It’s one thing to be able to witness a folk legend in action at close quarters these days. It’s quite another to see one in a cosy pub venue the size of your front room, with about 50 others. And it’s jaw-dropping when you discover she sounds even better at 71 than her classic albums, issued almost 50 years ago. And Songs for the Gentle Man producer Ron Geesin is in the house, too.
After four acclaimed albums from 1969-74, Bridget St John moved to the US and effectively disappeared for UK audiences. A bit of gigging here and there in more recent times has brought her stunning voice and riveting songwriting back into view, and it’s a delight to see her popping over for small-scale UK dates every few years.
Her latest foray sees her teamed with the talented Sarah Smout on cello, and the combination is powerful and perfectly suited to the drama, emotion and lyricism of St John’s music. Kicking off with her take on Dylan’s Just Like A Woman, the pair had a rapt crowd spellbound with music of the highest quality: Fly High, Mon Gala Papillon, the single Nice, LP title track Ask Me No Questions, and Michael Chapman’s Rabbit Hills.
Standouts for me were a mesmeric reading of Joni Mitchell’s The fiddle and the Drum, going into Bridget’s sharp and satirical reworking of America the Beautiful, and a stunning performance of The Hole in the Heart (“when everything’s torn apart, how does the healing start?”), written around the time of 9/11. She finished with the throbbing spiritual Lazarus and encored with Cohen’s Suzanne.
Stunning. One of the best gigs I’ve experienced this century. Really.
Remaining UK & Ireland Dates
SUN 16 SEPTEMBER – The Trades Club, Hebden Bridge, UK
WED 19 SEPTEMBER – The Continental, Preston, UK
THU 20 SEPTEMBER – The Met 2, Bury, UK
SAT 22 SEPTEMBER – The American Bar, Belfast, UK
SUN 23 SEPTEMBER – Whelans Upstairs, Dublin, Ireland
Read our recent interview with Bridget St John here