Duckpond
House Concert No. 14
Andy Rigby & Polly Christie
20 July 2013
It must
be almost twenty years since we first had the pleasure of meeting Andy Rigby
at the
Cockatoo Cafe in Dunolly, when he was playing in the band Blackwood
with his brothers
James and Bruce, and James' wife Jane Thompson. We were so impressed we asked
them
to play at our wedding, which was also at the 'Cockatoo'. Then, in 2008, Blackwood
played for us
at the Duckpond to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary, which led us,
in due course, to start
putting on these house concerts.
The Rigby brothers are all still performing with partners
and offspring in various combinations, so we were happy to welcome Andy once
again,
this time with his lovely wife Polly.
We had
very close to a 'full house' for Andy and Polly, including eleven first timers,
whom we hope enjoyed the friendly relaxed atmosphere enough to return for
future concerts.
We are always happy to introduce new people to the joys of live music at the
Duckpond.
Polly and Andy both sing and are multi-instrumentalists, but their favourite
instruments
are the quatro and the Paraguayan harp. So, needless to say, tunes from all
over
South America feature heavily in their repertoire.
Andy and Polly brought with them their daughter Sylvie, who decided that Shannen's
lap
was a comfortable perch when she wasn't dancing.
Sylvie has definitely inherited the 'performer gene' from both parents!
Andy is seldom far from one of his beloved Paraguayan harps. When he's not
playing one,
he's making one, or else he's teaching harp making as well as the playing
thereof.
Indeed several of his harp students were among the audience.
Whistles and flutes in all sizes, as well as the long thing that sounded as
if it was full of
coffee beans, were all on hand to add to the variety of the music.
Andy and Polly have both spent a fair bit of time in Africa, and have a wonderful
repertoire of African kwela music and song.
And when a bit of percussion was needed, audience member David,
who thought he'd just come to listen to the music, was happy to join Andy
and Polly on stage (floor?).
Not sure how many other talented performers were lurking among the audience,
but Polly spotted a fellow choir leader in Cathy, and wasted no time in gathering
one more to the fold.
I wonder which member of the extended Rigby family will be next to play at
the Duckpond.