| Reviews 2022 | |||
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Woodman Folk Club - Reviews |
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| Tu-Kay and Ryan |
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| Woody* | 14 Oct 2022 |
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Hi everyone Woody here again with a review of another fabulous night at
the Woodman Folk Club. The evening began with a set from club stalwart Dick Woodhouse. He was actually announced as a local act, which, since he hails from the North East of England and lives currently in Birmingham (which is definitely not in the Black Country) could give rise to some dispute, but perhaps this is not the time to raise this. Anyway, the still relatively recent practice of giving support acts more “air time” was taken advantage of by Dick who performed a very entertaining set. He began with Jez Lowe’s Old Bones followed by the more light hearted traditional song Friar In The Well, the guitar tuned to DADGAD for both. A quick guitar change, and we were treated to three Jake Thackray songs in a row. The Jolly Captain -The only song I know that contains the word Vexatiously; The rather cheeky Bantam Cock and Jumble Sale. These gave way to Streets of Staithes written by Barry Slater and recorded by the late Vin Garbutt, a song chronicling the demise of the fishing industry. Just when I thought he had finished he brought out his ukulele, school cap and tie – genuine he says – to complete his set with Roaring Jelly’s Valerie Wilkins. The audience and Tu-Kay & Ryan were left in stitches. Tu-Kay & Ryan, whose debut at the club it is comprise Ash Tu-Kay – who’s name is really Woodward - adopted an old nickname as they both felt that Woodward & Ryan sounded more like a firm of solicitors, live in Northampton. They were both seasoned entertainers when they got together in 2018 and have been performing and writing together ever since. They are amazingly prodigious song writers and whilst the Covid lockdowns put paid to gigging it gave them the chance to amass a catalogue of 80 new songs. So enthusiastic are they that they enter online song writing competitions such as the challenge to write 14 songs in the 28 days of February; including having to write and record a song on a set subject in one hour. Musically they are an amalgam of Americana, roots, and folk, producing beautiful harmonies for their wonderfully crafted songs; which they said try to encourage a positive outlook on life even when times are difficult. Their on stage presence is a fine balance between Ash’s “sensible” explanations of song and stories and Rebecca’s “bubbly” interjections and sometimes off-the-wall comments. She never seems to remain still for long, enhancing the songs with hand and arm gestures and it seems constantly moving her feet – something which she claims a way of achieving her Fit Bit 10.000 steps. She is also adept at picking up on audience reactions and bringing them into the performance. They both showed sincere appreciation the audience contribution and encouraged more. It is not possible to capture the enjoyment musically and comically which grew over the course of the two sets but listing the songs they sang may help in part: • Moving slowly – inspired by Ash having grown up near to a canal, about stopping and noticing what is around you • Fateless Bend – is about overcoming the end of a troubled relationship. The song itself had several false endings which brought about applause which itself started and ended abruptly. • Getting It On – was, we were told, not about what you were thinking but about dancing. But was it? • Borderline – “You’ve Got To Let It Go” it seems. • She’s A Dreamer – but there is no need to dream if you live in real time. • Anyway I Can – written on a Cornish holiday after Rebecca had broken her ankle. Have you ever tried to walk up and down Cornish streets etc with a huge boot on your leg. Ash or so we are told was her crutch. This was the first of the songs to feature percussion accompaniment from the audience, even much to Rebecca’s amusement, downloading electronic percussion on mobiles. There was more to follow. • Safe From harm – completed the first half. Following the obligatory raffle – In which I won a duo cd by the way – we launched into the second half. • Stormbound – is another chorus song with more percussion. • Passage Of Time – followed as time does. • Never Grow Up – featured the titles of more nursery rhymes than I could possibly list here. • Carve – written in February for the aforementioned competition is about Rebecca’s relationship with her mother. • Temporal Drifter – brought a competition for the audience. “What song does this remind you of?” Scarborough Fayre said birthday girl Gill, for which she won a cd. • The Little Things – brought complete chaos. It started well but when Rebecca introduced animal noises to complement those creatures mentioned in the song, the audience couldn’t help joining in. All was completely lost however when Chris Irving’s “Baa” in completely the wrong place caused the duo to corpse and even now I’m not sure if the song was ever finished. • Once they recovered the er was a superb “jazzy” number which I failed to get the title of, but it did demonstrate the flexibility of Rebecca’s voice that she can sing such a range of songs. • Sing It Loud – had the audience singing loudly in the chorus. • A Little Time – Ash’s favourite of their songs was inspired by the writers her admires. Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and Paul Simon to name but three. • This was announced as their last song, but of course it wasn’t because the audience yelled repeatedly for more. • The evening was finally brought to a close with Echo – which ironically was the first song they ever wrote together. This may have been Tu-Kay & Ryan’s first visit to the club but if this evening is anything to go by it may not be the last. And so, another evening came to an end and the audience wended their way home to return another day. I shall conclude as normal by saying A Wonderful Night Was Had by All. Here’s to The Next One. * Notes taken by Les Jones, who also typed up the review, but the views expressed are those of Woody, the club mascot. |
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