If you are unaware of STFU then here is the little I know about them: they are an Edinburgh based six piece (currently at least!). Musically they comprise a double bass, a fiddle, a banjo, a mandolin and two acoustic guitars. The band was formed by Pat McGarvey in 2006 in London but then relocated to the Scottish capital in 2008. As for the name, well the band was named after a farmers' collective in Depression-era Arkansas.
That gives an idea of the sort of folk / rootsy style of music they play, oh, and they throw in some Sci-fi lyrics for good measure as well! All-in-all, a wonderful 'union' of Celtic & American influences.
The real stand out quality on the night was the wonderful harmonies produced by McGarvey (5 string banjo), Rory Butler (acoustic guitar) and Chris Purcell (acoustic guitar) and it was a joy to watch the 5 musicians choreographing their moves to sashay up to the single mike for their solos. The sixth band member, Alex Hunter stayed back stage with his double bass. Danny Hart, on mandolin, was particularly entertaining as he is of short stature and as the mike was set for optimum height he had to tip toe to get the mandolin solos heard! Danny Hart and the pony tailed, fiddle player, Dirk Ronnenburg, also added fine backing vocals.
There was a novel twist in the traditional 'and here is the band' moment when Pat McGarvey swithered and finally chose a random band member to introduce, who then in turn chose another band member to introduce and so on giving us a greater insight into how well the guys knew and liked each other!
The songs were a mixture of their back catalogue and their latest album Hello Cold Goodbye Sun (which was recorded live in a circle of microphones by Tim Matthew, Lau's sound engineer) and were a wonderfully eccentric mix of folk, traditional, blues and roots music. Added to which this was all played out by guys in suits!
The climax of the show, which incidentally, was very intimate as the Paisley Arts Centre is a small venue (akin to the Tron in Glasgow) saw the band move off mike and stand in front of us, the audience, and perform the last few numbers truly acoustically. After some debate it was decided that each band member would move up the central aisle a few steps and perform their solo which even Alex Hunter managed with his double bass and this touch added to the intimacy of the whole 'affair'.
A great night out listening to a very talented bunch of musicians who give a new twist to the kind of stuff that Mumford and Sons churn out! If you know and like the Wiyos, then you will love this mob live! A word of warning, their live sound was quite removed from that on their latest album, but it is all good.
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