Odin Dragonfly

The Habit, York

10 October 2024

This is my third trip to The Habit. It's a nice, small venue, with a nice atmosphere and an audience that seems to be growing a little larger each time I go. And an 8.30 start means I can (just) make the trip and get there in time on a work night.

The only thing I don't like is the steady stream of people coming and going throughout the evening. But I can't really complain about that; it's to be expected from a free concert in a pub where people are coming to drink, not specifically to watch the band. And everyone is pretty considerate and respectful of the musicians when they are coming and going, some even putting cash in the "tip jar" as they leave.

And even if that is a complaint, it doesn't really matter, because I can forgive anything when the band on "stage" is Odin Dragonfly. I can even forgive them confusing the times and starting half an hour early. (By my calculations, I only missed half of one song.)

After 17 gigs, anything I could write about Odin Dragonfly feels a bit superfluous by this point. To sum up: my two favourite singers in the whole world. On one stage. What more do you need to know?

The set varies very little from the sets I've seen them play twice this year already. Playing without a piano limits some of their choices, I think, though probably less than you would expect; they rearrange the material flawlessly for just guitar and flute. (Sometimes you feel they haven't planned the arrangements in advance. Before Given Time they discuss what the flute part should be, and Angela says "I'll just sing it.") So they can still play large portions of both albums, but they also have space to include a pretty wide selection of Mostly Autumn songs. Plus Heather sings Wildflower from her upcoming album as a solo while Angela goes to the bar.

And, as you expect at an Odin Dragonfly concert, there's plenty of chat between songs, there's plenty of humour, and a handful of technical hitches which they handle with the ease of people who are supremely accomplished at their craft and totally confident in their partnership.

And, completely unexpected, an a cappella duet of Stevie Nicks' Forsaken Love. It's stunning. They've probably never played it like this before, they've possibly never even rehearsed it before, and even with them both forgetting the words in the middle it's still the most perfect moment of the best concert I've ever seen.

There's some confusion at the end of the "encore" (Shrinking Violet, which is really the main reason I'm here; still Mostly Autumn's best song 25 years on) when they realise they've run out of material but because they started 30 minutes early they're still supposed to play another 30 minutes. So there's a hurried discussion while they figure out what Fleetwood Mac songs they both know (Dreams, for a start, but sadly not Landslide apparently). So, yes. Fleetwood Mac covers. What more could you want?

So, that's all I'm going to say. A review would be superfluous.