CARMINA - SUMMER IN THE SQUARE, BEESTON - 11 AUGUST 2012
The ultra-enjoyable Carmina appeared as one of the Summer in the Square attractions in Beeston, Notts last Saturday.
It was their second Summer in the Square gig (is it still called a `gig` when it takes place in the afternoon ?) and the second time I`ve seen them live, the two things being not entirely unconnected.
They blend a mixture of jazz and folk influences, the end result tending to be jazzy folk rather than folky jazz, which is probably a good thing.
Their great achievement is to perform music that is actually quite innovative whilst still sounding accessible. I would venture to suggest they were just as well received by passing shoppers as by more music-minded bods like myself.
The other thing about them is that they are not only a `songs` band but also an `arrangements` band and indeed an `instrumentalists` band. In my personal experience the three things are not often to be found in combination in this way.
They seem to have one or two songs about death and related topics but oddly they still sound pretty uplifting even when dwelling on such morbid matters.
I did have one or two entirely subjective quibbles (I can`t abide scat singing for a start !) but these need not detain us.
Overall, if I had to give them marks out of 10, I would probably go for around 9, with the proviso that at their very best they probably merit an 11.
The next Summer in the Square band will be `60s R Us, a 1960s tribute act as the name suggests, on Sat 18 Aug 2012.
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