The Gonzo Daily: LINK: Martin Stephenson & the Daintees

Sunday, 6 January 2013

LINK: Martin Stephenson & the Daintees - Cluny Newcastle

The Annual Jumping Hot Club Christmas Party has always been well attended and a bit of a hoot; but since local lad Martin Stephenson reformed his original band; the Daintees it’s become a sell-out with an extra date added for the second year running.

The diminutive Miriam Campbell got the party started with her passionate folk song, that all come with an added dash of Country and Soul. The multitude that stayed in the bar missed a treat as her song;Secrets will have me searching the internet for a copy. The other thing Martins ‘loyal’ fans missed was the man himself joining Miriam to add harmonies and guitar to a couple of songs.

A few more people had drifted onto the Cluny dance floor when the nattily attired Helen McCookerybook started her set and, sadly, those who were in attendance chattered loudly leaving Helen to struggle to be heard meaning that these fools missed beautiful renditions of Temptation and the charming Mr. and Mrs. Songsmith.

As Helen introduced A Song With No Name Martin Stephenson appeared from the shadows at the back of the stage and shook his fist and pulled faces as Helen cleansed her Soul with an extraordinary song. Martin then joined the love of his life for a Tammy and George influenced Loverman that finally won over the chattering classes.

With the slickest changeover I’ve ever seen Martin Stephenson and The Daintees launched into a raucous version of Little Red Bottle as the hoards were still piling through the doors and surging onto the crowded dance floor.

How do you describe Martin Stephenson to a stranger? His music is certainly Folk but with a smattering of Western Swing and occasional Surf-guitar thrown in for good measure and the man himself is one part Bob Dylan, one part Nanci Griffith, one part Letterman and one part Tommy Cooper! All of his songs from the last 30 years are ‘from the heart’ and quite often deep and meaningful; but never po-faced. How could they be when Martin never stops smiling all night?

The Jumping Hot Club Christmas shows are always a celebration of his own work with the emphasis on the early stuff that doesn’t get an airing during the rest of the year, like Slaughterman and Louis’ about the café he used to sit in when he should have been at College which had a few people nodding in agreement at similar memories.

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