29 March 2024

23-11-2007 Mediaeval Baebes

Support: Little Mystic; Venue: Bibelot Dordrecht (Netherlands)
By: Elvira Visser

  Little mystic was the support act but she (it was only one person) could have
  stayed home, if you asked me. She did have some people listening and applauding,
  It did not really move me at all. It reminded me of a Sunday afternoon in the
  Irish pub, wondering if the background music was live or a live CD. And with
  that I mean that it was not bad, but it was so soft and all the same. There
  was maybe one up-tempo song in which she used a bit more power of her voice.
  When she was talking in between songs, she spoke with this boring, soft tone
  without any emotion. No, it definitely did not impress me.

Then it was time for the Mediaeval Baebes, which attracted a lot of male spectators.
They probably liked the music but I think the looks of these babes really did
help a bit as well. The Mediaeval Baebes was founded back in 1996 by Katharine Blake (Miranda Sex Garden) and since then seven beauties are composing classical, historical and fairy-like mediaeval songs.

They all entered the stage all in red long dresses and took place behind their, with leaves decorated, microphone standards. What I noticed before they started to sing is that they were all standing there with their bare feet.

I had the idea that they would lose my attention somewhere in the middle because their songs are them just singing, not playing any instrument. But how wrong
was I. They kept my attention till the last song, with their music, their voices,
their funny remarks and stories between songs and their movements. This is really
nice to see and hear. Between some songs there was a bit of an explanation about
what they were singing. I usually don’t like this because it feels like a dead
moment, but tonight it fitted in. The musicians were still playing in the back
of the stage and they talked maybe in a poetic, but certainly fascinating way.

  During the songs they started clapping at various occasions and the audience
  followed almost instantly. Maybe it was a little spell they had put over us?
  But I have to admit their dances and songs were really nice, together with the
  from time to time powerful live music.

  Halfway during their performance they went off stage and came back in long
  white dresses. Nice change. It was clear that Katharine Blake was the founder
  but they were all singing and some played an instrument as well.(flute or violin)
  There was room for the other girls to sing solo’s and then the rest of the group
  would follow. They really reminded me of fairies while singing and dancing.
  I was quite amazed with their vocal abilities and different input from all of
  them, and together their voices really sounded like you would expect in a mediaeval
  fairytale.

Links:

Little Mystic Official

Mediaeval Baebes Official