Wednesday 4th December, Islington Assembly Hall, London. Yola. So, it’s my last gig of the the year and it’s a round forty for 2019. A good effort significantly down on previous years. There have been some great shows this year and the consistency of the quality of gigs has improved over recent years as everyone is upping their games for the valued gig dollar.  

Once again, we are here at my favourite mid-sized venue blessed with the best toilets, great sound, good sight lines and it’s never over sold. The downsides are it seems to emphasise the noise of those ignorant people who insist on talking at the bar during a set. But with the prices they charge for alcohol its cheaper to talk than drink there.

Its fair to say that 2019 has been a breakthrough year for Yola ending it with four Grammy nominations. Seemingly spending most of this year over in the US of A she is back over here for some homecoming end of year shows.

Signs are not good when there is water and Lucozade on a table and then the manager brings a cup of tea on stage. So, it proves as Yola is currently suffering with Bronchitis.  Her voice is soft and raspy at the start of the show especially at the low end and there is an obvious restraint certainly to begin with.
Yola has a really interesting back story full of anguish, depression and fire and if you want to know more listen to a great podcast from Chris Shifflett with her. She regales the story of her catching fire and its as probably at this point with ‘Walk through Fire’ the title track of her ‘debut’ album that the shackles start to be loosened on that powerful voice.

The set is largely the same set as when I saw her in May at the 100 Club with the majority if not all the album being played along with some selected covers including an excellent upbeat version of the Birds of Chicago track ‘Never Go Back’.

I have tried really hard to like the album, but I find it a little safe and over produced and certainly doesn’t reach the heights of Yola’s previous band Phantom Limb’s ‘The Pines’. What sets Yola apart though is that voice, it’s such a strong unique instrument and it needs to be in tip top shape to take the listener to the next level. There were moments of this tonight, but it was like a well-oiled engine tonight with one cylinder occasionally misfiring.

It may sound harsh but when Yola herself sets the bar so high being slightly off makes a huge difference. A pleasant enough show with some great moments but it will not live long in the memory.
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Till the next time keep on country soul rockin y’all.
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Monday 2nd December, Union Chapel, London. Sarah Darling Christmas Show. It’s a chilly night in North London but as this is a church there’s ample supply of tea, coffee and hot chocolate. So, here’s a question when is it too soon for a Christmas Show. Well according to Sarah its not the 2nd December. As always with the Union Chapel, you must get there early to get a decent seat and I don’t know why they can’t put rows and numbers on the pews like the Ryman and Opry do to avoid unnecessary holding of whole rows of seats as is often the case. Rant over.

Tonight’s show is a game of two halves with the first set concentrating largely on Sarah’s fine album ’Wonderland’ from this year with the second half taking in some Christmas classics along with more original material from Sarah. It’s also a UK country guest fest with Jamie Lawson, The Wandering Hearts and Ward Thomas appearing on stage throughout the night.

Onto the show and after a shaky start sound wise where the drums were all wrong and Sarah’s voice was too low in the mix the sound guy sorts this out and we are treated to five songs from the latest album. Sarah originally from Iowa and now, of course, Nashville resident doesn’t have what you would call a traditional country voice. There’s not much twang but at the low end it has hints of Steve Nicks added to some impressive top end vocals too. After the initial sound issues Sarah’s voice soars in this impressive room.

First guest is Jamie Lawson who does a couple of tracks. He has a self-deprecating charm and is apparently mates with Ed Sheeran, but he doesn’t live long in the memory for me and I’m not sure his version of ‘Hallelujah’ adds anything to the myriad of covers of that song out there. Ed’s note, obviously Jeff Buckley’s version is the best.

Next up we have in my opinion the UK’s finest country rock harmony band The Wandering Hearts and its been a very long year since their five star gig up the road at the Assembly Hall last November.  After performing their best song ‘Burning Bridges’ Sarah joins them on stage for ’The Christmas Song’ where they can really showcase some sweet four-part harmonies until the break.

