Anais Mitchell & Jefferson Hamer at Caedmon Hall, Gateshead

My second gig of the week involved a trip to a venue that is new to me, the rather intimate Caedmon Hall which is part of the building housing Gateshead Central Library. The purpose of the visit was to witness a performance by one of my particular favourites, Anais Mitchell.

On this occasion she was accompanied by her friend and musical collaborator, Jefferson Hamer to perform music from their recent release, 'Child Ballads'.

I should first mention the support band, a male trio from Teesside in north east England who call themselves The Young'uns. Having seen so many average or downright bad support acts in recent years, it has been my tendency to spend more time in the bar and take my place in the venue in time to catch the main act. The car was my easiest mode of transport to get to the Caedmon Hall, so no bar for me on this occasion. It was a good move as the three guys gave us a wonderful performance of songs mainly concerning the industrial and political past of the towns and cities on the banks of the River Tees. Being fascinated by the heritage of the north east of England, the songs appealed to me anyway but they were delivered in such a way that the whole audience were captivated from the start. Occasionally unaccompanied, but sometimes with guitar and accordion backing, the three voices blended beautifully. Also, their between song chatter often had us in stitches. A worthy warm-up for the main event.

Without fuss, Anais Mitchell and Jefferson Hamer took to the stage.

The problem with performing the Child Ballads is that there are so many versions of these songs, it becomes difficult to make comparisons between them. Consequently, not everyone may appreciate the interpretation of these two American singer songwriters and I am aware that not everyone takes to the distinctive but rather childlike tones of Ms. Mitchell. Personally though, I became accustomed to her voice about a year ago and have since eagerly devoured all of her recorded work and seen her live whenever the situation has allowed. Happily the audience in the Caedmon Hall wholeheartedly agreed with me.

The pair took us through all seven of the ballads included on their recent album and for added measure we were treated to 'Wedding Song' from 'Hadestown' and 'Wilderland/Young Man In America' from last year's album 'Young Man In America'. Anais Mitchell explained that most Child Ballads have a hero called Willie and a heroine who becomes pregnant. That seemed an opportune moment to tell us that she was midway through her own pregnancy so she felt right at home with the songs.

Not having seen Jefferson Hamer before, I was struck by the quality of his voice particularly on a couple of his own songs, and his fantastic guitar playing complemented the music perfectly.

Sadly it was over all too soon, but to end their well deserved encore, the couple paid a homage to their respective parents who introduced them to the music of Jethro Tull. The song they chose to end with was 'Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of A New Day'!

It had been commented that the first time Anais Mitchell played in the north east (in Newcastle), there were about a dozen people in attendance. With each visit she is acquiring a new band of followers. Long may that continue.

Anais Mitchell & Jefferson Hamer - 'Child Ballads'

Most of you will no doubt be aware that the Child Ballads are not a collection of songs for kids but were a five volume collection of 305 English and Scottish ballads put together by Francis James Child and first published between 1882 and 1898. Even if you are not a folk music purist, I am sure you will have heard variants of some of these songs. Think for example of 'Tam Lin' (39) or 'Sir Patrick Spens' (58) by Fairport Convention, or of 'Willie O' Winsbury' (100) or 'Sir James The Rose' (213) by Steeleye Span and you will be thinking of Child Ballads. (The numbers in parentheses are the numbers allocated to each by Child).

Of course there are also American variants of some of these songs and Harry Smith included a number of these in his brilliant 'Anthology of American Folk Music'. American artists such as Joan Baez, Bob Dylan and more recently, The Decemberists and Fleet Foxes, have also drawn on this rich repertoire of songs and stories.

Which brings me nicely to two American singer/songwriters who have long had a love of these fascinating folk tales and who heard them brought to life through singers in the folk tradition like Martin Carthy and Nic Jones. After years of discussion, planning and attempted recording sessions, Anais Mitchell and Jefferson Hamer have now successfully recorded seven of these ballads. They are to be released under the simple, unpretentious title - 'Child Ballads' on 11 February 2013. (Not released until 19 March in US and Canada).

So far I have only heard samples of the songs but I can say without hesitation that this album will be making it's way into my collection. Additionally the pair are taking these ballads on the road in the UK in February and March. I will be stopping by to see them on 7 March.

I should also add a word about the cover art for the album (reproduced above). This was created by award winning artist Peter Nevins who was also responsible for the artwork of an earlier Anais Mitchell album, 'Hadestown'. If you examine the print, whose face do you see, the man's or the woman's? Whichever you answered, you were right. Thanks to a clever optical illusion, you can see both!