New films from The Lantern Showcase

We’re in the process of uploading films from the Lantern Society Showcase from last Saturday 5th March.

Though the regular Lantern Society nights can be a bit hit and miss on the talent stakes as they work their way through the 30 or so acts that turn up to play in an evening, their showcases are always guaranteed to be pure talent and a real treat on the ears.

Following their last showcase in January which boasted a spellbinding acoustic headline set from Romeo and Angela from the Magic Numbers, this Saturday was equally rich in sounds with the hugely talented Hank Dogs making a welcome comeback.  The thinly-veiled tensions on stage between Andy and Piano left over from their years together were endearing and intriguing and added an intimacy to their performance as they aimed lyrics at each other with accusatory looks and entwined their always complimentary guitar and vocal styles around each other.  We filmed the majority of their set to share with you, so click through on the link below and check our YouTube site for other tracks from their set.  More will be coming in good time so check back and watch the full show.

There were also quality performances from Simon Stanley Ward,  Greg Harrisburg, Joe Wilkes and our recently featured Pete Greenwood, performing songs from his new album as well as some fantastic covers of Ryan Adams and Townes van Zandt, some of which we also caught on film and will follow shortly.

Headlining was Lantern co-organiser Benjamin Folke Thomas and his full band who put on a suitably energetic and rambunctious performance for a Saturday night.  The Oliver Reed of the London folk scene, Ben and his band punched out some of their classics to a more than willing audience, almost too much for some, as one audience member got sick and had to be assisted from the crowded basement.  We witnessed a similar reaction at a recent BFT band outing as someone developed a nosebleed as the band cranked it up.  Is this a sign of things to come? “Nosebleed country”?

We also caught most of the BFT Band’s show on film and have uploaded highlights for you to check out.

The Lantern Society continues to run as usual, 1st & 3rd Thursday of every month at the Betsey Trotwood. The next Lantern showcase which will be part of the Camden Crawl on the 30th April 2011.  More news here nearer the time or check their site for details.

There’s also a Lantern Radio feature coming up on the 12th April on Bob’s Folk Show featuring club favourites and regulars.  Keep an eye on our featured listing for more info.

Best heckle of the evening: A request for ’10th Avenue Freeze Out’ from sick-boy.  Got the thumbs up from us.  Judgement clearly not totally impaired by booze.

Pete Greenwood

We meet Pete Greenwood at dusk on a canal boat by Regent’s Park, which in retrospect may have been a risky choice. For someone who writes songs of evocative, gentle beauty, he seems disproportionately prone to accidents. He winces as he takes a seat, having hurt his back on his girlfriend’s bookcase the night before. More seriously, two accidents a while back, one to each hand, prevented him playing the guitar for several months: ‘I dislodged a knuckle, broke a finger and severed a few nerve endings for good. Really nasty, but after lots of laughing gas and big nurses ramming things back into shape it’s as good as new. They said I’d need surgery but it turned out fine, really. Bloody scary though.’ The first date doctors would allow him to pick up his guitar again luckily coincided with the opening night of a tour with his band, acclaimed psychedelic janglers, The See See.

Leeds-born Greenwood has been taking time away from gigging more recently for more positive reasons: to concentrate on writing and recording his second solo album, ‘Beauceron’, which will be released by Heavenly Records later in the year. The day after we meet, he is heading back into the studio for the last day of recording. He speaks fondly of both Heavenly Records (‘My last album “Sirens” didn’t lose them any money so they’re happy for me to make another’) and label-mates Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou, with whom he recently toured on their lovingly crafted Tin Tabernacle tour.

So what exactly is a Beauceron? ‘It’s a breed of French hunting dog, it’s huge and can kill a wolf. I thought I’d go with something big and scary. The new album’s a bit meatier, there’s a lot more going on and I’m playing most of the instruments myself, including banging an old alarm clock because it was in the right key, B flat.

‘It’s a lot more assured this time round, and a lot more varied. It’s taken so long to make [two years] that it’s been through three or four horrid break-ups, coupled with whatever other weird and horrible things have happened. I’d expect recurrent themes of heartbreak, madness, sturm und drang and resignation.

‘As for the touring, I’m arranging a shedload of gigs at the minute, mostly in London to start with… I’m also playing guitar for The See See; we go to Europe a lot, and just did a Brian Jonestown Massacre tour over here.’

Pete takes a seat in the galley and we film live favourite, ‘The 88’, a song that Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou covered on the Tin Tabernacle tour. Later, as we cab across London to catch Ben Folke Thomas’s gig at the Garage, we discuss the inspiration behind ‘The 88’ and Pete tells us, ‘Since writing the song, the number 88 seems to come up in my life all the time.’ At that precise moment one of us notices the taxi meter has clicked round to £8.80.

You can see Pete Greenwood play songs from his new album at the Lantern Society showcase on Saturday 5th March at the Betsey Trotwood alongside Ben Folke Thomas, Hank Dogs, Joe Wilkes, Simon Stanley Ward and Greg Harrisburg. Turn up early: last time it was such a popular night that people were left out on the street … the capacity is only 88.

Pete Greenwood also plays Trevor Moss and Hannah-Lou’s Tin Tabernacle Revue at The Social on 16th March. A European tour with The See See begins at the end of the month, with more London solo dates to follow.

Words by Vicki Hillyard | Images Kathy Magee