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I was surprised when I found out that Seth Lakeman was coming to the 12Bar in Swindon. Reputable as the venue is, I would have thought that the meteoric rise of the poster boy of folk over the last couple of years would have meant that his career is now based in larger capacity gigs. I was also pleasantly surprised when a local act was given the opening slot for the show, a good opportunity for any artist to play to a large and unbiased audience. I wasn't surprised when the tickets sold out in a matter of days.

It is skill enough to be able to create music, more so if it is music that is good enough to engage with the audience, it is the rarest of skills to be able to create something truly beautiful, and that is a skill Matthew Kilford possesses. His fragile and spatially aware songs create a wonderful tapestry of emotion and regret, they feel wistful but manage to stop short of sadness. Tonight appearing without his band, his voice seemed to sound even more impressive in contrast to the greater space in the music. If any young songwriter has ever wondered what the term "less is more" actually means, this was a wonderful demonstration of it.

Folk music has never really been known for pushing the boundaries but Seth Lakeman has managed to find a unique sound by marrying already existing styles within his genre. By combining traditional instruments with a pounding four-four tribal Celtic groove, he has managed to find a sound that is both commercially successful and yet folk friendly with out moving too far out of the traditional comfort zone of the genre. I know success will bring the usual backlash from the "folk police" Kate Rusby and Eliza Carthy can both attest to the backlash of success, but it is in this way that things move forward, even something as preciously guarded as folk music. It's a measure of success, by modern standards, that there are so many young girls in the audience, not normally a particularly large part of the folk demographic. It is something that reminds me of when The Levellers broke commercially in the mid nineties and the crusty's and punks were gradually pushed into a minority by hordes of adoring adolescent females. The band never looked back.

This tour is being used as an opportunity to road test new material and all of it seems in keeping with what we are used to from Lakeman, but as expected, it was the established material that fired the crowd up, much of it from the recent album Poor Mans Heaven. It's a set that builds in intensity as favourites such as Rifleman of War, King and Country, Solomon Brown, Poor Mans Heaven and the hoedown madness of Scrumpies Set. One of the highlights has to be Seths solo performance of Kitty Jay, seeing him playing along to a stomp back beat and fiddling like his life depended on it.

There is an energy and vigour to the show that seems to have more in common with punk that folk, the set is rewarding visually as well as musically. I'm glad I had the opportunity to catch him at a more intimate venue as I'm sure with a future destined to lay in large venues and festivals, some of that charged atmosphere will obviously be sacrificed for demand and success. At least I will be one of the lucky few who will be able to say, "Well, I saw him back when."

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