Venue:
Bishop Burton Village Hall, nr Beverley, East Yorkshire
Date: 28/02/2015
A Henry Priestman gig is always a friendly, good natured affair and this return visit to Cherry Burton to launch his new DVD was no different. There was plenty of on stage banter with fellow musicians ‘Men of a Certain Age’ and lots of audience participation. Henry writes proper songs about things that concern middle aged people – love, family, getting old, frustration with the corporate world, politics and the state of the music industry. They are songs with a tune and a message. Most came from his 2 solo albums but we also got a couple of Christians songs, Suffice to say I Love You from the Yachts and a brief diversion to It’s Immaterials’s Driving away from Home. Stand out songs included Don’t you love me no more, No to the Logo, Valentine Song, It’s called a Heart and the final Irish Jig, in which all the musicians get their turn to show off. You get the impression Henry really loves what he’s doing, whether it’s playing on stage or meeting punters at the merch stand.
The audience:
Mostly middle aged and from the local area and at least half the audience seemed to know or be related to Henry (it was on home territory).
It made me think..
It’s nice to see someone who really seems to love what he’s doing, is generous to other musicians, and just seems like a genuine nice guy. A bigger contrast with the Jesus & Mary Chain Gig I attended the previous week I couldn’t imagine !
….scene of some of the greatest rock festivals the East Riding has ever seen.