness ... Anyway, I thought I'd give blogging another go but refocus a bit, so that it isn't so time-consuming. That means fewer hyperlinks and less uploads to YouTube. Who has the time to do that when you have to use the dismal service provided by Talktalk?

In the past few weeks I've seen John Renbourn & Robin Williamson playing the Phoenix and Joan Baez at the Plymouth Pavilions. Both were ok, but for me both performances were a bit disappointing - perhaps it's just that we are all getting older and it's depressing! Anyway I'll post some photos etc from these gigs in a while.

Renbourn and Williamson

 Bruce Kirkby at Totnes

However, for now I'll kick off this blog restart with photos of some great wood and stone sculptures that were on show at the Birdwood Gallery in Totnes a couple of weeks ago. They are by Bruce Kirkby, who worked as a geologist before training at Weymouth College of Stonemasonry and becoming a stonecarver.

Bruce's website explains that his panels are based upon folded quartz veins seen in exposed rocks, on the coast of Devon and Cornwall or further afield in Nepal. Although they are based on a small scale geological feature, they mimic large scale features such as rivers seen in satellite imagery.

The wooden sculptures containing pebbles are inspired by the forces of coastal processes. The sculptures involving aligned slate are inspired by sorting and alignment of particles by either water or ice.

Bruce Kirby provides masonry, carving, sculpture, restoration, lettercutting, and stone work for Acanthus and their website showcases the full range of his skills.