Kings

Jon Boden and the Remnant Kings just about all managed to squeeze onto the stage with their many and varied instruments for their gig at the Live Room in Saltaire. 

I’d come straight from work and didn’t quite manage to switch my brain off, but I’m sure it will have done me good to have a bit of down time.

I must admit that despite Boden being a major star on the British folk scene, I had never knowingly heard music from any of the bands he’s been involved with, with the possible exception of when he was backing Eliza Carthy. But then I had a 20 year gap in gig going life, which more or less covers his rise. On tonight’s showing there were a few songs/pieces that pulled me in, but I wasn’t a great fan of his voice or delivery, and found his approach a bit academic (says me as an academic). The band as a whole offer quite a unique mix of instrumentation and orchestration though, including oboe, lap steel guitar, electric piano along with guitar, drums and bass. And accordions, lots of accordions. And live music is live music, always an enrichment of life.