Christchurch Folk Music Club

Neill Pickard as compere added that sparkle of professionalism, great notes to follow, clear about the direction of the night, and had interesting recitative to entertain the audience during stage set ups. Neil thanked Tony Hale, the co-ordinator of the evening, for a “Cornucopia of stringed Delights” and his “Passion and dedication to bring concert number eight to air”.

It was a real pity that we couldn’t see him though, as he was announcing from a partial black spot.

Neil Pickard

Davey Thorpe was the opening act, a space that he took hold of and made his. His set reflected on life, and he packed his set time to the upmost with musical treasures, in his brief descriptions succinctly outlined how each song emerged to life. The song written waiting in maternity for the arrival of his daughter with the line “well my baby’s gonna come someday soon” full of depth of longing; the homage to the earthquakes and life experience “water going to find its own level”, reassuring, the song eschewing the wisdom of a dog called Boo-diddly, all gave an illustration of his depth of character and well-honed song writing skills.

Neill introduced Davey as “a fantastic harp player”, at the end of the set there was no doubt about this accolade, Davey harpooned that credit with a bullseye! Leaving the set to blaze with an absolute rocking song to leave the audience happy and heart warmed.

Davey Thorpe

Next up was multi-instrumentalist Michael Thwaites, who has mastered the guitar, piano, drums, harmonica and vocals. It was sympathetic set planning on Tony’s behalf, as Michael stood to perform whereas Davey sat to perform, this contrast was appreciated. 

Michael brought to the energy of youth freshness and enthusiasm, delivering a contemporary song of the well-loved Ed Sheeran as his first number, then his own composition of “looking for a good woman”, a ballad that has real potential to woo any one he was pursuing, highlighting his beautiful voice. Depth was shown of his knowledge of human frailty as his time as a barman inspired the song with the line “Son, won’t you pour me one of those” contrasting the desperation of seeking comfort in a glass compared with the search for love of the earlier song. Michael planned his set to showcase his abilities to the fore, with diversity and even a Latin–sounding number to highlight his guitar skills. 

Michael Thwaites

The first half of the night was ably concluded by Kristina Godfrey and Tony Hale, the man of the night. Kristina introduced the set, maybe it was time pressure to meet the tight deadline, however this pair did not seem as settled as usual. 

Impeccable guitar picking by Tony with beautiful complementary instrumentals to the vocals of Kristina. The Billie Holiday song was heart-felt, and the audience could feel the passion that Kristina gave to the lyrics, making this rendition poignantly haunting. 

This duo provides beautiful listening for the ear, however their perfectionism is a little more difficult to watch on stage. They are both musos who take their music very seriously and this exacting tension does show; smiles and engaging with the audience wins hearts. 

It was refreshing to hear new material from this duo. Always a pleasure to hear musicians extending themselves, also interesting to hear the song choices. I like to be surprised by options, to hear and acknowledge what worked well, and delight in great decisions, which this set gave us in contrast and breadth. Highlighting Kristina’s deep timbre through her range to the higher register, and Tony, as always, consistently strong with his fingerpicking skills. 

Tony Hale and Kristina Godfrey

Opening the second half of the night, newcomer to Fingerpicking Delights, Stephen McDaid started with humour, engaged the audience with laughter, and then his show began. Steve offers his whole being in his performance, not only is it sound and vocals, but he also adds a dance component as he takes over the stage with his movements, he makes it his space and uses it all to his advantage. It is so obvious that his body is part of his musical performance and where the heart of his music swells from.

His guitar is unique and he has a way of playing that he realises the audience wants to see, so in his instrumental solos he moves out from behind the mic so the audience can see both the instrument and how he is playing, like his strums which are a whole body movement. Thank you for this. 

This was his second performance for the day, with long distance travel in between, however his energy was abundant, and infectious. 

There was also depth as he acknowledged those who had inspired him, Shane MacGowan and Sinead O’Connor with tribute songs in their honour, both Scottish and Irish, and the classic Parting Glass. 

Then to finish his set he humbly thanked the audience, stating it has been a privilege to perform. 

Stephen McDaid

Concluding the diversity of the night were Clube do Choro Christchurch, a band of plenty: Julien Pringot, seven-string guitar; Marianne Bedin, flute; Renata Rubini, vocals; Allan Hawes, soprano sax; Marcel Dore, pandeiro (Brazilian tambourine), and Stephen Judd, mandolin. Again, wise song choices. There were strong Latin standards, well-known for the audience to sink into the comfort of the familiar, contrasted with some new experiences to offer the inspirational and wonderment, like the berimbau, a single-stringed bow attached to a gourd resonator, brought to Brazil by slaves from Africa, played tonight by Stephen – visually stunning and sound-wise, emotive. 

It is so easy to tell that the audience is enjoying the performance, when the room goes silent and intense, it is magical and the opening number by Clube do Choro created this atmosphere and the audience was in the palm of their hands.

It was so easy to see that Renata is in her happy place singing, her joy was infectious as she sung her songs. Sometimes I felt as though she was singing songs slightly flat, however the audience gave enthusiastic and raucous applause, so I dispelled my thoughts as they didn’t seem to reduce anyone’s appreciation of the performance. 

The band performed as a whole, they were gentle, yet profound, as they worked together in unity, not needing to outplay each other. They were complimentary to each other and this collaboration was their foundation to offer a truly enjoyable performance and a truly awesome end for the night, which offered a plethora of entertainment. 

We see those on stage as the divas, the inspirational figures for the concert, however there is a huge contribution from a large number of people to facilitate such events, Diana Hinterleitner and Bruce Mackie who without distracting the audience stage managed the event, the bar, the door, the lighting, sound, supper hosts, the co-ordination, the packing up, the promotion. There is a wealth of contribution, some seen and much behind the scenes that makes a great night. Thank you to all who contributed. 

Fingerpicking Delights VIII was another great night, and we look forward to enjoying Fingerpicking Delights IX on 1st December 2024.  

Judi Smitheram

President/Secretary 

Christchurch Folk Music Club