Barb Jungr - Queens Hall 2013

Sometimes a great concert leads to something more than just a memorable evening. After filming a video Barb Jungr at the Edinburgh Festival in 2012, we kept in touch, so when I saw she was returning to the Queens Hall the following year I got in touch to ask if she would mind me filming the show again. This time, however, everything was a little more official. To my delight, Barb not only agreed but arranged tickets for me at the box office.

If you know Barb’s work, you’ll understand why I was keen to return. She’s one of those rare performers who can take a familiar song and reveal something entirely new within it. Whether interpreting the work of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen or other great songwriters, she approaches every lyric with intelligence, humour and emotional depth. It’s never about imitation; it’s about finding the heart of a song and bringing it to life in her own distinctive way.

On arriving at the venue I discovered my seat was in the fifth row. While that might sound ideal for most audience members, it presented a slight problem for someone planning to film the performance. After a brief discussion with the Queens Hall staff, they came up with the perfect solution and allowed me to use the balcony instead. In fact, I ended up with the entire balcony to myself, which is not something that happens every day.

The only challenge was that I’d already enjoyed a couple of pre-show beers and wasn’t entirely comfortable balancing my camera on the balcony ledge for the duration of the concert. The thought of interrupting Barb’s performance—or worse, dropping a camera onto an unsuspecting audience member below—didn’t seem like a particularly good idea. As a result, I filmed the whole thing by hand, which explains the occasional wobble when I zoomed in a little too enthusiastically.

Thankfully, any slight camera shake is more than compensated for by the quality of the performance itself. Once again, Barb held the audience in the palm of her hand, delivering another masterclass in interpretation and storytelling. Watching from my private perch above the hall, I had the perfect view of both the stage and the audience, and it was clear that everyone present knew they were witnessing something rather special.

So, if you spot the occasional shaky moment in the footage, you’ll know why. More importantly, you’ll also understand why I was more than happy to hold that camera steady for an entire evening just to capture another wonderful performance from Barb Jungr.

She was singing songs which were from her wonderful Stockport to Memphis album and you can view the whole concert below.

Afterwards I hung around to let her know that I had successfully gained access and had got the footage and although she did have some friends waiting for me, she told me ‘You’re an Angel’ to which I replied, ‘It takes one to know one eh?’ 🙂

Although I sent her the full video not long afterwards it has taken me a while to go back to it to break it down to individual songs and in doing so and watching the concert back I particularly enjoyed Neil Youngs – Old Man, The Waterboys – Fishermans Blues and the Hank Williams song Lost on the River. Feel free to let me know your favourites in the comment section.

I have asked her if she is playing Edinburgh this August as it wouldn’t be the same without her now but at the moment it looks unlikely. If that changes I will be sure to post it on my facebook wall.