Merry Hell return to a favourite haunt, and resurrect some old favourites – just in time for the Easter weekend.
A timely resurrection?
Rumours abounded The Brindley on Maundy Thursday, that Wiganese folk troubadors Merry Hell have been vigorously rehearsing, and that this may herald the return of some absolute bangers from the back catalogue. This aural resurrection was not only fitting for the time of year, but also, as it turned out as a response to world events.
The evening featured a broadly new setlist, with five tracks from the Hell’s latest album Rising Of The Bold (available from all your usual boutiques and streaming outlets, but sadly, not on vinyl…) We started off on familiar, defiant ground, which very much set the tone for the evening. When old favourites Rage Like Thunder and The Old Soldier were reintroduced, they didn’t feel old/new at all – but seamlessly fitted the mood of the entire set.
This was an evening firmly rooted in activism and built around themes of social justice. Kicking off with serious intent in the form of We Need Each Other Now and Stand Down, before introducing some mandatory, yet therapeutic sway.
The latter part of the first half included a duo of tunes inspired by environmental activism. Firstly commemorating the past, whilst striving for future improvement, through Neil McCartney’s driving folk dance tune Leave it in the ground. Then celebrating the incredible contribution in raising awareness of the impending environmental catastrophe, by young activist Greta Thunberg – Sister Atlas. Cue the audiences second bout of rhythmic participation following on from the earlier outing of Bury Me Naked.
MINGLING WITH INTENT
Heading into the intermission we discover that Violet may have finally lost her voice and is seamlessly replaced by Spy In A Previous Life, Virginia takes the opportunity to mingle with intent amongst the audience, armed only by a sense of mischief and glass of red wine.
Following the brief intermission, we kicked off round two with longstanding favourites Ghost in our house and the utterly joyful Lovin’ the skin you’re in, before we delved into the archives and gave the timely outing of two old, and (sadly) highly relevant tunes.
Sadly, these (beautiful) tunes are still relevant…
Both Rage like Thunder and The Old Soldier featured on the album The Ghost in our House, released in 2015 – but could easily have been inspired by, and written yesterday – Rage reminds the listener that their sense of societal justice and passion is still alive, even if they’re no longer publically protesting, or engaging in activism – you may be getting older, but your rebel heart never dies.
The Old Soldier is a timely lesson of what happens when we ignore the past. War may glorify sacrifice, but always abandons the survivor. A true anti-war song, which reminds the listener that the human race seems cursed in it’s refusal to learn from mistakes, and allows violence to return. The Old Soldier is a living reminder, not of glory, but of cost – suggesting that remembrance should be an act of learning, not nostalgia, and only when we understand this do we truly honour the dead.
THE VAGABOND ARMY
As if these weren’t enough of an audio treat, we were then invited to join the ranks of Bob’s Vagabond Army (an unashamed favourite of mine) and it certainly seemed to receive the most enthusiastic response of the evening from the Runcorn hordes.
The evening concluded with the familiar triplet of Bakers Daughter, One more day and Let the music speak for itself, and the audience (and hopefully the band too) felt a little bit better about the sad state of the world than when they went into The Brindley.
Merry Hell continue their apparently neverending tour, with forthcoming dates as far afield as London, Cornwall and even Yorkshire…they return to the north west at the end of May with gigs in Macclesfield and Liverpool – which are sure to be wonderful evenings, so grab your tickets and I’ll see you there!
Merry Hell: Website