Society of Imaginary Friends at Beach and Barnicott (From Dorset Echo)

Society of Imaginary Friends at Beach and Barnicott

10:40am Friday 21st October 2011 in Live Music and Clubs By Nick Horton

THIS morning, someone had left a packet of plasticine by my front door and, quite frankly, I didn’t know what to make of it.

The same could be said of The Society of Imaginary Friends who bring their ethereal brand of opera and folk to the Beach and Barnicott in Bridport tonight, Friday, October 21.

With comparisons ranging from early Pink Floyd to Kate Bush, and even to the later ‘bonkers period’ Scott Walker, SOIF have been steadily increasing their global fan base with extraordinary performances in unusual venues.

They’ve performed in such diverse places as gothic churches, North American forests and to a 30,000-strong crowd at the Glastonbury Arcadia Spectacular this year. So a wine bar in Bridport should be a piece of cake.

Even The Sun, that August journal of high-brow music critique, was moved to report: “A glorious orchestral, folk melodrama.” So there.

The three-piece of Louise Kleboe on vocals, film composer and accordionist Alfie Thomas and electric violinist Cara Vella make a quite remarkable sound, unlike anything I’ve heard.

But don’t just take my world-weary word for it. You can see a clip of SOIF performing at Glaston-bury at the online version of this page at dorsetecho.co.uk/ leisure/music.

Moving on, if you want to catch the fabulous Geoff Achison and the UK Souldiggers at the Dorchester Arts Centre tomorrow, Saturday October 22, you’d better get a wiggle on.

Tickets have been selling like hot cakes for Geoff’s sixth appearance at the popular Bluesnights, which are staged by Tom Hopkins.

The Aussie blues and roots genius brings with him a top-notch band of Sam Kelly on drums, Paul Jobson on keys and ace of bass Spy Austin.

Tickets, and there only a few left, are £12 in advance or £6 on the door and can be booked on 01305 266926.

If you don’t manage to get one, there’s a chance you could sit in with Geoff at one of his inspriational teach-ins tomorrow afternoon at the arts centre from 2pm to 4.30pm.

The workshop is intended for intermediate/advanced level acoustic players and costs £12 with booking again on the above number. Again, numbers are limited so be quick.

Staying in a blues groove, head for the Barrelhouse Blues Club at Sturmintser Newton next Saturday, October 29, to catch the awesome Giles Robson and the Dirty Aces on their UK tour.

Radio 2’s Paul Jones is always raving about them and it’s easy to see why with their sound which to my ears is a like an out-of-control train heading straight from Memphis to Canvey Island with Giles’s harmonica blasting away over the top.

Tickets are £8 in advance or £10 on the door from 01258 472437.

By way of complete contrast, Napalm Death are coming to Weymouth in another metal coup from Hourglass Promotions.

No, come back, don’t run away.

The original grindcore band, who formed in the Midlands in the early 1980s, will be at the Pavilion on December 15 with support from Ted Maul.

After 30 years of grinding away, you won’t be surprised to learn there are no original members lef,t but if The Drifters can get away with it, why not Napalm Death?

I remember hearing them decades ago on a John Peel session doing their song You Suffer.

The memory has stayed with me because at the time I thought it was the greatest tune ever written: all two seconds of it.

Ah, there’s two seconds of my life I’ll never get back...