Sam Brothers and Owl Light Trio

Sunday 19th August 2018
secret woodland location near Canterbury

I spoke to Inge on the phone just before this gig, got the sad news that Zymbii, our old mule (with whom we had travelled around Ireland, Wales and Cornwall 1996—2000) had died. He was getting really quite old for a mule, and having travelled almost the entire length of France with her, had retired to a donkey-and-mule sanctuary in the Pyrenees to run around with the herd. So he had a good life. Here’s the last time I saw him, while visiting Inge down there a couple of years ago:

A beautiful night in the woods, though. Sam played his usual mix of powerful originals and well-chosen covers (Howling Wolf, Leadbelly, Sam Cooke) and folksongs (“Blackwaterside”). Owl Light Trio are getting tighter and more trance-inducing, in a Spiro-like way. A mix of their own tunes, French/Breton trad and even “The Road to Lisdoonvarna” (an Irish tune I played with Inge years ago). I finally found an excuse to light an owl-shaped candle I’d received as a birthday or xmas present some time ago… it burned away beside then as they played their set. No actual owl sounds (wrong time of year), but perhaps one day if they come back to play in the autumn...

A couple of nights earlier I’d joined folksinger Sarah Yarwood and friends for her birthday on Whitstable beach. She and her boyfriend had been living in Ibiza, were back and forth a lot — I learned about the Phoenician deity Bes, god of song and dance, who presides over the island. Immediately, Bez from the Happy Mondays came to mind, and I was surprised this younger crowd all knew exactly who he was — ah yes, he won Celebrity Big Brother! I’ve since learned that Bez has been asked to play the god Bes in an experimental film set on the island. Well, of course! I then headed over to David L’s flat for a guitar/saz jam...lovely connection, but so much to talk about that the music was a bit fragmentary (dozens of half-played songs and tunes interrupted by cosmic insights and observations).