August 2007
25th - 26th August 2007
august bank holiday weekend
Settin' the woods on fire - qe2activitycentre summer party
No Deeper Blue - a tribute to Townes Van Zandt
Next spring the Queen Elizabeth II SIlver Jubilee Activities Centre will be celebrating 30 years of providing activity opportunities for people with disabilities. We started our birthday party early with a weekend of live music from Devon Sproule, Michael Weston King, Jackie Leven, Jason McNiff, Jinder, Andrew Perry, Anthony Greenwood and The Info Mation. We also had members of the Transitions Summer Scheme come along to play a couple of their songs. It was a great weekend of music and friendship which raised £2000 for the Centre's funds.
www.devonsproule.com www.michaelwestonking.com www.jackieleven.com www.jasonmcniff.com www.jinderonline.co.uk
qe2activitycentre summer party
a weekend of live music featuring
Devon Sproule
Michael Weston King
with Jackie Leven
Jason McNiff
Jinder
Andrew Perry
plus Anthony Greenwood
and the Info Mation
Over the August Bank Holiday weekend we kicked off the Centre's 30th birthday celebrations with a Summer Party. There was a bouncy castle, there was a bar, there was some great food too! And then there was the music. Two nights of music, with almost all of the musicians providing their services for free. Saturday night began with music from the Info Mation, aka Dan & Jake, performing together for the first time, on guitar and melodeon. Then Dan was joined by Duncan, Jack and Steve who were part of the Transitions Summer Scheme for a song called Holy Roller. Duncan's guitar playing was a treat. Other Transitions veterans - Katie and Hannah - joined the lads to perform "Reduce, Re-use, Recycle". The first part of the show concluded on a high when 6 year old Zafra blasted us with a version of "I Won't Back Down" that the Man in Black would have been proud of. She was backed by the author of the "Anarchist Quiz Book", her dad, Martin.
On Sunday we held a tribute to Townes Van Zandt. Townes was an American singer-songwriter who died ten years ago this year. A film "Be Here to Love Me" was released earlier this year as was a biography "To Live's to Fly". Townes songs have been covered by everyone from Tindersticks to Bob Dylan; in fact Dylan described as the greatest songwriter ever. Andrew Perry, Jinder, Jason McNiff, Michael Weston King and Jackie Leven are all among his fans - and they all showed up to perform at this celebration of Townes. Thanks, you guys.
Here's a few comments:
26/08/07 TOWNES VAN ZANDT TRIBUTE, Hampshire
If Townes was widely known for anything - and, unfortunately, in his lifetime he generally wasn't- it was not just for his music, but for his generosity of spirit and support for the underdog. Whether it be for an interfaith dental clinic or the homeless, he was there, playing his heart out or emptying whatever was in his wallet to those who needed it more than him. So it seems fitting that the first (?) tribute to Townes van Zandt in a UK setting was also in support of a charity for disabled peoples. Held on the bank holiday weekend in the deep recesses of Jane Austen county Hampshire, it sought to capture both the music, and the spirit of Townes.
An assortment of 4-5 dozen peoples from all walks of life strolled down to the Manor Farm on a beautiful August Sunday evening, sitting outside in a campfire setting. Of course, there was no *real* campfire, but damn there was some hot playing! Matters kicked off with Anthony Greenwood, a young instrumentalist guitarist who proved that you don't need to sing beautiful words like Townes to be a poet. Soon, a seated Andrew Perry and a gangly Jinder stepped on stage, kicking off with Diane Craig's Ghost of Townes van Zandt. I've never been there, but it was as if the Old Quarter was standing there right in front of me.
Jinder and Perry alternated between Townes and Townes-related songs, with highlights including Jinder's soaring Rake (used so effectively in Margaret Brown's documentary) and My Proud Mountains, as well as Perry's Fort Worth Blues and Pancho.
Next on stage was troubador Jason McNiff, like Jinder part of the young guard who were in their teens when Townes died, and will play an important role in relaying his spirit to future generations. McNiff brought a warm, soothing electric guitar sound to songs such as I'll Be Here in the Morning, surely one of Townes' more ironic songs.
As the mosquitos sought to swallow us, Michael Weston King and Jackie Leven stepped on stage, and brought the world down to earth with a gut-wrenching version of A Song For. Suddenly, for anyone previously unfamiliar with Townes' work in the audience, Jinder's previous assertion of how "terrifying" Townes' music can be was brought home- and surely Townes must have been jesting when he apparently initially called the song A Song For Shane MacGowan!
Sandwiched between MWK and Leven sat a copy of Kruth's recent biography "To Live's to Fly", and it was in the direction of this that a huge spider made it's way in the middle of MWK's rendition of one of Townes' lullabies ("it's a tarantula!" yelped Leven). They didn't play The Spider Song, but surely that spider must've been Townes in disguise.
As the night drew to a close, an ensemble cast of the evening's performers played raucous versions of White Freight Liner, Aint Leaving Your Love and Who Do You Love. Perhaps it is the fact that I generally associate Townes with sitting quietly at home with booze and listening to one of his records, but I *never* thought in my life that I'd see two 13-year-old girls dancing around to Townes songs! But now I have, and I would like to thank the organisers and the performers for giving me that experience. GUS ANDRO
" One of the highlights for me was watching the differently-abled children playing music" MICHAEL WOLKIND
i loved the townes night. i loved setting the woods on fire too. phil has to be the world's nicest man no? JASON McNIFF
i can still hear the faint echos as i walk down to botley quay with the terriers - it was a charming occasion and we enjoyed it very much - thanks for asking us! - we must do it again sometime.......JACKIE LEVEN
was a real pleasure, some very special moments MICHAEL WESTON KING
Awesome! ANTHONY GREENWOOD
Wow, what an evening...it's still reverberating around my poor brain. So much Townes, so much talent, so much wine and such a good time. JINDER
www.devonsproule.com www.michaelwestonking.com
www.jackieleven.com www.jasonmcniff.com