An enchanting evening from Kate Rusby and her band of merry men, which clearly signals Christmas has arrived to an enraptured Brighton Dome audience.
Kate Rusby is excited. She loves Christmas, she tells the audience, and everything about it. This is a celebration of that love as the songsmith guides us through a wonderful evening of Christmas cheer.
The stage at The Dome has been lovingly converted into what looks like a festive 1980’s pub with vibrant Christmas tree, gloriously gaudy carpet and vintage decorations, including a slightly odd but resplendent reindeer and a classic four four foot, light up, Father Christmas. They even have a bar, bar stools and small tables dotted between the performers. It gives a cozy sense of nostalgia for Christmases past and is a fitting scene for them to perform in.
The musical number are all fittingly folky and festive. Kate Rusby has an ethereal voice that could turn any song into a soft folk classic. The instrumentation is also evocative of Christmases past, with a five piece brass band in tow, or the “Brass Boys” as Rusby calls them, and accordion, mandolins and guitar rounding off the sound along with an excellent double bass player and percussionist. At a couple of points even an organ is added into the mix. The organ has a lovely back story as being the instrument Rusby first heard traditional Yorkshire carols being played in a particular pub when she was a girl. She saved it from a skip after the pub shut down.
The evening is peppered with stories like the one about the organ. Rusby is a passionate story teller and loves her roots near Sheffield, where she still lives today. Her Christmas show was born out of the love of the traditional Christmas songs sung in her part of the world twenty years ago; a measure of a bygone age she helps to preserve here. We are transported to sweet sounding northern villages in the countryside, inside Rusby’s haunted house and on wistful walks where she communes with nature. The audience is treated to traditional Northern and Cornish versions of familiar carols we all know. She keeps the traditions alive with vibrancy and verve.
Among the traditional tunes are a few more left field choices such as I want a Hippopotamus for Christmas. Every song is sprinkled with the Rusby folk magic and lovingly received by the people of the Dome.
Rusby and the band encourage several singalongs in the course of the evening and manage to rouse the rather shy Brighton crowd. There is even a kazoo-along, filmed for a compilation to be released at the end of the tour.
As the final voices finish ringing out at the end of the night the whole room seems visibly lifted and buoyed. Christmas is truly here!
Reviewed on 16th December.
The Reviews Hub Star Rating
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10
