It is the penultimate date of Frazey Ford’s UK tour, a tour that had to be rescheduled due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. That she is here at all, performing in front of people in a live setting, is clearly a source of great comfort and satisfaction to the Canadian singer-songwriter. “I never thought I’d be so relieved to be back in a room full of breathers!” she says with a huge smile on her face. The sheer joy for her of this experience is clear for all to see.
The main concert room in the Brudenell Social Club, just like every other single venue on this tour, has long since been sold out. And as Britain continues to be held in the icy grip of the current Arctic blast on what is a bitterly cold Sunday night, Frazey Ford is profuse in her thanks to folks for having turned out, risking life and limb in the treacherous conditions underfoot. She adds, with a certain grim irony, there is also the ongoing risk of contracting Covid-19.
In amongst all of life’s vicissitudes and hardships, the undeniable warmth of Frazey Ford’s personality consistently shines through. And as with her music itself, she can always find humour, hope and happiness therein. Ford is no stranger to uncertainty, personal devastation, and loss. Her life has featured many such moments and these experiences can be found in several of the songs that populate her three studio albums, Obadiah (2010) – its title coming from Ford’s middle name; Indian Ocean (2014); and last year’s majestic, U Kin B The Sun.
Woven across 90 minutes and 17 songs this evening – each one lifted from various points of her solo recording career – the complex tapestry of Frazey Ford’s life is revealed. She opens with ‘Runnin’’ from Indian Ocean, the song capturing Ford’s creative evolution from her earlier folk leanings as a founding member of The Be Good Tanyas to a more spacey, rarefied form of country-soul.
By the time that Frazey Ford reaches ‘Let’s Start Again’ – the first of no less than eight songs she plays from U Kin B The Sun – she has shifted seamlessly from guitar to piano without missing a musical step, safely ensconced in the harness of her outstanding band; Gavin Youngash on guitar – his textured solo at the end of ‘If You Gonna Go’ is sublime and the lyrical flourish he adds to the ensuing ‘Done’ has Ford rightly beaming; Caroline Ballhorn, whose glorious harmonies complement the exquisite protean haze of Ford’s voice to absolute perfection; and all anchored by the reassuring, lolloping rhythm of Darren Parris and Leon Power on their respective bass guitar and drums.
Frazey Ford dedicates ‘Azad’ – named after her sister – to all her siblings and “everything we went through cos of those crazy-assed hippies”, referencing their parents and the often-troubled circumstances of their childhood. It is an emotional tour-de-force. ‘Purple and Brown’ – quite possibly the evening’s stand-out song – speaks of her own childhood abuse. And a similarly powerful evocation of family memories is her second encore of the night, ‘Firecracker’, written for her brother Kevin who sadly passed away almost three years ago.
Frazey Ford has known much sadness in her life and her backstory features a great deal of tragedy and suffering. But she clearly possesses tremendous resilience and the strength of her music embodies this. Experiencing it is an inspirational delight – more so in person, in concert, in such intimate surroundings – and once she gets into that almost effortless groove the music just glides along, taking you with it every inch of the way.
Photos: Simon Godley
More photos from this concert are HERE