Seth Faergolzia / Michael Stork / Alderman / Hawk @ The Dark Horse (Moseley), Wednesday 20th August

The last time we went to this place it was called The Cross. Fast forward a few years and it's now The Dark Horse, part pub, part restaurant, part gig venue. I can't keep up with it all. I still end up wondering where the Virgin Megastore in Corporation Street has gone. Anyway, as with a number of the recent shows on here tonight's gig was free. 100% free, gratis and for nothing in fact which is somewhat surprising given that Seth Faergolzia (ex-Dufus) has been around for nearly 20 years but I guess that's the music biz for you these days. After short, sharp sets from Hawk, Alderman and Michael Stork (all local acts well worth a listen) Seth and guest Laura Lee hopped on and then just as quickly quit the stage for a stomping Walk Sit Talk, a kind of positive mantra for life that's still marching through my brain hours later.



If you've not seen/heard Seth before it's a strangely inspirational and joyful thing to behold. With long hair and an increasingly voluminous beard there's more than a touch of the old hippy in there and given that he's chosen to reject the live of a corporate whore for that of a wandering musician I guess for once you can judge this particularly hairy book by its cover. His vocal is pretty remarkable too, veering from the sweetly angelic to blow yer wig off power that, at odd times, brings to mind a hipper US version of Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson in his mad standing on one leg prime. Seth's been experimenting with loops and stuff recently, building up vocal samples live which at first seems slightly at odds with his more organic and unplugged side but this evening soon becomes hypnotically addictive. It's the simpler more stripped back material that really grabs you though, with Be Awesome (is one of the lyrics really "lose a testicle"?...genius), a transcendent Silence and the defiant Doubting Won't Do (possibly the best summary of life as a struggling musician as you're ever likely to hear) all well and truly making the grade tonight.



He saves the best till last though with a typically blistering blast through the Dufus classic Freedom, the manifesto through which this strange, loveable and unique creature clearly still lives his life. Well, you know what they say...the best things in life really are free.