The House Band

Press, 16 December 1985, Page 4

The House Band

The House Band presented by the Banks Peninsula Folk Club at the State Trinity Centre, December 15, 8 p.m. Reviewed by Philip Norman. A folk music concert has a flavour all of its own. The atmosphere is inevitably informal and relaxed, the music has a timeless appeal, and folk audiences offer an easy rapport with their performers. At least, that is the imression I have gained during occasional forays into this world of gentle, spirited sounds, and last evening’s concert at the State Trinity Centre provided no evidence to the contrary. House Band, a visiting Scottish quartet of growing reputation, provided a friendly and appealing programme of both traditional and contemporary material. House Band comprises Ged Foley (electric guitar and vocals), lain MacLeod (10-string mandolin and vocals), Chris Parkinson

(melodeon, synthesiser and vocals) and Jimmy Young (small-pipes, flute and tin whistle). . The mixture of sounds, particularly that of the synthesiser, is as curious as it is pleasnt on the ear. Although the group perform music from a variety of countries it is without a doubt the traditional music of the British Isles at which they excel. Several reels and dance airs were delivered with rollocking rhythms that clearly displayed both the tight rhythmic sound of the group and the creditable technical agility of each player.

The instrument that gave the greatest interest, both aural and visual, was the small-pipes. This instrument is, in essence, a smaller version of the bagpipes, the main difference being that it is fed from air pumped by bellows strapped round the waist of the performer. A highlight of the concert was a solo air, “Green Fields of Canada,” com-

posed and performed on the pipes by Jimmy Young. This haunting melody merged with a breathtaking triple time tune, “Amalgamation,” taken with ease at a bewildering pace by the band. House Band also presented a number of vocal items. “Warparty,” for one, made a strong protest point and “Pit Man’s Grievance” conjured images of life in a coalmine.

Warm-up artist for the House Band was the Christ-church-based singer and guitarist, Mark Wells. His choice of material spanned a number of contemporary styles including blues, jazz, folk and soft-rock.

His performance was a good one, notable for the effortless, high sounds of his light tenor voice. This was employed to particularly good effect in a version of Paul Simon’s “America.” His version of "Blue Moon” displayed a dextrous use of jazz guitar harmonies and rhythms.