Where Cambridge Folk Festival
Venue: The Den
Woodpecker Wooliams looked like a fly on the wall when she showed up to
Cambridge Folk Festival's smallest and most intimate stage wearing a similar
dress to the marquee set. Gemma Williams took to the stage with her
synthesizers, balloon, harp, and a can of Carlsberg. Woodpecker Wooliams was
all alone after being asked to play a solo show, leaving her with a hard task
of playing the harp and working through synthesizers.
The chair was out, the harp ready, and on came the despairing introducer who
sucked the life out of the sitting audience, which by this time could have been
inside the Tai Chi tent. These Cambridge City Council introducers have been
plucking out every last note and unnecessary information all weekend; however
this lost soul for Woodpecker Wooliams was just beyond awful. The awkward silence and
pathetic introduction sent shivers down my spine as the audience also began to
feel somewhat estranged from the upcoming set. An exciting 30 minutes was set
to come, but little did the audience know how intense Woodpecker Wooliams
performance would be.
She opened her set with "Red Kite", a song so personal and
chilling that it actually evoked the pure essence of full-bodied emotion,
something the folk festival was lacking all weekend. To some, it may seem like
a facade, but this really is someone speaking from the heart. Her eyes, fixated
on the ceiling, as if she's looking up to heaven for answers. At times during
Woodpecker Wooliams set, it seemed as if she was swelling up continuously, on
the verge of tears - though somehow she managed to continue under this emotional
spell. It was a gripping opening to her set, and when she finished, pushing
away the mic, she began tuning her harp to utter silence. There was no clap, no
coughing, and an awkward silence that was finally met by applause as the
singer-songwriter stood up.
A number of words could describe the look on the audience’s faces; I think
the best descriptions would be: scared, confused, attentive, and mesmerised. Woodpecker
Wooliams was one of the most interesting artists to play at this year’s
Cambridge Folk Festival, and her short set witnessed by a good 50 people would
say the same thing.
Wandering over to the synthesizer table from time to time, she played
numerous songs with just ambience representing industrial noises of chaos and
conflict to work alongside her soprano voice. "Gull" sounded
fantastic, but one must wonder what it would sound like with the backing of a
band. One of her best songs was met with destruction, "Sparrow". The
sound of the synthesizers sounded fantastic, and as Woodpecker Wooliams
excitement grew and her foot stomping percussion picked up, her can of
Carlsberg fell on the floor shocking the audience. By this point, we were all
in it together and fully gripped by her on stage emotion.
After playing more soulful songs from her debut album, such as the
apocalyptic "Dove", Woodpecker Wooliams ended with a bang. There was
no breakdown, no falling over, it was the stomping percussion and screaming
lyrics in German, which finished with the reoccurrence of the word achtung.
"Crow" was a spirited finale that captured the heart and soul of
Woodpecker Wooliams' left field music.
Her apologies weren’t needed, and her set definitely stuck with the people that
stayed long enough to witness a lucrative and special performance from an
astounding singer-songwriter. People were reprising 'achtung, achtung' on the
way to the toilets, others sat down, still unsure of what they just witnessed.
This was a performance that will always be remembered at The Den. Cambridge
have out done themselves with this tent, which attracted my attention more so
than the main stages throughout the weekend. With her full band and a place
holder for her beer, who knows, maybe we'll see Woodpecker Wooliams playing the
bigger stages to the sit down festival goers in a few years time.
I'd like to see it happen and I’m sure others in The Den that evening would
agree.
~Eddie
