Christchurch Folk Music Club
Babelfish
Feb 12, By Jan Driscoll
One very hot night in more ways than one, having missed Babelfish the last time they appeared at the Club, I was looking forward to a good evenings entertainment and I was not to be disappointed. For those, like myself who had no idea what the name Babelfish represents, Kerrin and Tim explained, a babelfish is evidently a mythical little fish that one inserts into ones ear thus enabling one to understand all languages, and in their case it works! Their repertoire is wide and varied, from originals, trad, contemporary, bluegrass, jazz and beyond, all handled with flair and verve. Babelish opened their first set with Sincerely Yours, one of Tim’s songs, bursting into it with great energy and good harmonies which the audience really appreciated. From then on the pace barely slowed with song after song interspersed with delightful instrumentals.
Stand-outs for me were Mountains of Mourne where Tim’s voice struck just the right balance between humour and pathos, Butterfly and Drowsy Maggie where Kerrin’s fiddle wove in and out of Tim’s rhythmic guitar work in a toe-tapping blizzard of sound. Also an Indigo Girls song Closer to Fine where two voices and two instruments blended beautifully. Babelfish are definately the “Dynamic Duo”, full of energy, strong delivery with excellent guitar and fiddle work, voices that blend beautifully and they can take old songs and imbue them with a new freshness and deliver new songs with delight. All in all an entertaining night in front of a very appreciative audience…so thank you Babelfish
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