This was the final evening of a unique tour. Adem Ilhan (my probably mistaken assumption was that FRIDGE member ADEM was the principal instigator) had persuaded VASHTI BUNYAN, JUANA MOLINA and VETIVER to rehearse and tour some shared songs and collaborative experiments. Eleven musicians, five days of rehearsal in Hackney and eight performances across the UK represent a heroic act of faith, work and organisation.
So, pleasure apart, I had a strong feeling of privilege at being able to see and hear the result. Without talented participants’ strong commitment to creative music itself and the willing support of commercial and arts organisations this sort of thing simply cannot happen.
ADEM took the central role in proceedings. With relentless creativity and energy he came over as a slightly batty patriarch, smiling in the midst of a large family who respect him with varying degrees of admiration, trepidation, love and embarrassment. His musical approach entails an impossible but reassuring confidence that things will turn out well, a strong ear for a melody and a lyrical fascination with extremes of scale. Above all, he exudes a relentless interest in everyone else’s music.
The evening’s format had a shifting set of musicians on stage, from the full eleven who opened and closed the show to a couple of solo moments. Across the full two and a half hours of performance most of the songs had the principal author with support from one or more musicians from other parts of the collaboration. JUANA MOLINA alongside OTTO HASUER (percussionist with VETIVER and ESPERS), ADEM dueting with VASHTI BUNYAN, parts of VETIVER with parts of ADEM’s band … and so on. Usually the singer took their own song, but VASHTI BUNYAN’S performance of ADEM’s “Pillow” – with the JONI MITCHELL echo of “Jingle Bells” played on ADEM’s autoharp at the end was a delight.
The evening’s content flowed from the contrasting personalities of the principal talents on stage. JUANA MOLINA and VASHTI BUNYAN could hardly be more different. Strong, self assured and focussed JUANA MOLINA lit the stage up with her great river of dancing, multi-layered sound and her resonant, poetic Spanish voice. Here and there she showed a dry humour from early days doing radio comedy in Buenos Aires. VASHTI BUNYAN faltered demurely, explained her songs simply and drew the audience into nurturing attentiveness. ADEM enthused and rambled. Andy Cabic (VETIVER) was nonchalant, accommodating Americana, with a generous country boy’s heart.
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If one song stood out as vindication of the whole concept it was the performance of ADEM’s simple hymn “Human Beings, Gather 'Round”. Most of the eleven available voices were raised and the chamber orchestra of instruments and bells joined in the hope that a miracle could yet save us if only we joined hands. Dull sceptics who might have been unimpressed are already doomed to a lifetime of KASABIAN. So the rest of us live on with the promise of redemption in our hearts. Only music can do this.
A poignant finale – the last song on the last gig of the tour came from VASHTI BUNYAN’s heady days in the 60s when ANDREW LOOG OLDHAM was producing her songs and Mick and Keith were handing out demos of their songs for all and sundry to record. “Some things just stick in your mind” was never one of Jagger/Richards finest songs. But the spirit of sharing and crossing musical boundaries was perfectly encapsulated. We left with warm hearts and intentions to be better people. Lovely.
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