The Mellotron Group

I just returned from seeing BJH at Rosfest. They were wonderful. I  
previously posted some photos and a brief report of the activities I shared with  
Woolly and the other band members the night before the show.
 
BJH were the Sunday headliner, and although all of the bands before them  
were great, I felt like a little boy forced to sit in my seat through an 
endless  Sunday church session, such was my anticipation of the show. I missed 
them when  they came to the States in 1976 and I have been begging various 
promoters to  bring them over since 2003. Although I had nothing to do with 
the fact that they  were signed to play at ROSfest, I was fortunate to not 
only see the show, but to  meet the band and lend Woolly a Mellotron. I also 
spent the weekend working  backstage between acts and was provided a hotel 
room and full access for my  efforts.
 
Sadly, I did not get to meet John Lees until we were setting up for the  
show, and actually spoke only briefly to him afterwards. He was sick all 
weekend  and literally dragged himself from his bed to play the show. The rest of 
the  band, including Woolly were very gregarious, very accessible and a lot 
of fun to  hang out with. As some of you may know, Woolly and John Lees are 
supported on  stage by Kevin Whitehead on drums and Craig Fletcher on bass, 
both of whom are  in Maestoso with Woolly. In fact, if John weren't with 
them and Steve Broomhead  was, it would be Maestoso. However, it is John and 
Woolly together who make it  BJH and there was no mistaking what they sounded 
like.
 
I was surprised to find that Woolly is actually the man in charge. Despite  
the name, John Lees' Barclay James Harvest, Woolly is the band leader and a 
 great front man. He sang surprisingly well, and actually sang lead on the  
opening tune, "For No One" because of John's suffering voice. One of the 
most  enjoyable aspects of their performance is Woolly's sense of humor. Craig 
is a  great foil for him on and off stage. There is a comradery amongst all 
of them  that really shows through in their performance. For this show, BJH 
added a  second keyboard player, Jez Smith. This was his first tour with 
the band and he  fit right in. 
 
I was fortunate to spend a lot of time with Woolly, Kevin, Jez and Craig  
and they're all great guys. John Lees  seemed to be very quiet and shy but  
also really nice.
 
I'm happy to report that the Mellotron sounded great and Woolly played the  
hell out of it. In talking with Martin Smith last week, he summed up their  
performance very well before I ever saw it. He described them properly as 
very  "musical." He was right. Although they are all very good musicians, 
none are  what I would call great. However, when you see and hear the show, you 
realize  how wonderfully "musical" they are and how well they play within 
the framework  of these great songs. On one song, Medicine man, they took off 
on an extended  jam that stretched the song out considerably. This was the 
only time they  improvised. I loved it, as did virtually everyone else.
 
I wish others of you could have been there to see the show. Sadly, they had 
 to cancel the Toronto show scheduled for the 6th. Woolly assures me that 
they  would like to return to North America as soon as possible. Hopefully 
their  manger, Mark Powell, can work something out. I think the problem is 
that they  don't have any money to promote their show, and without promotion 
they can't  sell tickets. So the 'festival' thing is, for now, the best way to 
get them over  here.
 
One great highlight was that Jimmy Moore and his wife Nancy were at the  
show as guests of the band. It was great to see them and I wish I'd  had time 
to hang out and visit with them. As it was, by the time I was done  tearing 
down and packing up, it was late and I had to hit the road for a 3 1/2  hour 
drive. Plus I had to stop and pick up the Mellotron 4 Track on the way home 
 so that I can begin it's overhaul.
 
I have posted some pictures below and will soon put some videos up on my  
myspace page. The promoter has asked me not to post them to you tube, so I  
won't. Others at the show may have also shot video, so some may show up on  
you tube at some point.
 
Frank
 

          
The Mellotron faced  the audience
   
John Lees adjusting  his mixer.
   
Wooly with their  equipment manager, Stempy.
   
Jez  Smith.
   
Wooly brought over his  old Kurzweil K2000, which was damaged in transport. 
Still worked  though.
   
Woolly's stage rig.  This Mellotron is like an old M&M; a little dented on 
the  outside but delicious inside. It is constantly dragged around and  
played live, so the cabinet is all original. I just happened to  have it in my 
shop for it's annual check-up so I brought it along. I  had the black one 
back stage as  well.
   
Woolly sound checking  the, "Ukulele of Doom." 
   
Woolly, Craig and John  at the sound check
   
 
They played so load that many in the front rows moved to the  back....
 
Kidding! Sound  Check.

   
 
See?
 
I went backstage during the show to take this  one.

   
Set list. Woolly plays  the Ukulele of Doom on Poor Wages &  Harbour
   
 
On stage after the show.
From left:
Craig Fletcher, John Lees, Jez Smith, Kevin Whitehead, me,  Woolly.


 

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