“Time goes by but you never realise
Until it’s gone and you’re still holding on, but is it too late?”
Memories of last weekend are fading slowly. We sang, we danced, we drank and we laughed. It was the fifth OBS Unplugged finale nights down at Leicester’s Musician. Twenty tremendous acts across Friday and Saturday, hand picked to ensure much praise was elicited from the busy throng watching.
It’s not my style to review these nights. I’d run out of superlatives and others do that better than me. OBS Unplugged is going to be supplying acts to local festivals over the summer; at some, it’ll be running a stage. You’ll be able to judge for yourselves at the likes of Simon Says, Riverside and Western Park whether or not my exuberant praise is based in bias.
I’ve previously blogged about Lucy Davies-Kumadiro and Guy Jones. They both delivered incredible sets on Friday. It was hard not to feel overwhelmed.
In some ways, the delightful Claire Schofield had one of the toughest slots of the weekend. First up on Friday, it was Claire who was able to set the tone for the rest of the evening. We were in safe hands. With delicate grace, she plucked at her guitar and sang with such a gentle and beguiling charm that few wanted her set to end. Despite some calls for more, Claire stuck carefully to her allocated time. Her style is not one of forceful arrogance. Once her set was done, Claire sat, quiet and content with her boyfriend, watching the rest of the evening evolve, generous in her praise of each of the other acts.
She sent me an E-mail the following day with a link to her debut album. I’ve dipped in and out of ‘The Unwind’ this week. It’s worth getting to know these tunes. ‘Summer Song’ is one of my favourites. When Claire plays this live, the melody sticks in your head so much that you find yourself humming the tune hours later. Claire tells me that her second album, ‘The Lighthouse’ is due for an imminent release in March.
There’s a video to another song from ‘The Unwind’ that I’ve attached here. ‘Plain Park Signs’ has both folky fragility and worldly weariness. Basically, it’s beautiful.
sonicbreakfast 