Tuesday 5 August 2014

O'Hooley & Tidow - The Met Studio, Stafford Gatehouse Theatre - 4th August

To a less than full Met Studio Belinda O'Hooley &  Heidi Tidow charmed the audience with a set of what I have previously described as 'grown up folk'. Direct from a truimphant performance on one the main stages at Cambridge Folk Festival they opened their set with the title track of their current highly commended album ' The Hum'. The performance continued with soaring keyboard playing, beautiful harmonies and plenty of banter. ' Two Mothers' a tale of the forced migration of babies and children brought one or two tears and a rousing version of Summat's Brewin a tribute to real ale captured the contrasts of the set perfectly.

After the interval it continued at a similar high standard with a specifically requested 'Ronnie's Song' from the Fragile album once again bringing the audience close to tears. A final stomping version of Gentleman Jack brought the main set to a close. Throughout the evening Belinda and Heidi had come in front of their mics to perform acoustically and this was perfectly captured in the closing Parting Glass with unprompted audience participation adding to their perfect voices.

The audience that was there was priviledged to see a duo at the peak of their game perform a set that combined folk club, cabaret and music hall to the highest standard. Those at the Met last night will be able to say "I was there..." for those that weren't they missed a real treat.

Thank you Belina & Heidi for a wonderful evening and hope to see you back in these parts very soon.