If My Memory Serves Me Well .... Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick At The Tyneside Irish Centre

The Dynamic Duo

A couple of weeks back I came across an advert for Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick playing live in Newcastle. In fact it was at the Tyneside Irish Centre , a venue I've played at many times. The last time I saw these two play it was on major stages , so , as I say , the intimate setting sort of surprised me, but I know Martin Carthy has played La Rosa in Whitby before (He lives in Robin Hood's Bay).






Anyway I was lucky to chat with both of them and they were great to talk with . I said that I'd first encountered the pair on a John Peel session playing "Price Heathen" , which Martin acknowledged was an incredible song. I also said my favourite Dave Swarbrick moment was the live version of Fiddlestix on Fairport Live which I said I wouldn't  think they would play which raised a laugh. The fiddle playing is so fast I can't even think about it in my head , maybe that's just me being low.

Anyway I can still remember most of the songs played , which is unusual for any concert that I go to , you remember highlights , but seldom the order in which they were played. Also almost every song , with chat took ten minutes , amazing regimentation for such a laid back and brilliant concert.

Set 1:

• Sovay
• The Death of Queen Jane 
• (Forgot)
• Three jigs and reels
• My Son John (updated for Iraq and Afghanistan)
• John Barleycorn 

Set 2:

• The Royal Oak
• Brave Admiral Cole
• (Forgot)
• Three jigs and reels
• (Forgot)
• Byker Hill

 Encore:

• New South Wales

Dave Swarbrick told a great story about his time in New South Wales , and Martin said that Martha hald told him that leaving the stage and coming back for an encore was a waste of time.

But it was a brilliant night and I felt privileged to have been there.