VENUE OF THE WEEK: The Betsy Trotwood
- Posted on August 1, 2007 3:16 PM
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VENUE OF THE WEEK
The Betsy Trotwood
Farringdon Road Monday 30 July
by Peter Coulston
What a way to start the week; at a great venue listening to highly unusual and talented artists. To begin with the venue, the Betsy Trotwood is a pub, a very small pub but one that caters for most tastes. It offers a wide selection of lagers and real ales, an impressive wine list, lots of malt whiskies and locally sourced food. When I say locally sourced, you should be aware that this pub is very close to Smithfield Meat Market. It is reached easily on public transport by going to Farringdon on the Circle, Metropolitan and Hammersmith and City Lines. Upon arrival, turn right as you leave the tube, turn right again on Farringdon Road, and keep going until you cross Clerkenwell Road; the pub is on your right hand side. The venue is downstairs and is very small, so get there early if you want to get in.
The show opened with Benjamin Sadler, a singer/songwriter with a very earthy voice and blues/flamenco guitar style. He reminded me a bit of Leonard Cohen and a bit French chanson, but very good songs all the same. The bluesy number at the end was brilliant and I recommend that you check him out on myspace, where all the other artists on tonight’s bill can also be found. Benjamin and the Sirens are really something else. Fronted by Benjamin Mortimer on keys and vocals this band uses violins, cello, accordion, glockenspiel and typewriter! All to great effect. Their music is hard to describe and there is an EP available which I have and will review in more depth. I heard many influences including Gershwin, Cole Porter and operetta in the songs and really loved it all, as did the audience. The final act, Thee Single Spy (no, it is not a typo), has masses of influences in it’s dark offerings, but I would describe them as Nick Cave but a lot more fun. Cave and his mates are a bit scary, while this lot are very accessible. They include a fine lead baritone singer, lots of instruments including woodwinds and percussion by Benjamin Mortimer of Benjamin and the Sirens and some nice mandolin on the last few numbers, as well as a good backing singer. They engage the audience well and are worth a listen. So there we are; whatever else I see this week, these guys will be a hard act to follow.
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