Green Note Cafe

It’s always a pleasure to visit the Green Note Cafe. Ray lived in this part of London for many years and has played here almost every year since he went solo. He had many friends in the audience.

Since our last visit, Camden had put new parking restrictions in place which actually helped us because there was room right in front of the venue for us to park and load in. Of course we could not leave the car for the evening there but the parking along Regents Park is free after 6.30pm and only 5 minutes walk away. However, I did have to pay £2.80 for 19 minutes!

Ray opened his first set with Even For A Shadow, the title track from his latest album which reflects on his 11 years as a solo musician and doing some 40+ tours in Europe, the UK and Canada.

The first set featured mainly songs and tunes from his latest album finishing with his arrangement of Sir Patrick Spens. Talking with people afterwards, a couple said they thought this was a very good version so if you haven’t heard it already them it’s well worth a listen.

The second set started with Ray’s version of Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down by Kris Kristofferson. On the Monday evening after Ray heard of his death, Ray recorded this song and made it available on FaceBook where it has had nearly 20,000 views. It is also on YouTube.

His next song was Black Is The Colour / En Vacker Vän which is from his latest album but when playing solo, Ray sings the Swedish part as well as the English. He also tells the story of how he came to put the two songs together.

The second set continued with some audience favourites from his earlier albums. Drunk On Summer had the audience singing along and finishing the final chorus on their own. People who know his music and appreciate the sound of the cello welcomed My Compass Points To North and The Dark Days Are Over. The lively Macphersons’ Rant also reappeared.

After the show we had a long drive down to Tonbridge to be ready for the next gig at St Dunstan’s Church in Cranbrook arranged by the St Edith Folk Club.