Hatful Of Rain
Venue: Green NoteTown: Camden
Date: 13/08/25
Website: https://hatfulofrain.co.uk/
Going to a London gig on a Sunday night always worries me, as there are fewer trains and they don't run as late, so the risk of being marooned is greater. It takes a special band to entice me out of my cosy nest. One such band is Hatful Of Rain.
I must confess that I had seen them at Twickfolk (in Twickenham) earlier in the year, but they hadn't released their latest album "Waystation" at that time, so I was very keen to get to see them again in order to get hold of a copy - yes, I'm one of those strange people who prefer a physical thing that you can hold rather than some nebulous download. I'd somehow got it into my head that their gig at Green Note in Camden was the album launch, but, they had actually launched it on the 7th of August in Shoreham.
The Green Note concert was therefore the album's London debut.
Hatful of Rain generally use a single microphone in the centre of the stage, which picks up all of their voices. The majority of the videos I took at Twickfolk were slightly marred by the fact that Chloë Overton's face was obscured by the frame and shock mounts supporting the microphone, so my intention was to make sure I was sitting front right to try to get the perfect view. To achieve this, it was obviously necessary to be at the front of the queue. As the Green Note doors open at 7 o'clock, I aimed to get to there by half past five. Walking towards the venue, I was shocked to see that there were people there before me! As I arrived, I realised that it was three of the band!
They'd driven up from Brighton, meaning they had to contend with either driving through the middle of London, clockwise round the M25, or anti-clockwise round the M25, any one of which could randomly add a couple of hours to any journey, so they'd left in very good time and arrived before the venue staff.
To get to be able to chat to band members before a gig is akin to paying for VIP tickets, which could add a couple of hundred pounds to the ticket price in some cases. I got the honour for free! The sad thing is, they were able to confirm a post that they'd made on Facebook the previous day. This was likely to be Hatful Of Rain's last ever gig!
In the queue before the doors opened, I met a young American woman taking a well-earned break from Trump's DC. She'd flown in to the UK that morning and to avoid falling in to the jet lag trap had decided to go and see some live music to help her stay awake. A friend had recommended Green Note as a suitable venue, so she'd come along without knowing who was going to be performing that night. I think she chose a pretty good night.
Turns out that I didn't need to worry about the large central microphone blocking my view. When I first saw them in April 2014, they had individual microphones, but every time since then they have used just one. This was the first time since then that I've seen them with individual microphones. I guess on a small stage like Green Note's it reduces the amount of having to swap positions.
This was also the first time I've seen them with a drum kit. I don't think I've even ever seen them use a bodhrán or a cajón.
Over the years Hatful have been through a few line ups, but Chloë Overton and Phil Jones have been constant throughout. What could, perhaps, be the final line up now includes Max Crawford (mainly guitars and mandolin) and Scott Smith (multi-instrumentalist including drums, guitar, banjo, harmonica, dobro, etc. etc.) Phil largely plays double bass, but also plays the guitar and the banjo. Chloë also plays guitar, banjo and double bass. They all sing. Basically they are all highly talented multi-instrumentalists. To limit the size of the pantechnicon that would otherwise be required, they only bring one of each instrument to a performance, and swap instruments between songs, (though in the case of the double bass, Phil and Chloë swap places and the double bass remains in position.
Chloë writes most of their songs, though Phil has written a few, and they also sprinkle in a few covers, including a couple written by friends. There are four of Chloë's songs that I absolutely adore, all massive earworms that you cannot avoid playing in your head for weeks after you've heard them. So pleased to say that they played two of them, "Evangeline" and "The Exit Song" (and a third - "Scarlet Ribbon" at Twickfolk earlier this year). If they are reading this, can I put in a request for "Way Up On A Hill" should they ever reform and play again?
Every member sang at least one song: Phil singing both "I Thought You Would Live" and "One Trip Around The Sun", Scott closed the first half with a cover of Stephen Foster's "Hard Times Come Again No More" and also sang a song written by a school friend of his, "Instead", and Max sang a cover of Martha Scanlon' "Up On The Divide". Chloë sang lead on the rest. They all provided backing vocals and harmonies on other songs.
Because this concert was partially their London debut for "Waystation" and partially celebrating their sixteen years as a band, they played every track from the new album alongside songs from their previous albums. What could have been a mournful occasion - their last gig, was actually a delightful retrospective and a joyful introduction to their latest creation.
I'm not normally a fan of bluegrass, but somehow Hatful remain true to their chosen foot tapping Americana genre, yet still appealing to the inner prog/ metal hippy in me. They have described their style as English Folk with Appalachian Roots (a pun on the fact that Cecil Sharp thought that Appalachian folk had English roots). In introducing "I Thought You Would Live" Phil said that they had decided that their records should best be filed under the name melanjolly. A very apt name as the majority of their songs (in fact a considerable amount of folk music) have really depressing lyrics, but their melodies are upbeat and chirpy.
They were sufficiently Americana to make their visitor from Washington feel at home, and capable of fighting off her looming jet lag.
Most noticeable of the covers that they played was Tom Wait's "Long Way Home". I'd always assumed that the name Hatful Of Rain had been taken from the 1957 film of that name about morphine addiction, but I was wrong. It was taken from a line in the Tom Wait's song. As it was their last concert they felt it was only right to cover this song that meant so much to them.
Green Note start the performances at 20:30 to give everyone a chance to eat, drink and chat before the music starts. I'd calculated that if they played two forty-five minute sets, plus an encore, plus around fifteen to twenty minutes for the interval, I should be able to leave at half ten and still get across London to get my train. At half past ten however they had only just finished their second set and I had no intention of missing the encore. Max, their guitarist, did have to rush off before the encore, so we called out our good-byes to him and the remaining three played out appropriately with "The Exit Song". I caught my train with three minutes to spare.
If you don't happen to own any of their albums, they are all available from Bandcamp, and there is a special offer of the first two albums for just £7 for the pair. As there is now little chance of being able to pick up a CD from a concert, I strongly urge everyone to rush over to Bandcamp and stock up.
I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all current and previous members of Hatful Of Rain for the years of enjoyment they have given me, and to wish them all well in any future endeavours.
Set List
No Return
Evangeline
Up On The Divide
Sinking Like A Stone
One Trip Around The Sun
Ponderosa Pine
Into The Dawn
I Know That You Love Me
Hard Times Come Again No More
Long Way Home
Jonny & Rose
Never Lasts
Borderline Hotel
I Thought You Would Live
Instead
Wanderlust
Road Not Taken
In That Moment
The Exit Song
Pete Bradley
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