Severn Theatre, Shrewsbury

It’s impossible to pigeon-hole the musical phenomenon that is Show of Hands. Ostensibly, Phil Beer and Steve Knightley are a folk duo, a pair of big-voiced West Country lads who sing songs about love and lurchers, ships and soldiers, traffic jams, pirates and the eternal, enduring theme of man and maid. However, forget any prejudices or preconceptions you may have about ‘folk’ music. Show of Hands play plenty of traditional songs, but there’s a lot of hard-hitting, frequently challenging contemporary stuff in the mix too, and everything is delivered with enormous panache and superb musicianship. It’s folk for people who think they don’t like folk, as well as the ones who know that they do.

The band has built up a massive following, with three sellout performances at the Royal Albert Hall to their credit, and their recent appearance at the smaller but no less attractive venue, Shrewsbury’s Theatre Severn, ensured that there wasn’t an empty seat in the house. On this tour they were joined
by Miranda Sykes, whose soaring harmonies and eloquent double bass added depth and texture to Beer and Knightley’s beautifully accomplished material.

The show was a pleasing blend of Show of Hands classics plus some new material from their forthcoming album.
Phil Beer’s mastery of just about any stringed instrument is nothing short of phenomenal, and what has almost become his signature tune, ‘The Blind Fiddler’, provided an opportunity to see just how fast a fiddle can be played without it bursting into flames. Steve Knightley takes the lead
on vocals and acoustic guitar, mandocello, etc., belting out melodic, narrative songs that range from the playful ‘I’ve Got Faith in You’ to the palpable anger that drives his controversial ‘Country Life’, a bitterly well-observed view of the realities of living in today’s rural communities. ‘Roots’ is another
widely-praised Show of Hands standard which laments the universal influence of media-driven pop, rap and film themes at the expense of English traditional music. It’s not a call for a return to a capella, finger-in-the-ear purism – the band’s own raunchy folk/rock sound is evidence of their capacity to rework old standards – but an argument for the promotion and preservation of the music that lies at the heart of the folk tradition. Perhaps the leading example of how the genre can successfully make the crossover into mainstream is the current popularity of Seth Lakeman, whose appeal to a wider audience has done much to raise the profile of music that’s rooted in this bedrock.

It’s songs like these – contemporary, thought-provoking, expertly crafted and performed – that make a Show of Hands concert such a red-letter event, with fans prepared to travel long distances to attend. The Shrewsbury audience lapped up every note, uninhibitedly joining in the choruses and forcing
a roof-raising encore that must have left everyone hoarse but utterly satisfied with a perfect evening’s entertainment.

The beauty of the Theatre Severn is that it’s small enough to allow a high degree of interaction between the people on the stage and those in the auditorium; for a concert such as this, and given the superb acoustics, it made a perfect venue.However, for anyone who was unable to get tickets for this event, remember that the band is headlining at Shrewsbury Folk Festival in August, along with the aforesaid Mr. Lakeman and The Proclaimers. A feast!

Peter Wooldridge