I was asked when I last saw Kangaroo Moon, and I reckoned it must've been 20 years ago! But, na, man, that's far too long, I must have seen them more recently than that. Anyways, whenever, I had been looking forward to tonight’s gig; great band in a great local(ish) venue, why wouldn't I be. The venue was The Square and Compass in Worth Matravers, a beautiful pub that we've visited more times than I can remember over the years, for pints whilst out walking, usually, and of course, their wonderful cider festival. Now, the Square and Compass is not the most expansive of establishments and the small room where the band were to perform soon filled with both people and anticipation.
This evening Kangaroo Moon were Elliet Mackrell on fiddle (is calling it a fiddle wrong? should I say violin?), David Williams on loads of things with strings and other stuff, Gem Quinn on drums and of course, Mark Robson on keyboards, dijurido and vocals. I say 'this evening Kangaroo Moon were' as the band has a lot of associated musicians who perform when and where needed. I don't know how you'd adequately describe Kangaroo Moon's music, it defies labelling. I could write a long list of 'they're a bit...', but I'd never be sure I'd finished it, so I'm going to label them organic (I know, even though I just said they defied labelling). Organic feels right, they're music's deep, rich, wholesome, full bodied and filled with a myriad of intense and piquant flavours. I dig that!
With the room filled and the band prepared, the music began. Humorously, the music did begin although with no vocals, until Robson tapping his mic, then pulling its cable through his hands ended up holding the jack end in his hand, funny bugger. From the get go the music was a rousing (you can help being roused when a fiddle is afoot) blend of what I'd described as traditional, contemporary and exotic sounds. I wasn't the only one to marvel at the depth and quality of sound produced by the band, all such fantastic musicians. There's something about Kangaroo Moon's music which is warm and engaging, I think it's their blend of traditional instruments and rhythms which touches your soul, as if ancestral memories within are awoken by timeless sounds. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not suggesting they're some sort of tired folk re-enactment, no sir, Kangaroo Moon do what a decent folky (apologies, lazy label) band should do, they invigorate the traditional, infusing it with contemporary sounds and feeling, keeping it fresh, evolving and most importantly alive. Each track, and they were all gems, allowed each individual band member to shine: Mackrell's fiddle playing was beautifully poetic one moment and the next it was unleashed at a blistering pace, I love the fiddle, it's an instrument which to to heart; David Williams was crazy good, man, I don't know the names of all the stringed instruments he played, but certainly was a master of them and he also had a selection of musical 'things' laid out next to him which he used to great effect; Quinn drummed to perfection, lovely rhythm, I reckon drumming to this style of music must be really difficult, the many changes tempo in each track, Quinn made it look easy; and then there was Mr Robson multitasking, one hand on keys, the other twiddling things, whilst simultaneously blowing through a the dijurido, mad stuff, Robson has a lovely voice, warm and real. Together, well, you can imagine how good it sounded, on which note, for a small room the sound was great.
After several marvellous tracks, as is common place these days, there was an interlude for refreshments, at which point Gem Quinn disappeared out of the window, well, it was the quickest and easiest way out of the crowded room. The room soon thinned though with the exodus to the bar; now, I say bar, it's more a doorway, if you've not visited The Square and Compass, do ere'sso, it has character by the bucket, has a lovely atmosphere, sports a museum (yeah, a museum!), serves top notch scran and the staff are friendly and welcoming. Not sold? Check your pulse. I took the opportunity during the intermission to purchase the bands new album 'The way it is', check it out, it's great, I recognised several of the tracks from the evening. Anyways, interlude over, band and punters refreshed, it was time for some more, and damn fine it was too. The band finished with a rousing rendition of the old English folk ballard 'Matty Groves', performed to perfection. I, along with the assembled, could have listened to plenty more. Bravo!
What a great night, a big thanks to the band and to The Square and Compass for putting them on. I'm hoping they pass this way again soon.
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