Eliza Carthy - Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh

It is unusual walking into a gig and not really knowing what to expect. The rare folk beats of Eliza Carthy’s new album provided a little taster beforehand, but walking into the beautiful Voodoo Rooms to see a stage decorated with fish weaving their way around the instruments shrouded the night’s events in mystery.




The new album that is the promotional basis for this tour is entitled Neptune. It is the solo follow-up to 2008’s Dreams of Breathing Underwater and is the first record to be released through Eliza’s own label, HemHem Records. Appropriately for tonight, it was recorded in Castle Studios in Edinburgh.

For the opening number Carthy walked onto the stage with her band, taking in a rapturous applause from a clearly dedicated audience. Usually folk music is associated with dancing and merriness but the casualness of this crowd, who were mainly sat at black clothed tables lit by candles, was enjoyable and apposite for the choice of venue. The first song of the set, Little Big Man, saw the multi-talented songstress on the accordion and serenading the crowd with her husky voice.

It has to be said that Eliza Carthy is a woman who likes to talk, and talking is conveniently essential to her music. The subjects of the songs are outlandish and the stories she tells beforehand puts them into perspective. The subjects of these tunes go from anything from poisoned apples (Breadcrumbs) to moving to Spain and eating chips, or Chavy Potatoes as she calls them, (Britain is a Car Park). After the first track she told the crowd “You’re going to hear some sad miserable music. Some songs sound cheerier than others. But they’re not.”

Two particular highlights were Blood on my Boots and Mr Magnifico. The former is a song about being in London at the opening night of Jerry Springer: The Musical, and having a little bit too much to drink (being inappropriately drunk at a casual event is something we can all relate to at one time or another). The latter was unusual and brought in the vocal talents of drummer Willy Molleson, who added a fresh and comical perspective to the number.

Carthy is a very talented woman. This evening she played the fiddle, accordion, guitar, and sang, but her band are just as talented and equally as impressive. Sometimes a frontman or woman can take centre stage but for this gig it was very much a group-based performance. Emma Smith played the double bass and looked glamorously artistic. Bethany Porter on the cello looked cute but packed an almighty punch with her musical skills. The man of the moment (it was his birthday after all) was keyboardist Stevie who received a sparkling drink and a rendition of happy birthday from everyone in the room to celebrate becoming another year older.

Realistically, none of the night’s events were expected. Stereotypically, folk music is seen as one of those small town things with people dancing together, etcetera, etcetera, but tonight proved differently. Carthy creates distinctive music on a range of instruments which push the boundaries of folk. To an outsider this gig may have looked well-to-do due to the venue, but to the people inside it was something from a whole other world.

Samantha Taylor