It creaks and hums in the Karlstorbahnhof in Heidelberg. It sounds almost like an undefined noise from a radio, but no, the sounds are more concrete and yet far off. Woven Hand makes a hellish din, which does not have any purgatorial qualities. The rustling, the whispering, the distant sounds of crows make you aware of your own immobility, as if the concert-goer was buried alive on this cold February night. David Edwards and his accompanying band thrust us down into hell. The opening song “White Bird” diffuses a sparkle of hope of a pleasant evening. But what sounds like a love song at the beginning transmutes into a descent into hell due to the quickening pace. Drummer Ordy Garrison makes quite a racket, despite using brushes. His clatter of hoofs is seconded by Shane Trost's bass drum. For the bass player has handed Daniel McMahon his instrument for “White Bird”. For a few seconds David Edwards allows Garrison's and Trost's percussion a solo: the descent into hell gathers way.

After that it becomes almost chaotic. One song spurs on the next one and the horses fall deeper and deeper. David Edwards stages the songs that he has written for the Belgian dance-theatre project Ultima Vez. Without the ballet dancers he interlinks the songs by using diabolical noise in-between the numbers. In this early phase the leader of 16 Horsepower drives us concertgoers forwards in front of him. In this way Mr. Edwards develops the theme of the theatrical production. For the American the story of Orpheus and Eurydice is the story of the battle in hell for redemption. The medieval sounding "Arrowhead", with its ethereal keyboards and subdued guitar, fits in nicely. Even though it is not imperative, David Edwards is sitting down. He plays guitar, mandolin or a drum. To only sing is apparently too simple for him. For that he has brought along his special microphone-stand for two mikes. One mike distorts his vocals, the other one transmits his words unaltered. In contrast with 16 Horsepower's “Secret South” tour, Edwards always has one hand free to push the appropriate microphone in front of his mouth. That is how he's sitting, his eyes closed as if he's praying, playing guitar and murmuring his words hurriedly.

Unfortunately the theatrical flow of the songs is slowed down by the intermittent tuning of guitars. Eugene Edwards has five or six stringed instruments standing on stage behind him and he likes to alternate between them. For “Glass Eye” the leader of 16 Horsepower picks a sort of mandolin with a particular long neck. He extensively tunes his instrument: “It's too cold.” Starts thrumming, stops after a few bars and starts tuning again, pissed off. The whole is repeated - loosened up by a few tips from Daniel McMahon -, and then David E. agitatedly unplugs the instrument, places the mandolin back in the rack, grabs the acoustic guitar and starts “Glass Eye”. In desperation the singer whispers: “deeply shaken see I come that way - ill at ease in my own skin - I hum along to the down home drone - down in my soul to stay - ain't gonna listen to my own noise”. We still find ourselves in the midst of hell.

(For more pictures, go to Steffen's website).

But then unusual sounds resound. With “Story And Pictures” the hope we longed for springs up. That can be noticed say from the more unbend rhythm section. Drummer Ordy Garrison sits back almost relaxed. Longer notes also make bass player Shane Trost more light-hearted. The atmosphere stays the same during the following songs “Last Fist” and “Good Hand”: “I took my shelter neath a familyre tree - I'm livin where I come from - I am I am my father's son - see the good hand - see what the good hand done.” But Woven Hand doesn't send their Heidelberg concertgoers home with that. “Aeolian Harp”, the last song of the regular set, ruins the happy end. Still there's no redemption, we still haven't reached heaven yet. That isn't changed by the only encore “Your Russia”. That song starts quietly and forgiving, only to disintegrate quickly into a diabolical noise.

Woven Hand makes the incomprehensible and unreal twitter of the “Blush Music” soundtrack understandable with this tour. David Edwards' backing band made-up of Daniel McMahon, Ordy Garrison and Shane Trost supports him energetically. In addition multi-instrumentalist McMahon plays a superior melodic role. No matter what instrument - organ, bass, mandolin or semi-acoustic guitar - the exceptional musician paints with strong sonic colours the landscape constructed by drummer Ordy Garrison and Shane Trost. Often with brushes and tapping, Garrison furnishes the rhythm, attentive and accented. Shane Trost only has to expand the rhythm further in depth. Before them David Eugene Edwards agitates. He can count on his band completely. That is most obvious during the ill-tempered start of “Glass Eye”. The trio reacts in unison to the out of tune mandolin. They all stop at the same time twice. “Blush Music” is theatrical. That's why the musical staging fits the songs. Grand gestures also define the leave-taking of the band. David Edwards pantomises shaking four hands symbolically, mutters something in his beard and crosses himself before exiting. Until the next descent into hell.