It was a bright summer evening when I picked Rob up from the station and we set off for a special, “double header”, gig with the wonderful Daria Kulesh and Tristan Seume at Uxbridge Folk Club.
Naturally, the M25 was busy at rush hour but it kept moving and, through a clever cut through the Middlesex green belt, we arrived in good time at the Uxbridge Folk Club. The club is hosted in the Uxbridge Royal Navy Association Hut, a colourful venue, stacked to the brim with all manner of naval memorabilia both poignant and often humorous (try the gents' toilets, or the “Jacks” as it is signed, to see what I mean!).
Having arrived early, we sat outside in the warm sunshine having our pre gig sarnie and banana. There we met our very good friend, Dave Artus, who was MC-ing for the evening, and the club organiser, Terry Dean.
The Uxbridge Folk Club is blessed with a decent PA system and an excellent sound technician, Ian, who knows how to get the best out of it and the performers using it. With Daria and Tristan now arrived, the sound checks could begin. These were done with the minimum of fuss. It was obvious from the sound check that Daria and Tristan were on top form and it was going to be a good night.
Since it is almost certainly the case that Doria is a more well-known act nationally than Na-Mara, we were very happy to agree to her and Tristan finishing the evening and for us to perform first.
A good PA system makes you want to sing and play, and Ian's expertise in setting it up so beautifully did just that with the result that our hour long set went down very well indeed. The feedback in the break and at the end of the evening was very positive and we probably sold more CDs that evening than we have ever managed at a single gig before.
Uxbridge Folk Club invites only one floor act to perform between the two main acts on a double header evening, and this role was performed this evening by a duo, Pippa Collings and Paul Vile, from the renowned Twickenham Folk Club. Together they performed a set of Pippa’s self-penned songs which all went down very well.
Then, after a few minutes to recharge glasses etc and get the PA re-set, it was Daria and Tristan's turn. Daria is a beautiful singer and Tristan a wonderful guitarist. Together, they make a great sound. Their set was a nicely balanced mix of Daria’s own songs, often about the horrendous experiences her grandmother and other relatives went through at the hands of the Stalinist regime in the Soviet Union. These captivating songs were punctuated with traditional songs from both Ingushetia and Ireland; all delivered with Daria’s characteristic passion and expression.
MC, Dave Artus, summed up the evening very well when he talked about feeling emotionally drained by the overall collection of songs over the course of the programme with references covering Russia to Bangladesh, Galicia to Ireland.
Finally, Daria led tributes to Archie McCauley who had died two weeks previously after a long battle with cancer. Archie was a key figure in the revival of the Uxbridge folk club some 15 years previously and, as with us, he had been hugely supportive of Daria’s music when she was starting out, giving her and us great advice. Daria gave a beautiful and emotional tribute to Archie which was welcomed by all.
Many thanks to current club organiser, Terry Dean, MC for the evening, Dave Artus, and to all at Uxbridge Folk Club for their kind words and wonderful welcome. We wish them and Uxbridge Folk Club every best wish for the future. Similarly, we also wish Daria and Tristan all the very best with their own and related projects. They are both great talents and deserved to succeed