Nick Parker/Ben Wain

Halves Cottages, Corfe Castle

House gigs seem to be becoming more and more common over time, with artists finding new ways of entertaining their fans with special and unique performances in their front rooms. Tonight from Glastonbury singer/songwriter Nick Parker along with his touring sidekick Ben Wain are putting on a show in a Corfe Castle cottage at the Home or Tim & Emma Lacey. The Lacey’s and their three daughters are huge music fans and all go to many festivals each year seeking out great new music and Nick was one of their discoveries. The family have appeared in Nick’s latest hilarious video “Down with The Youth” which was released recently as the lead single for Nick’s new album “Besta Venya”. The Lacey’s have invited all the neighbours, family and friends, so when the duo take to the stage (well hearth rug in front of the fire) the front room is packed with around thirty people all curious to hear what these guys had to offer.

The evening starts with the appropriately titled tune “Make Yourself at Home” and it is immediately clear that Nick is certainly a very clever lyrist and his songs are really catchy. Most of us are singing along after hearing the chorus just once. Their setup is simple with Nick on acoustic guitar & mandolin with Ben on violin coupled to a small P.A. The guys are warm and engaging and put on a really good show that includes some audience participation on the German titled song “Es Tut Mir Leid” which in translation means “I’m Sorry”. The children in the audience are given cards to the lyrics of the chorus to hold up when Nick sings the words, which the all do to great effect. A friend of Nick’s called Anna who he had not seen in over 30 years joining him a beautiful duet on “A Simple Song”.

Nick Parker 1–2–3–4

After a short break and a lovely buffet, Nick and Ben were back for the second half of the show. This included a staggering tune from the wonderfully titled album “Angry Pork and the Occasional Bird” called “Jerusalem”. The tune had an incredible uplifting appeal to it and when played at such close quarters you cannot help but be drawn in. These two guys are real experts in their field and perform effortlessly and have great chemistry between them. The songs keep coming with a touching tune called “Terry & June” named after the 80’s sitcom which name checks lots of famous couples. Nick tells us that his friend singer Gaz Brookfield and his wife each have Tattoos on their legs of Egg/Soldiers which were inspired by this very song. The boys despatch a few well-chosen covers and take some requests before calling a night with a folky version of AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Longî just before 11pm. A truly fantastic evening full of many memorable moments that will be remembered by all who attended for a very long time to come.

Set List

Make Yourself at Home
Down With the Youth
Es Tut Mir Leid
Deptartures
An Open Letter to my Human
A Simple Song (with Anna McEvoy)
You Could’nt have come at a Better Time (Luka Bloom)
Never Been to Dublin Before
Jerusalem
If I can change Your Mind (Sugar)
Terry & June
The Devil went Down to Georgia (Charlie Daniels)
He Should Be Home by Now
More Like This
Not Fooling Me
Es Tut Mir Leid
You Shook Me All Night Long (AC/DC)

Videos