After the break we continue with some Darling originals before welcoming Ward Thomas on to the stage for a Joni cover of ‘River’ and The Macs ‘Landslide’. Its on this last track that the band get their groove on and the three leading ladies hit their vocal stride and fill the church from pews to the top of the dome with their beautiful harmonies.

Onto the Christmas segment proper with ‘Santa Baby’, ‘Have yourself a merry little Christmas’ and ‘Winter Wonderland’. Everyone loves a Christmas song even though we only waved November goodbye a couple of days ago. This particularly segment of the show ends with an acapella version of Silent Night without any mics to a completely rapt audience. It’s a hair tingling moment.

Its been a beautiful relaxing couple of hours with some great songs, great guests that help you forget the worries of the world temporarily and you cannot stop yourself smiling and leaving with a warm glow inside.
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Till the next time keep on country rockin’ y’all

Saturday 23rd November, Royal Festival Hall, London, Calexico and Iron and Wine. Gig four out of four this week. After spending the afternoon sitting through my football team’s usual poor performance I am looking forward to some light relief in the comfy surroundings of the RFH for some laid back Americana sounds from this fine pair of bands.
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They are over here in support of their excellent album ‘Years to Burn’ released earlier this year and we are treated to most of this plus a couple from their first EP and then a few more from their respective back catalogues and selected covers from the likes of The Everly Brothers, Echo and the Bunnymen and a fine version of Lucinda Williams’ ‘I Lost it’.

Sam Beam, aka Iron & Wine possesses one of those delicate voices that just feels like a tin of paint has been tipped over you and you are wrapped in this glorious musical gloss. He’s ably complemented on harmonies by Joey Burns. The rest of the band are super talented musicians, the sound is spot on as you would expect in this venue and there is always a danger that it’s a bit too comfortable.

I am not a fan of seated gigs. Especially when the chairs are this comfortable it’s difficult to generate any sort of atmosphere. A rock show this aint and the occasional whoop is even commented on by the band. I wasn’t expecting it to be a rock show but at times it felt like I was in my living room listening to this great music on a decent pair of headphones, note perfect but just lacking at times with the emotional connection I get from many gigs. They were almost too good, Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed the show and there were some moments of greatness such as oldies ‘Naked as we Came’ and ‘Boy with a Coin’ and it was good to hear some of the shared songs live for the first time.

A fine show but sadly I wasn’t consistently engaged throughout but when they were good they were very good.

Till the next time keep on harmonically rockin y’all.

Friday 22nd November, Omeara, London, Darlingside. Gig three out of four this week is with the Boston based band Darlingside underneath the arches at London Bridge venue Omeara which is fast becoming a favourite small venue of mine. They are consistently booking great and musically diverse acts such as Midland, Simone Felice, Strand of Oaks, Lera Lynn, and Chris Shiflett to name a few who have all put on fine shows in this intimate faux bordello.

Onto the show. It’s a minimal set with four microphones closely set together in sort of the shared one microphone bluegrass style. From the opening bars of recent album title track ‘Extralife’ it was immediately obvious we were in for a treat. It’s a semi unplugged show with banjo, cello, acoustic guitar, violin, mandolin with a bit of electric bass and guitar thrown in. Whilst they are all super talented musicians it’s when they collectively open their mouths that really knocks you back. The audience too are open mouthed in awe of the sound they we are hearing. There is no real lead singer on most tracks as they are all singing every word in the most beautiful four part close harmony. Think Beach Boys, the Byrds but in the range of say Elliot Smith.

The lighting tonight complements the soundwith its subtle changes in colour and tone to match the music perfectly. The set pull tracks from across their catalogue with some ‘nearly new’ songs thrown in to boot. Their on stage presence and interaction is charming and amusing and the ten minute introduction of the band by Auyon Mukharji as he explains the history of Thanksgiving is funny. For example, I never knew Abraham Clinton was responsible for this holiday…. sorry Lincoln. Embracing the quirks of our country they also regale us with stories about the exotic English food they have sampled including toad in the hole and aubergine.

