It's a bit late, this one - which is ironic considering that, on the night (Friday), it was early: an 8.50pm start and a 9.45pm finish. Tara and I only just made it to the venue on time, due to a fire at London Bridge that knocked a chunk of South Eastern trains' timetable severely out of whack.
It was the second time that jackdaw4 had played the Soho Revue Bar, halfway up 'adult enterainment alley' in London's West End. Drink prices aside, it's actually a decent venue, with a snug but comfortable dancefloor and good lights and sound. I suspect that the latter was an important factor in the band choosing to return. For justice to be done, their sound requires a clean separation of instruments and voices - and that's precisely what we got.
With a new guy called, er, Guy on acoustic guitar and backing vocals, and a revamped setlist that included - for the first time ever - Karaoke Ballet, it was a gig that had me eyeing up the details, even more so than usual. Every time I see Jackdaw4, I find the precision of the band astonishing, yet there's never any sacrificing of soul. When I caught myself thinking 'I bet they could perform Abbey Road in its entirety without breaking a sweat', I was sure they were doing something right.
The encore, a cover of Girls Talk (an Elvis Costello-penned 1979 hit for Dave Edmunds), was introduced by Willie as being a clue to where the band were coming from. Nothing cryptic, then: Jackdaw4 aspire to classic pop, music whose chord changes set hearts and tummies a flutter. Though I tried not to look too pleased on exiting the venue (to the casual observer, it's still a striptease theatre), I reckoned the job was a good 'un.
"Jesus Wants My Soul Back" Video Shoot.
It was a beautiful morning in the East Sussex countryside, the autumn mist had just cleared, and the sun was finally breaking through the clouds at Horsted Keynes historic Bluebell railway.
The place had a feeling of being lost in time; it hasn't changed at all in the last 60 years or more. The prodigious station walls were decorated with vintage advertisements of various remedies, cigarettes and beverages.
The video shoot was set for 10am, but it was 10.30am by the time everyone arrived, and was informally introduced. The general mood was very congenial; everyone was enthusiastic and raring to go.
After hot coffees all around, director John Collins began shooting the opening scenes, set on the platform of the beautiful old station. John asked some of the actors to sit on the platform benches and sing along to "Jesus Wants My Soul Back", whilst tapping their feet, or performing similar tasks.
Members of the band were also involved from the start. Front-man and mentor of Jackdaw4, Willie Dowling, gave valuable creative direction, as well as being filmed for the video. One of Willie's zany characters was an eccentric 80's rock star, complete with a longhaired wig, and flamboyant attire.
Guitarist John Steel was dressed as a rather serious looking stationmaster. He really did look the part playing his ukulele. Jackdaw4's drummer, Hugo Degenhardt, played a key role as an annoying passenger, by incessantly tapping his drumsticks next to a female passenger, played by myself, as I sat quietly reading a newspaper.
My husband, Thomas Williams, and I were also given a close up scene, which included a line from the song. Our part was to play an estranged couple.
Each cast member was given a different task to perform. All the actors sang along to "Jesus Wants My Soul Back". Some of the lines were given to individual cast members. John then zoomed in on each one of them in turn, and asked the actors to look either sombre or bored at this stage in the production.
Everyone was encouraged to give creative input. Professional actors and dancers Johanna Mohs and Susan Paterno worked out an impressive 1920's/30's like dance routine, which also involved some of the more adventurous guys in the cast.
Director's assistant and camera operator Chris Kribbs and Executive Producer Monika Agorelius were instrumental in filming Jackdaw4's behind the scenes shots, for an informal documentary. Monika made everyone feel welcome and at ease, with her friendly laid-back manner.
By 1.30pm it was time for a welcome lunch break. With the first platform scenes completed, everything was beginning to come together nicely. The cast members were integrating well, laughing and joking, and director John Collins was clearly pleased with the shoot so far.
The afternoon's shoot began inside one of the vintage carriages. The carriage was like a scene from Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, with the beautifully restored traditional fixtures and fittings.
This time the cast members were asked to dress in brightly coloured clothes and look happy. Everyone burst into fits of laughter when Willie appeared through the carriage door, looking like a cross between Adolf Hitler, and a member of the weird 70's band Sparks. Again director John Collins went around to each of the cast members filming various humorous shots, before moving outside to get footage of the cast and carriage from a different view.
As the October afternoon's shoot drew to a close, there was a cold nip in the air as the sun began to go down, but nobody seemed to notice. Everyone was feeling happy and content. A successful day's work had been completed, and new friendships were formed.
For Thomas and I, there was a long journey back home to the West Midlands. But this was an experience we would not have missed. We thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the shoot, and met some very nice people along the way.
By Suzi Williams
Photos Monika Agorelius
"Gig at Soho Revue Bar, 24 November 2007
What makes Jackdaw4 so tasty? Easy. Make a solid base of Beatles, add large dollops of Beach Boys and Squeeze, and garnish with bits of Noel Coward and Buggles. This band steal so ingeniously, from so many genres, that they should be called after a different bird entirely - the magpie.
But - as a grateful, celebrity studded audience at the band's recent sell out gig at the Soho Revue Bar discovered, their sound still manages to be unique.
The tunes are more catchy than chicken pox (in a good way, mind) and have more hooks than Pirates of the Caribbean 1, 2 and 3 combined. I truly admire the witty, surreal lyrics and the band's outrageous musicality - it don't get much better than this!
