Dirty Linen

No I haven't just ignored the laundry for a while.  Actually yes I have but I'm not about to post pictures of it in a blog post.

Do you remember me talking about the Ballroom all those many moons ago?  You don't?  Well just pretend that you did ok?  That was the first Dirty Linen night, and it is now an official annual event!

Organised by Green Diesel, Dirty Linen is a roaming folk night where a plethora of folk bands from all over the genre spectrum come together for a night of fabulous, foot twitching musical energy.  It was the Bank Holiday weekend.  It was a Thursday night.  There was no work (for most of us) until the following Tuesday.  It was time to let our hair down!

The Ballroom had designed a cocktail specifically for this night, called the Apple Pie Moonshine, served in a mason jar wrapped in a brown paper bag, it was a mix of toffee apple cider, cinammon, rum and cloudy apple juice.  I dove straight into a Prickly Pear, a delectable mixture of vodka, elderflower cordial, pressed pear juice, lemon, sugar and soda.  Divine.  I then spent five minutes gazing enviously at the group who had managed to snaggle the bathtub for the night.

We started off listening to The Chimney Boys, the 'finest satanic maritime cabaret band in East Kent'.  I'll be honest, I'm not sure how many satanic maritime cabaret bands there are in Kent, or in the UK generally speaking, but that is neither here nor there.   They are a dark folk band, eerie and mysterious and listening to them framed by the bleeding portraits behind them was an absolute pleasure.   There is a gothic undertone to their folk music, it's the heart of a dark, Victorian funfair. 

Sinead was explaining to me that the band don't actually get to play together as much as they would like to as the members are now scattered all over the UK, but if you follow them on facebook, you may get lucky and get to see them live, which is highly recommended!  Fun fact -one of the members, Michael, was the 2nd choice to play Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films apparently.  Personally I feel he would have been wasted there.

The Ballroom really is a brilliant venue for live music - acoustically it's not bad and the general layout means that it is an ideal space for dancing.  I was outside at one point getting some air (it's really quite warm!) and there was what looked like a pub golf crawl of rather inebriated individuals who clearly wanted to come in but hadn't realised it was a folk night.  They came up, ordered their round for this hole (Bloody Mary's, clearly slightly more adventurous than your average pub golf crawl) and the next time I looked at them they were all dancing their knee high argyle patterned socks off.  Folk music seems to have that effect on people - even if you have never listened to it before or have a pre-conception that it is not for you, chances are you will love it.  There is also such a huge variety of folk out there now, it is an incredibly broad genre so if you don't like one style, keep looking.  There will be another one!

After The Chimney Boys, Green Diesel themselves headlined, showcasing a mix of the old crowd pleasing favourites as well as some of their new material from their brand new album.  I will always have a soft spot for this band.  Ignoring the fact that I am friends with some of the members, have shared a stage with them and had some of the best nights of my life at events where they have been playing, their music is just fantastic.  I have two of their albums in the CD player of my car and despite the fact they have been there for months now, the music hasn't grown old in the slightest!

Green Diesel are a lot more rocky than some of the other folk bands and yet still maintain a traditional air.  They blend ancient, almost forgotten melodies with modern original songs to create a sound that is hauntingly familiar to the ear and yet still fresh.  They even starred on the BBC 4 drama Southcliffe and wrote a jig specifically for the show.

Folk music is also becoming more and more popular with the rise of local music festivals.  In Kent alone there are a large number of them,  Broadstairs has an entire festival devoted to folk music in the summer, it is a huge feature of the Rochester Sweeps festival in May and a lot of pubs will hold mini festivals with folk bands throughout the year.  Have a look around your local area - you may be surprised what you find!



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Ballroom Dancing

I was a proper little groupie girl last night.

A friend of mine plays in a band called Green Diesel and his girlfriend had asked if we wanted to go and see them perform.  They are one of my favourite local bands and even performed on stage with us in one of our plays last year which was an experience!

I highly recommend you lend them your ears for a little while.  They play classic folk-rock with a decided modern edge to it which you cannot help but dance, gyrate and jump around to.  If you go and watch them perform live, wear shoes you can caper and careen in.  You will thank me for it later.

Other practicalities to consider?  Buy drinks you can shimmy with - bottle beer is ideal as it doesn't slosh too much when you are a foot in the air, soaking the poor soul next to you and get some space around you (you will want to link arms and do a sailors jig).  Be prepared to clap and whoop and cheer.

They were performing in The Ballroom, supported by two other local acts, Galley Begger and The Bubbleband.  Both of these bands were excellent, but the main attraction was Green Diesel. 

The Ballroom, next door to and upstairs from Bramleys is a bit of a staple for the live music lover in Canterbury.  I must confess, I had not been here in years, not since it was the Orange Street Music Club and a little bit shabby.

Entry is through quite a dingy foyer which looks like you may be accidentally stepping into someones apartment block.  You walk up the wooden, slippery curved staircase, holding tightly to the bannister in case you trip and stumble down the dark corridor.  You enter the Ballroom.

Then you realise.  It's not so shabby anymore.

Ceilings are ridiculously high and painted a deep rich blue with gold panelling.  Heavy drapes drop from floor to ceiling, negating the need for the old cork boards that used to be used to dampen the sound.

Mirrors hang everywhere, reflecting the soft candle light back and increasing the size of the room even more.

Artwork is eclectic and slightly creepy as the paintings expand beyond their frames, dripping luminescent blood down the marl grey patterned paper.

Two giant chandeliers hang suspended from metallic gold ceiling roses while intricate detailing add to the richness of the decor.

The Ballroom branding is subtle.  Ish.   A giant B made from old fashioned stage lightbulbs hangs garishly above the dance floor which the wrought and rusted iron B sits more comfortably within the bar.

The bar dominates the middle of the room, while sofas and benches frame the edges, prompting conversation and banter across groups as you work your way around the low coffee tables designed to look like hewn tree trunks.

Bar prices vary - there is a cocktail menu (including the cocktail in the tea pot) and a bottle of Sol costs £3.50.  Careful though - a Desparado is £4.20, pretty steep for Canterbury, and while you can pay on card, there is a £10 minimum charge.

There was a distinctive pirate theme.  All the bands were calling out for the audience to make pirate noises between sets, which we did enthusiastically.  And then there was this gentleman.

A lovely man, we chatted for a while, he drank brandy and red wine and we danced.  He is a member of another local drama group.  The pirate theme also meant I was pleased I had unknowingly coordinated with these shoes.

My beloved gold skull platform ankle boots from Iron Fist.  Ridiculously comfortable and perfect for the rocker vibe I was channelling last night.

There was also a bathtub by the dance floor.  I'm not kidding.

Let's be honest though.  We were there to dance the night away.  And we did.  Right at the front of the stage, jumping and waving our arms like fools.

Afterwards we collapsed on the sofas, got the drinks in and chatted about all sorts of sweet nothings until the lights came on, the bar staff started lifting the stools onto the tables and we took the hint that we should probably say our goodbyes.

My feet are a bit tingly today.  Sign of a good night.

By the way, apologies for the blurry nature of some of the photo's.  It was really dark, people were dancing quite erratically and this doesn't make for a good combination for my little camera!