Video: Vimeo – YouTube
Photos: Flickr – Blueback Hotrod
Audio: below

Shenandoah Davis plays the piano, and needless to say, we don’t just happen to have one in the house.  So given she was on a Summer tour of Europe, and given we’d invited her to Edinburgh to record a Toad Session we needed a Plan B.  That Plan B came in the form of Penicuik Town Hall.  Our friend Ben comes from Penicuik and his dad was able to secure three hours in the Town Hall for us to rock up in the Toad Van, unpack like some sort of alcoholic SWAT team, record our session, and bugger off before we were chased off.

Fortunately it has all worked out extremely well, with the usual videos below to be watched, or alternatively you can find them on the Song, by Toad page at either Vimeo or YouTube.  As you probably know, we always make individual videos of the songs and then an overall video of the whole day – sort of like Jools Holland, but with more gin and far less boogie-woogie piano.

The excellent photos were taken by Dylan from Blueback Hotrod and Fiona Buckle, and the main set can be found on the Song, by Toad Flickr page, with Dylan’s full set available on his own site.  As ever the session tracks are all freely downloadable and pass-roundable, and the podcast tracklist can be found at the bottom of the page.  Enjoy!

Toadcast #100 – Shenandoah Davis Toad Session

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Shenandoah Davis – Proof (Toad Session)

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Shenandoah Davis – Our Favourite Idols (Toad Session)

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Shenandoah Davis – Milagros (Toad Session)

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Shenandoah Davis – We, Camera (Toad Session)

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Below I have embedded all the videos, starting with the overall session video, and followed by those for the individual songs.

Toadcast playlist:
01. Shenandoah Davis – Proof (Toad Session) (04.25)
02. Hello, Broken Arrow – Golden Fools (10.57)
03. Karen Dalton – Katie Cruel (13.46)
04. Shenandoah Davis – Our Favourite Idols (Toad Session) (20.37)
05. Grand Hallway – Blessed Be, Honey Bee (24.49)
06. Shenandoah Davis – Milagros (Toad Session) (36.56)
07. Christopher Bell – All My Ghosts (40.31)
08. Anni Rossi – Glaciers (47.47)
09. Shenandoah Davis – We, Camera (Toad Session) (58.44)

This podcast is a little bit random, I have to say.  There are songs which follow on from the like folk/hate covers posts which have appeared over the course of the last week or so on the site, a couple are related to the fact that Mrs. Toad is once more away in God Bless America shooting illegal aliens, chewing gum, whistling Dixie, or whatever the fuck it is they do over there, while most of the first half is related to the fact that my friend Andrew is coming to visit this weekend.

They do sort of relate to one another, the songs, at least.  Or there’s a bit of overlap anyway.  I never keep much track of it, but this is at least the second version of Blues Run the Game we’ve had on the podcasts, and I have no idea if I’ve ever actually repeated a song on these things.  I wouldn’t be surprised if I had, because I’m bloody disorganised when it comes to this kind of thing.

Anyhow, no scary metal bastards making your ears bleed this week, just a lot of lovely folky stuff and a couple of scratchy indie bands.  Oh, and Jack White.  I’d say that he was an egomaniacal dick, but he’s massive and would probably kick my arse, so I won’t.  Recent stuttering aside, though, he’s produced some cracking tunes, whatever you think of the guy.

Toadcast #92 – The Pantscast

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01. Soul Asylum – New World (04.17)
02. The Tragically Hip – Pigeon Camera (10.29)
03. Beck – Guess I’m Doing Fine (14.47)
04. The White Stripes – I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself (24.46)
05. Elbow – Fugitive Motel (29.57)
06. Billy Bragg – Wishing the Days Away (Alternative Version) (34.53)
07. Tortoise & Bonnie Prince Billy – Thunder Road (43.15)
08. Christopher Bell – Pretty Thing (53.53)
09. Nick Drake – Blues Run the Game (55.33)
10. Fairport Convention – Crazy Man Michael (60.52)

I’ve been listening to this a lot in the last month or so and, honestly, it’s fucking gorgeous.  There are plenty of strings, accordion and wonderful male/female harmonies which conjure a wistfully old-fashioned air, without being in any obvious way any sort of museum piece.  There are slight hints of cabaret, of orchestra and of twee pop, but not all that much of anything.  And these may be covers, but none you are likely to recognise, as he has covered songs by his friends, which I like as a concept a great deal.

It just sways gently back and forth in a beautiful, sad sort of a way, which calls to mind a windswept New England deck, an overcast sky and a slow waltz shared by old lovers.  I’m not sure why either, because it’s not the sort of chocolate box schmaltz that sort of image creates – maybe that’s where the sadness comes in.  Instead of evoking the romance of the situation, maybe it evokes the melancholy loves of a long and difficult history shared between two weary people.

The violin scrapes like a clarinet at times – I can almost find myself thinking it’s a set of pipes on occasion – and that adds something of the abandoned music hall to the music, as well as emphasising the whiff of faded grandeur which maintains a sort of defeated dignity throughout the EP.  A Letter to Violet Edison and Flat Ol’ Florida are pretty gorgeous, but the standout for me is Pretty Thing, which is just a gorgeous piece of work: short, evocative, maudlin and fucking lovely.

The vocal interplay bears some mentioning as well.  Bell himself rumbles away in consistent tones on half the songs, with a slightly nasal quality to his voice, and this provides a platform for the lovely female vocal to add flights and flourishes with a much more mobile contribution.  The results are bloody lovely – I’ve said that a lot in this review haven’t I, and I suppose that should tell you all you need to know.

Christopher Bell – Pretty Thing

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