template

Guests : Kate Howden Paul Jones & Sarah Cheffins *11 March 2005*
	This was the second visit to Bingham for Kate Howden and Paul Jones, now recently joined by Sarah Cheffins on fiddle. On their last visit to the club, Tony Taffinder had been part of the ensemble, and an impressive line up they were too. This performance certainly did not disappoint either, with many of the songs written by Howden and Jones, as well as some traditional ones, all performed with great feeling and superb instrumental skill. As an aspiring guitarist, Paul Jones once again impressed me enormously with his fluid, flawless accompaniments played mostly in open tunings – it was another of those nights when I went home with the sinking realisation that no matter how much I try, I will never, even once, play like that as long as Iive!

The couple live in Glasson Dock, a small village on the Lancashire coast where the Lancaster Canal has lock gates opening out into Morecambe Bay. Not a lot of people will know of the place, but as a youngster growing up in Lancashire, I was sometimes taken fishing there by my father, so Howden and Jones rekindle very pleasant childhood memories for me. Some of their songs also have their roots in Lancashire – the haunting “Fenham Carr”, telling of the development of a former mental hospital in Lancaster into spooky feeling modern dwellings (shades of Upper Saxondale?), and “Yeppe Knave”, which mentions Sabden, a village in East Lancashire, near Pendle Hill. This was a splendid performance, and I can no better sum up than by saying that I would travel a considerable distance to see Howden Jones again. Excellent! Photos courtesy Steve Bamber : Review by Steve Fox

{counter}