Friday, December 01, 2006
Bonn International Banjo Festival review
'Crowded’. If you allowed me just one word to describe Saturday's 'Bonn International Banjo Festival’ at 'The Fiddlers' in Endenich, that’s the one I would choose. Like some attempt on the Guinness Book of Records: ‘How many banjo players can you get on a stage at once?’ ‘The Fiddlers’ in Endenich was where it happened. Next thing Sean will be seeing how many banjo players he can get in a Ford Fiesta. We did however see some ‘picking’ of a high order – not least from Mr Moyses himself (aided and abetted by Fraser Gartshore, a talented Scottish keyboard player in a kilt!)
For the uninitiated, There are two common types of banjo – four stringed for plectrum playing, and five stringed for finger picking. No need to feel ignorant if you didn’t know this – I only found it out from Tom Stuip, a dutch ‘plucker’ who aside from having seriously eye catching black and white shoes played some seriously ear catching banjo.
After two weeks of catching blues music at ‘The Harmonie’ it was a pleasant change to hear something that was, for me at least, a little bit different. I wasn’t sure what to expect but the styles were as mixed as the nationalities of the players themselves. Leo de Potter (Belgium), Bernard Schenter (Switzerland), Remco Houtman Janssen (Holland) and various German acts including the opening ‘volley’ of banjos’ from the Düsseldorf Banjo Club. If you thought that banjo playing was all ‘plunk, plunk’ then you couldn’t be more wrong.
These gentlemen (and a couple of ladies) played with a zeal and intensity that would not be out of place etched on a rock guitar legends visage, or indeed that of a classical or flamenco guitarist. In short – they take the music very seriously and are in turn seriously good at the music.
It must be said that no-one was better than Mr Sean Moyses himself who spotted my shortcomings as far as banjo heroes are concerned I'm sure. My mention of George Formby when advertising this event was a bit pathetic as Formby was more known as a Ukulele player. Mr Moyses was too polite to take me to task over this though and duly promised something more ‘up my street’. I was not to be disappointed.
We were already running well over time when Sean took the stage in a very formal outfit of a dazzling white I have not seen since the last Persil ad. campaign hit the nation’s television screens. Accompanied by Fraser Gartshore on electric piano and Clive Fenton (from Rod Mason’s Hot Five) on sousaphone, his set included a haunting rendition of ‘Over The Rainbow’ (of which I have now heard three live versions: the others from Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck so you’re in good company Sean) Also added, to make me feel at home, was a short blast of power-chording - introducing that legendary banjo song from Richie Blackmore and Deep Purple ‘Smoke on the Water`.
Seriously though, We had some wonderful music from the trio, including a version of the old classic ‘After You’ve Gone’ which turned out to be appropriate: After I had gone and was waiting for the last bus home from across the street, I looked up at the ‘Fiddler’s’ windows and could make out shadows. They were indistinguishable as individual people but each had a distinct banjo shape on it – and I could make out too, behind the hammering of banjos’, a distinct sousaphone sound. I wondered if Clive was wishing he played something smaller and requiring less ‘puff’. The banjo is a wonderful instrument – give it a play, or at least a listen sometime.
Written by John Hurd,
Bonn English Network.
For the uninitiated, There are two common types of banjo – four stringed for plectrum playing, and five stringed for finger picking. No need to feel ignorant if you didn’t know this – I only found it out from Tom Stuip, a dutch ‘plucker’ who aside from having seriously eye catching black and white shoes played some seriously ear catching banjo.
After two weeks of catching blues music at ‘The Harmonie’ it was a pleasant change to hear something that was, for me at least, a little bit different. I wasn’t sure what to expect but the styles were as mixed as the nationalities of the players themselves. Leo de Potter (Belgium), Bernard Schenter (Switzerland), Remco Houtman Janssen (Holland) and various German acts including the opening ‘volley’ of banjos’ from the Düsseldorf Banjo Club. If you thought that banjo playing was all ‘plunk, plunk’ then you couldn’t be more wrong.
These gentlemen (and a couple of ladies) played with a zeal and intensity that would not be out of place etched on a rock guitar legends visage, or indeed that of a classical or flamenco guitarist. In short – they take the music very seriously and are in turn seriously good at the music.
It must be said that no-one was better than Mr Sean Moyses himself who spotted my shortcomings as far as banjo heroes are concerned I'm sure. My mention of George Formby when advertising this event was a bit pathetic as Formby was more known as a Ukulele player. Mr Moyses was too polite to take me to task over this though and duly promised something more ‘up my street’. I was not to be disappointed.
We were already running well over time when Sean took the stage in a very formal outfit of a dazzling white I have not seen since the last Persil ad. campaign hit the nation’s television screens. Accompanied by Fraser Gartshore on electric piano and Clive Fenton (from Rod Mason’s Hot Five) on sousaphone, his set included a haunting rendition of ‘Over The Rainbow’ (of which I have now heard three live versions: the others from Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck so you’re in good company Sean) Also added, to make me feel at home, was a short blast of power-chording - introducing that legendary banjo song from Richie Blackmore and Deep Purple ‘Smoke on the Water`.
Seriously though, We had some wonderful music from the trio, including a version of the old classic ‘After You’ve Gone’ which turned out to be appropriate: After I had gone and was waiting for the last bus home from across the street, I looked up at the ‘Fiddler’s’ windows and could make out shadows. They were indistinguishable as individual people but each had a distinct banjo shape on it – and I could make out too, behind the hammering of banjos’, a distinct sousaphone sound. I wondered if Clive was wishing he played something smaller and requiring less ‘puff’. The banjo is a wonderful instrument – give it a play, or at least a listen sometime.
Written by John Hurd,
Bonn English Network.
