I went to see the excellent folk rock combo Charnock and Russell at the rejuvenated Bluecoat last week.

Ross and Scott have built up a superb set of work over the last couple of years, and the additions of Jimi Fallows on banjo, Mark Byrne on drums and Paul Mills on bass have bulked out the sounded and added more than the sum of the parts. Joined by a couple of Scandinvian fellows on guitar and violin, the hairy scene was complete.

I’ve seen Charnock and Russell in several incarnations over the years and, while I like the previous models, I feel I can safely say their current outfit is by far their most successful, even if they look like a weary Glen Campbell and a 70’s lecturer. What’s certain, the two can certainly be said to be ‘freed of the fleeting preoccupations with fashion’.

Opening with my personal favourite, Window Pain, always gets me on side – and the interlude with the visiting band was inspired.

Anyway, they say a picture’s worth a thousand words. If that’s the case then a video must be worth a million, so here’s one of The Last Time:

• Don’t forget to vists the Charnock and Russell site, which has links to Facebook and Myspace pages, though apparently they are too old to understand Twitter.