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Sarah McQuaid conjures up magic in a little village hall

by 64 Comments

Venue:

Under the Edge Arts, The Chipping, Wotton-under-Edge

Date: 12/02/2022

In the quirky space of this warm and charming repurposed old village school hall, Sarah played ‘The Tug Of The Moon’ for us at Wotton last night, and I was entranced. It was just one highlight in an evening packed full of fantastically original songs – all introduced with a charming anecdote to explain their provenance – and altogether the night was a beautifully measured performance. She threw in some perfectly chosen covers too; her rendition of the gorgeously gentle classic ‘Autumn Leaves’ for example was utterly mesmeric and transcendent; at the close of the song I heard myself whisper a quiet ‘Wow’ to myself.

She’s been compared vocally to Joni and Lana Del Ray on occasion, and I could hear those hints, certainly, though they don’t convince me of their weight. As comparisons go, what struck me most was that the venue organiser, introducing her at the start of the evening, also mentioned Natalie Merchant. I thought about that, and then she started singing. Yes, that’s in there too, maybe more than the others. But more than all this, much more importantly, is that Sarah has a unique and individual sound. You hear every word clearly enunciated, and her breath control is formidable; she has that ability to make the vocal dance across the melody with perfectly judged power and finesse. You hold your breath as she approaches what sounds like an impossible vocal twist and then effortlessly lands it with perfection. She could probably sing Slade songs and still make you marvel at her skills and the nuanced fluidity of her delivery. She is a true original of very great talent.

Add to all her performing skill the fact that she is a wonder at non-standard guitar tuning (she’s written a DADGAD tutorial book) and plays beautiful guitars. That Andy Manson acoustic I’d give my right arm for, if it wasn’t for the fact that playing it would then be more difficult, and then there’s Michael Chapman’s throaty humbucking Ibanez beauty she plays for the electric pieces; you have a recipe for delightful music delightfully played. She’s got a nice Korg keyboard too, which she plays with a delicate and exquisite touch on a couple of songs across the gig, which showcases a wide variety of her songs from right across her extensive back catalogue. If you haven’t heard her before I’d urge you to check out her website which is generously leavened with links to performance videos.

I’m so thankful that she has found the (millstone) grit to see out this last year or two and is still delivering such heartfelt entrancements. Last night’s treat was my first attendance at a live gig in the best part of two years, and what a splendid way it was to break my lockdown duck and get out there listening again.

Thanks to Sarah and her brilliant soundman Martin Stansbury (his deployment of delay to create Sarah-in-the-round is staggeringly effective on a couple of numbers) I could hear every word and every note with crisp clear focus; a delight to the ears.

Sarah’s going home to Cornwall today, but she’ll be touring again later in the year, so I’d urge you to make the effort to go and see her play, you won’t be disappointed.

Last night’s gig was wonderful, just wonderful, just what this gig-starved punter needed to get the live music flowing again.

Oh, and @colin-h – she sends her love!

The audience:

A small gathering, maybe twenty five people at most, including the volunteers that keep this lovely little venue alive. The soundman was almost certainly the youngest person present; the punters were all of an age such that you know instinctively that they’ve heard some of the best popular music ever made by real musicians, and that they are here because they know, or have been told, that they will be hearing a proper artist at work.

It made me think..

This kind of gig, in this kind of venue, is something we should all cherish and support wherever and whenever we can. You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone, as someone once said.

7

Comments

  4. Lovely review. Interesting about the attendance. Whilst big venue acts are generally doing pretty well now, its tougher at the small scale I think, with audiences not yet back at anything like re-Covid levels. Like the foxy one says, live artists like this need and deserve our support.

  9. The goosebumps on the back of my neck are still there after I listened to that song. Shamefully I didn’t know your work Sarah but that will be rectified right this very minute.
    And I shall look for your your dates for sure – the Kitchen Garden Cafe in Birmingham would be a brilliant venue for you.
    Great review by the way Vulpes.

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