Mae & The Midnight Fairground, Live @ The Inn On The Shore,
Cornwall – 28/10/2016
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| Mae & Alex |
When you walk in to a quiet
country pub on an Autumnal Friday night to see a girl in a pointy hat tinkling
the ivories accompanied by the rich, deep sound of a cellist you’d be forgiven
for doing a double take. That said, there isn’t much about Mae & The
Midnight Fairground that doesn’t stand out and make you think twice. In duo form
tonight, Mae and Alex soothed and wooed in equal measure as magical melodies
wound themselves around the venue sprinkled with humour, tragedy and a fair few
references to cats.
It is fair to say that Mae’s
songs can present something of a challenge to first timers with her often rapid
vocal delivery making lyrical themes hard to catch on to, like fireflies
flitting around your head. However, if you relax and let the melodies and
interchangeable time signatures wash over you then you can’t help but be
enchanted. Songs like ‘The Mortgage Song’, ‘Weasel’ and ‘One Animal’ show off
the emotional range of Mae Karthauser’s song writing as well as her astounding vocal
ability that is honestly one of the most raw, passionate and natural voices I’ve
ever had the pleasure of hearing in the live environment. New track ‘Umbrella’
(no, not that one) was a Regina Spektor inspired thing of sparse beauty while
the duo had a lot of fun with a Mexican folk song that represented the only
thing approaching a cover over the course of the evening.
‘The Persian Boy’ and ‘Georgia
& The Tiger’ further proved that here we have a natural story teller in the
old style, a fact compounded by the gruelling European tour that has seen Mae
travelling the continent with her music from May until early October. This was
an intimate show which would have seen some artists shy away but Mae revelled
in the attentiveness and closeness of the audience which will surely have given
each and every audience member a special memory of a very special evening.
Technically, this pair are residents of Totnes but, despite whatever Theresa
May says, they are surely citizens of the world and the world is a better place
for their citizenship.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/maeandthemidnightfairground/?fref=ts