We saw Karine Polwart.....

....at the spring and airbrake.

There were lots of free tickets floating around for this gig as it was a Monday night, the least rock and roll of all week nights. We picked up some freebies and headed in. At the bar I got talking to someone a fella who was 'the only person who seemed to have paid in!' he was in a bit of a strop as a result.

The warm-up act, some chancer called Andy who was from Southern Ireland, would have had me wondering why I'd paid in, if I had done. Andy played 3 or 4 variations of the same song over and over again. He babbled incomprehensively. I made out the occasional word relating to death or loss or unrequited love, and then, just as we were all wondering if the drinks we had bought would be strong enough to get us through his set, on came Karine and band. The mood was immediately different.

By the end of their first song we were all grinning at the scottish lilt and lovely 3 part harmonies.

There was a wide and varied use of instruments. The songs were a mix of uplifting ballads and dark tales. My favorite of the darker tunes was "The Sun's Comin' Over The Hill" a story about love and loss and life afterward.

There’s some say you get what you deserve but they’re wrong
Sometimes you get what you’re given and then it’s all gone
And you are lucky if you are sufficiently strong
To daily decide not to die

Oh the nights are long
But life is longer still
Oh the nights are long
But the sun’s coming over the hill

Since we blagged free tickets, I thought it was only fair we bought a CD or two.

Probably my favorite song of the lot is shown below: "Follow the heron home"

We had a chat with Karine afterwards and told her we really enjoyed the show. She seemed genuinely humble and lovely even though we asked her to sign the albums we bought, a practice that usually makes me feel like a crazy person!