The Sheffield Scenester

My first ever trip to The Greystones, a traditional community pub no more than a few minutes drive off Ecclesall road, rather amusingly I was greeted by a fire eater in mid flow out front, then wandering in I heard a piano player....yes they actually have a piano player, but more of him later – was playing a lounge version of The Stranglers ‘Golden Brown’.

But I could hardly complain since they did have a huge selection of ales, I opted for the slightly strong Evenlode before being kindly escorted up to the green room to meet tonight’s act Chris Wood. More than anything else I’d realised this was quite an intimate venue and just wanted to arrange a convenient way to photograph him during his act, so having done that it was back downstairs and into the main room behind the bar, where I readied myself for the gig (a member of staff was kind enough to fetch me a stool as well, does their hospitality know no bounds?).

Chris sauntered on to the stage to a huge round of applause and did a quick sound check pointing out that the first one was interrupted by Eric Morecombe playing in the main bar; at this point it was fairly safe to say that the majority of the audience was of an age to get that reference. Once the applause subsided he opened his set with a Christmas Carol....throughout the set he occasionally introduced songs with their title but more often than not didn’t bother....but suffice to say if a song has the line “While shepherds watch their flocks by night” then I’ll assume it’s a Christmas Carol. Regardless of that it was sung with the most gentle, soothing voice I’ve heard in quite a while....if at all...and accompanied by an equally delicate guitar, this was shaping up to be a really good night.

Having finished that song, he grabbed a drink of water and began the story telling side of his show, something to which I was totally unprepared…..I have to admit I’d figured on turning up and seeing an old bloke on stage playing a bunch of tunes....turns out Chris spends half his set with tales of the people he’s worked with or things he’s seen. Incidentally he did describe himself as a bit old and fat; at this point he was talking about how he got to work with Hamish Stuart (Paul McCartney’s bass player) along with members of Roxy Music and Bad Company.

Following a song about the credit crunch was a rather explicit story of how William The Conqueror gorged himself to the point where, upon his death he couldn’t fit in his coffin, so when they tried to bludgeon him into it his body burst and they had to pour it in! Not exactly recommended reading for pre school kids...but the way he delivered it, most of the gathered crowd were in hysterics, me included! His style of singing was just as relaxing and hypnotic in a way as he stood alone on the stage with guitar in hand, an amp, a couple of monitors and a glass of water. Chris would be gently swaying as he sang with his foot tapping along in rhythm, in all honesty it was like getting your own private gig in your front room with the atmosphere he created here. Of course ‘Hollow Point’, the song that I recognized from the very first note, had to be played; it really is a phenomenal example of poignant storytelling at its best as the foot tapping and guitar become more intense as the song reaches its pitiful conclusion.

After a short interlude and Chris reminding us to “Make sure you go to the toilet” we all came back for the second half where he thanked us all for creating such a great vibe in the room, rather like a village hall when you play a rural gig and everyone gets together for it! This was followed by a song that plays out like a tragi-comedy as boy meets girl, girl asks boy to marry, boy says “No”, girl marries someone else leaving boy to realise what a fool he’s been.

Bringing his set round to a pivotal moment in English history, namely John Ball’s sermon on the top of Black Heath, during the peasant’s revolt of 1381 and famed for the line, “When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentlemen?” As an introduction to a cover of the famous Sydney Carter folk song ‘Sing John Ball’, Chris told us the story of what happened and how John eventually was hung, drawn and quartered; the song itself inspired a rousing sing-a-long for every chorus.

One of the evening’s highlights for me was the chip shop romance of Peggy and Billy growing up together, where Billy saved for years to buy Peggy a ring, but all she wanted was to get away from the town and so rejected him. Years later she comes back, finds the ring and they both live happily ever after, rightly so this received one of the biggest cheers of the night. His encore included rather an amusing tale, delivered without guitar, concerning two horses complaining about their lot in life, before the final song of the night ‘Jehovah’…….a song title several people had called out earlier in the set when he said he had just a few more songs left.

Overall, without a shadow of a doubt I really, really enjoyed this evening, Chris has that ability to entertain on so many levels, but it all boils down to simple and touching storytelling. I’m not sure how many people reading this will remember The Two Ronnie’s, but for me one of the highlights was Ronnie Corbett’s joke, where he’d sit and start a joke before going off at a tangent with another joke. This is roughly how Chris comes across between songs, of course you get back to the original story eventually and the pay off is worth it, alternatively for the younger audience it’s rather like Mr. Orange’s story telling lesson in the film Reservoir Dogs. Basically it’s not the story itself; its how you tell the story that counts and Chris has well and truly mastered this art form!

Words and Photos by Geoff Buckthorpe