Samamidon – Live at the Bowery, Edinburgh, Monday 10th November 2008
Blimey, this was lovely. There’s something about this kind of spare folk music that people seem to fail to quite capture on record, and which is truly at its loveliest when performed live. I there’s something about hearing each individual note break the silence and then collapse in on itself which can’t really be replicated on CD, but is so evident when seen live.
The Bowery is shaping up to be a gorgeous venue, and it suits this kind of music perfectly. Sam was perched on a stool in the middle of what looks remarkably like your Granny’s living room, and the rest of us sat and stood around him as he sang. And what songs he sang, too. His music is informed by a fascination with really old folk, and his reedy, charismatic voice really brings home the pathos and the sadness of that style of music.
Just when you think you’re going to get a standard show of lovely old fashioned tunes, sigh contentedly to yourself and go home all warm and fuzzy, things take a turn for the weird. After an outbreak of break dancing, followed by some land surfing (never mind) Mr. Amidon picks up a fiddle. And starts scratching away at it. Really, scratching. Personally, I assumed that there was no bloody way he would pick up a fiddle at a live performance, much less borrow someone else’s which is what he had done, without really being able to play the thing, so I sat and waited as the tortured wail cracked, splintered and then finally broke into a furious reel, performed with pretty considerable virtuosity. It was fucking brilliant, too, and really broke up the set and made a wonderful counterpoint to the quieter, lovelier material either side of it.
This kind of interjection, the low-key, yet engaging between-songs chat and the occasional switch from guitar to banjo brings a lovely variety to the set, but variety of a similar gentle friendliness to the performance itself. Between the show and the general chat in the bar afterwards Sam comes across as a really bright, unassuming, interesting guy with nothing in the way of airs or graces. He talks about the relief of the US elections, the fear of a Palin candidacy in 2012 and the shift there has been in the New York scene recently following the closure of a couple of venues.
In terms of a night just full of goodwill, the performance and the atmosphere of this whole evening was bloody brilliant. Great show, amazingly attentive audience, great place to go and hear music.
Samamidon – Little Johnny Brown
Samamidon – O Death
Now that’s just unfair.
I’ll say he was shit if it’ll make you feel any better.
(I’d be lying though.)
And his parents are complete musical heroes, you know:
http://www.amidonmusic.com/
I’m seething with jealousy especially as I’ve gone and blown my allowance on his album (worth it of course, the fucking genius) and he’ll not be in Chicago any time soon. Damn you, Matthew! Seething I tell ya! xoxox
Okay, you guys couldn’t go because you were the other side of an ocean. I was barely two miles away and couldn’t go because I had to pack and get ready for a week in Cardiff.
How lame is that?!
Kicking myself.
Yep, mate, that’s crap. But in retrospect I am kicking myself for neither filming the gig, trying to weasel a Toad Session or even asking for an interview. Foolish, foolish Toad. Video of that violiny bit would have been worth its weight in gold, particularly the confused looks on everyone’s faces as he squawked away to begin with.
oh these comments are doing nothing to soothe my seething jealousy! At least tell me he’s not very good looking for fuck’s sake!
Well not handsome, but definitely got some quirky good looks going on there. Sorry darlin’, just going to have to gnash your teeth on this one.
and a genuinely lovely, interesting and intelligent young man. tart, methinks you need to move to edinburgh for some bowery action!
but wait. you’re in chicago. on election night…i think we can do some seething now
ok, had enough, sam was incredible!
Well yes, I do have Barack hehehe
You forgot the grandma on Facebook chat. Lovely hearing Saro live, and seeing that other Scottish band again.
Oh bollocks, of course. That grandma thing was hilarious. Surreal, but hilarious.
And what precisely was the Grandma on Facebook thing?..
He received a friend request from someone called Sue Amidon (or something, I don’t remember her first name) and it took him ages to realise that it was actually his Grandma, because he never uses her first name.
[...] 11th January 2008: Samamidon & The Go-Away Birds at the Bowery. Sam was bloody amazing when he played the Bowery last November, with his occasionally bizarre on-stage antics and tortured violin-bothering proving [...]
[...] live review is mostly going to contain video footage. Partly because I reviewed a live Samamidon performance at this very venue really quite recently, and partly because the videos will explain so much better what I actually [...]