For the second half of our musical weekend, we had a double treat in store. Not only were we going to meet up again with our old friends at the Cambridge Folk Club, but we were also going to get the chance to renew our acquaintance and play with Sussex-based five piece, Kiss the Mistress.
We first met Kiss the Mistress at the Cambridge Folk Festival and, ahead of this planned double-header at Cambridge Folk Club, we had been sending each other bits of our respective repertoires in order that we could finish this special evening of music together. We had sent Kiss the Mistress the music for a danza (Danza Quiemada) and a muiñiera (Muiñiera de Lugo) from our set list and they had sent us over the music for a Yiddish tune (Battare Prosciutto) and an Irish reel ( McBrides).
Given the potential for a ‘grande finale’, we all thought it would be useful to meet up early at the venue and have a quick rehearsal. Hence, by 4.00pm on Saturday afternoon we were all in the upstairs room of The Golden Hind on Milton Road, the home of the Cambridge Folk Club, reintroducing ourselves to each other and beginning to create arrangements for the various tunes.
Rehearsals went well and as Howard and Les, the resident sound technicians for the Cambridge Folk Club, arrived to set up for the evening, we were able to take a little time out to have an early pub meal together. It was great to hear what Kiss the Mistress had been up to and their plans for the future alongside some swapping of stories about best-ever and worst-ever accommodation at festivals and other experiences. As soon as Les gave us the nod that all was in place, we then repaired upstairs to go through our respective sound checks before the audience arrived.
This meant that we could have an early private performance preview from Kiss the Mistress who perform a delightful mix of self-penned songs and tunes as well as tunes drawn across a wide array of musical cultures. All talented musicians, they were actually performing on the night as a four-piece with melodeon, electric cello, guitar and percussion, with their fifth member, a flautist, sadly unable to make it. Together they make a full and interesting sound with good harmonies when singing.
By the time we finished our sound check, the doors were ready to be opened, and the night begun.
The structure for the night was arranged such that we went on first for 30 minutes. Kiss the Mistress then went on for thirty minutes up to the break. Kiss the Mistress then returned for another thirty minutes after the break with us returning to the stage for the final thirty minutes ahead of both bands joining together on stage for the finale. We hope this proved an interesting mix for the audience. It must have been a bit of a nightmare for Les Ray on the mixing desk but he manifestly coped because the sound throughout the night was excellent. The evening was also compered superbly throughout by the irrepressible Nicky Vere-Compton.
Both bands played well and audience members seemed very engaged throughout the evening. The 15-minute finale certainly sounded good from the stage, and it was nice for someone to suggest immediately afterwards that maybe the bands should record something together.
We would like to thank all of the committee members at Cambridge Folk Club for organising this special night of music. We know how much voluntary work goes into running a regular folk club evening. So, to then introduce an extra Saturday into the regular Friday night schedule must have been a stretch. Again, many thanks to all concerned.
Finally, we would also like to wish Kiss the Mistress every success. We shall look out for them at clubs and festivals and, similarly, look forward to hearing their forthcoming CD, Waifs and Strays, which should be coming out soon.