REVIEW – The Lost Trades @ The Piggy Bank, Calne – Tuesday 16th April 2024

by Andy Fawthrop

The Start of Something Big?

Off and on we’ve been writing about The Lost Trades for a couple of years now. Combining the individual musical talents of locally-based Phil Cooper, Tamsin Quin and Jamie R Hawkins, we’ve always been impressed with both their digital recordings and with their live performances. Last night, as part of their current UK tour, they came to perform what was basically the first live music gig at Calne’s premier craft beer bar The Piggy Bank.

Although the Piggy is fast approaching its third birthday, this was the first ever dedicated live music night. Previously there had been pop-up food nights, quiz nights and comedy nights, but finally it was time to combine the two finest complementary ingredients – fabulous acoustic music and great quality craft beer. And what a success it was. The local Calne crowd, who had always supported these events from the start, turned out in droves on a chilly Tuesday night. Sold out some weeks ago, the room was packed. This is after all a micropub, and not a concert hall, so space for both performers and audience was at a premium. But was that a problem? – not a bit of it. It was, let’s say “cosy”, and all the better for that.

Describing themselves as a “vocal harmony and multi-instrument trio with a cool Laurel Canyon vibe”, with a sound that is reminiscent of the California folk scene of the late 60s/early 70s, The Lost Trades’ three-part harmonies have been described as “flawless”, “spine tingling” and “magical”. And with very good reason.

Playing tracks from studio albums 2021’s “The Bird, The Book and The Barrel”, and 2022’s “Petrichor” and their very recent live album, the Trades delivered a sparkling night of musical entertainment. Their performance included the now-expected frequent swapping around of instruments, with each of them playing bass, guitar and percussion at different points in the show, and the usual relaxed, easy rapport both amongst themselves, and with a very willing audience. They’re clearly comfortable now with their material, and obviously relaxed in each other’s company. This closeness pays dividends. As ever, their harmonies were spot on, with lovely acapella sections suddenly emerging in the middle of many songs.

Taking it in turns to introduce and explain the songs, and the meaning behind the lyrics, the three friends took the audience with them. There was a wonderful intimacy established in the room as their three sets progressed, and the audience (usually quietly spell-bound during the songs) responded with loud and warm enthusiasm. I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure they made a lot of new friends last night!

An encore was an absolute formality. A nice feature of such a packed room was that there wasn’t really the space for the band to do that formalised “let’s walk off the stage and then come back on again” routine. There could be no pretence in such an environment. The three of them were pinned to the stage, duly delivered their lost song, then took a well-deserved bow before a cheering crowd.

Difficult to top that – a simple ten out of ten from me for a great night’s entertainment.

So – is this the start of something big for both The Lost Trades, and for The Piggy Bank as a new Tuesday night music venue? Time will tell, but both have now got the wind in their sails, so watch this space!

For more info you can always head over to thelosttrades.com and piggybankpub.co.uk

Future gigs at The Piggy Bank are listed below. Most are already filling up, with only a few tickets left, so if you want to grab some top-class keenly-priced entertainment in Calne on a Tuesday night, you know what you need to do!

Future music (and other) events at The Piggy Bank:

Tuesday 14th May The Black Feathers

Tuesday 21st May Crazy Bird Comedy Night

Tuesday 18th June Jon Pearson “What Have You Been Up To?” (Comedy)

Tuesday 25th June Jess Vincent & Katie Whitehouse

Tuesday 16th July Crazy Bird Comedy Night

Tuesday 23rd July Rob Lear Band

More information on these gigs (and tickets) are available via the pub’s Facebook page or on https://www.piggybankpub.co.uk/music