Show of Hands reviewed by Spooky St. Ives, Cornwall

As well as the usual CDs, there are also a couple of DVDs you can get, both of which are pretty damn good. There is a DVD of their 2001 gig at the Roy, Al & Bert Hall, featuring guest appearances and a not indecent proposal from Steve! There is also a DVD of their 2007 World Tour of Topsham featuring selected highlights from five gigs they did in various local locales in preparation for their 2007 gig at the RAH. Which just goes to show that they aren’t precious about where they’ll play, even dumps like the RAH and booze-less hellholes like Ely Cathedral!

Show of Hands perform in Ely Cathedral

Conclusive proof that the devil does not have all the best tunes as the gang set the congregation in Ely Cathedral a-boogie-ing …..

….. while an Archangel puts in a cameo appearance behind Miranda!

See? They’re at it again. Beer, Knightley, Sykes this time. They are slaves to alphabetism, we tell you!

Miranda double-bassing in Ely Cathedral

If you follow the various lynxes you will be able to find all sorts of useful inflammation, including discographies. One point worth mentioning is that they have also allowed production of several semi-official oeuvres, such as fan club recordings of concerts. So, do not be put off if something does not appear in the official canon of recordings. Four egg sample, we’ve got a fan club CD of them performing live at Cropredy in 1999 where they sing Longdog in Chinese (not really) and do ‘Chas & Dave’ renditions of The Blue Cockade and The Preacher (yes, really!). So, do not be put off if you come across a SoH CD that does not appear on the official disco-gravy. It may very well not be a bootleg but one of these ‘alternative’ productions.

Also, worth mentioning is a particularly fabby CD of them live in Exeter in the back end of 2007. Although, ostensibly a fan club release it is excellent quality and really captures them at the top of their game. Phil is in fine fiddling form, a particular highlight probably being an interlude in ‘See My Baby Again’ where Phil riffs on the theme tunes to Captain Pugwash and Blue Peter while Steve tells a rather risqué joke.

Other highlights include a cracking rendition of ‘Don’t Be A Stranger’ by Miranda and, quite possibly due to personal circumstances, a hauntingly heartfelt performance by Steve of his classic lament ‘Exile’. It is a limited edition release in aid of chastity so grab a copy via the Longdogs interweb site before they are all gone.

Beer, Knightley ... again.

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