..............up at The Lion Inn, Blakey Ridge, they were taking
no such chances with the weather. It was a super busy night for
the pub last Thursday, every spare nook and cranny was filled
with tables to cope with the unprecedented volume of food orders.
In a mid-sized side room with low ceiling and large stone pillars
three women of Yorkshire were busy entertaining their own musical
feeding frenzy.
ANNA SHANNON (aka Chloe Doody) led the way with her rootsy renditions. Chain gang songs, songs about men all accompanied by interesting footnote stories. Anna was herself accompanied by what was described as a shotgun bass, an incredible looking hi-tech spine of a double bass that made an incredible boomy whooping cough of a sound.
John Lydon once sang "anger is an energy" and GINA DOOTSON knows how to harness the power of anger. She swipes at the strings of her guitar with an aggressive strumming style while tearing into the subject matter of her lyrics. Occasional tender songs such as the fragile Sleepless Tonight stand out like beacons. Gina Dootson has attitude, the kind of attitude that has rewarded the Selby singer/ songwriter with a recent tour of Germany and coveted support slots with Eddi Reader, Roy Harper and Kathryn Williams. Her impressive new album 3am Generation will be available soon.
By the time ELAINE PALMER came to the stage there was no room at the inn - literally. The only place to see or hear her was to stand outside in the next room. This was very much a home gig for Elaine who only lives down the bottom of the hill. In fact, that night she seemed so at home she might easily have been entertaining in her own front room. She is just so at ease with the art of performing, a natural born singer/songwriter, you might say.
Picture the scene: more than 100 people crammed into every inch of space, hanging onto each and every word and every last note. Elaine pulls us through the traumas of knotted relationships and ugly entanglements. It gets messy, it gets ugly but every now and then she puts a little sugar in our tea. Spinning a precious little ditty. Tremendous songs that spring to life in her hands and mouth. In Space Girls she parades her mega-epic, in Lovers And Lies she has a ready-made hit single. She's getting good now, very good.
Elaine Palmer is touring nationally in October supporting Ben and Jason. Catch her on the northern leg at the Cornerhouse.
Rob Nichols, Evening Gazette
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