Odin Dragonfly

Angel's Cut, Dalington

16 May 2026

People ask why I want to see the same band on two consecutive nights. Well, if it's a good band, the nights will be different. Even with the same set of songs, the feel is different. Tonight, the chat between songs takes different directions, and while "chat" might seem like an unimportant part of a concert, it's actually what gives the band a personality, and shapes how you listen to and react to the songs themselves. And without the chat, I would never have heard the next installment of the broken nail saga (which has been worrying me for the whole day—short version is, no the nail isn't fixed, and yes you can hear it in occasional finger-picked notes). And I would never have solved the mystery behind the "unknown" instrumental that follows Which Wood?. Turns out it's not unknown to me. It was written for when Mostly Autumn supported Blackmore's Night, and as I saw multiple shows on that tour I must have heard this tune before! Furthermore, the name, Meridon's Caravan, was definitely familar to me even if the tune wasn't, so a quick grep of my concert reviews tells me Angela played it when she supported Fairport Convention nearly 20 years ago, and apparently I liked it then too!

See why it's worth doing two shows on a tour? Also, the chat was generally briefer tonight, so they fitted in two or three extra songs that they cut for time last night, and so there's that.

But even without any of the above, when something is this good, why would you do it only once? That would be like eating only half a box of chocolates. Clearly unthinkable.

Because it is so good. I'm not exaggerating when I say these are my favourite singers of modern times. The two best singers Mostly Autumn ever had, and for either one of them I would drop everything and go and see them if I could, but for both of them together... it's better than the sum of the parts. They just belong together. It's almost twenty years since I saw them sing together with Mostly Autumn for the last time (November 2007 at York's Opera House if I remember correctly; Angela sang The Last Climb, and said "be gentle with me" when Bryan announced Which Wood?). Mostly Autumn was and is so more than just the "two girls", of course, but the voices were always so important, even back when Angela was "just" the backing singer to Heather.

But the point is, it's just right to hear Angela singing backup to Heather as she did for all those years in Mostly Autumn. She can find the perfect harmony to whatever Heather's doing, going higher or lower as needed. Taking the high lines lets Heather use her lower voice more, which is just the most beautiful sound you will ever hear. But the big difference in Odin Dragonfly is that Angela also sings the lead on half the songs, with Heather now finding the perfect harmony for each one, higher or lower as needed. And when they sing together, in unison or in octaves or taking different overlapping lines, it is literally better than the sum of the parts. It's the best singing partnership since ... no, it's just the best. I'm not even going to pretend there's anyone comparable.

And they write the most beautiful, emotional songs. I can't even really pick out highlights from their set, everything is beautiful. Gulls, Beneath your Armour, Diamond Soul ... I'm singing the melodies all the way home.

It's just all perfect. I would go and listen to it all again tomorrow if I could, even if nothing changed.

Best conert I've ever seen.