As is seemingly the norm these days the band decant from the stage and join us in the centre of the crowd for a sweet unplugged number that is so delicate in its simplicity and only proves, you don’t need auto tune, effects pedals or the like to produce the most sublime music.

It’s all over too quickly as we are kicked out for I guess some club night but I don’t walk back to the station but float and glide on a magic carpet of musical fulfilment.

Highlights tonight start at the opening track right through to the last bar, the last strum, the last word of the last song. Gig of the week yes, gig of the year quite possibly.
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Till the next time keep on harmonically rockin y’all

Wednesday 20th November, Dingwalls, London, Black Pumas. On the day that they have been nominated for a Grammy for best new band and well on their way to selling out the significantly bigger venue of Islington Assembly Hall in February we welcome Black Pumas to the intimate surroundings of Dingwalls.

​They are clearly a band with an upward trajectory and after tonight’s show you can see why.
Black Pumas are a Texas based band and the core duo of guitarist Adrian Quesada and singer Eric Burton are joined tonight by a full band of keys, drums, bass and two backing singers.

It’s the classic soul intro with the band starting the proceeding before Burton arrives on stage. An enigmatic performer his stage presence fills the room and after the first song where the sound man is finding the right levels, we are treated to a stunning funky soul masterclass. Central to that is the guy on keyboards who resplendent in big wool coat, shades and beanie hat looking like an extra from Shaft bounces around and drives the sound along. What is clear that these guys are a real band. They complement each other perfectly from the driving rhythm section through Quesada’s licks to the sass of the ladies on the mics.

But its Burton who you can’t keep your eyes off. Whether its sashaying with the other singers or in the crowd serenading the audience his voice is clear and strong in that classic soul style.

Essentially promoting their only album, every track and more gets an airing and the tempo of the show is spot on bringing us down and taking us back up at the drop of a hand. There is however one clear highlight for me which was an amazing version of ‘Colors’ from the eponymous album. Absolutely stunning musically, vocally, choreographically from its slow build to rousing crescendo and instant singalong chorus. Hair tingling stuff. The crowd lap it up and the smiles in the audience are matched by those on stage.

A joyous evening and I’m so glad we have been able to see them in such an intimate venue before stardom and the obvious additional attention they are bound to receive takes them to bigger rooms. That’s shouldn’t daunt them though as their sound will easily fill bigger spaces and I think that maybe the addition of some brass will enhance the sound even further.

Till the next time keep on soulful funky rockin y’all

Monday 18th November, The Lexington, London, Adia Victoria. It’s a chilly night in old London town for us three hardy souls for a bit of a last-minute decision to come out tonight. This is the first of four gigs this week for a couple of us and it’s great to start at London’s best small venue, The Lexington.

It’s difficult to categorise the Adia Victoria sound and that’s a good thing. At its heart its blues but slowed down with a country soul feel to showcase Adia’s smoky ‘Macy Grayesque’ vocals. A stripped back show tonight with just a keyboardist and an additional guitarist and tiny box knob twiddler, (apologies I have no idea what the musical term for this device is). They have been are over in Europe supporting Calexico/Iron and Wine but sadly not the London date on Saturday for visa reasons, so we made sure we took this opportunity to see her tonight.

The set is taken mainly from her last release, this year’s rather excellent ‘Silences’ with a few oldies thrown in along with a couple of new songs, ssshhh, don’t tell Atlantic Records, and they more than stand up with the back catalogue.

Adia is an assured confident performer on stage although she retains a fragility that sucks you in as you dive into that swampy bluesy pool and let those sounds envelop you and drag you down into that murky musical water.

A joyous evening is had with the three of them especially the interaction with the keyboard player and I can’t wait to see her again hopefully with a full band in tow to further add depth to the sound.
Highlights tonight include a great slowed down super melodic version of ‘Mexico Blues’ and a superb cover of Gillian Welch’s ‘Elvis Presley Blues’.
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Till the next time keep on swampy blues rockin y’all

Monday 4th November. Islington Assembly Hall, London. Dawes. It’s been three long years since Dawes have graced these shores spookily playing the same venue on the same date in 2016. The show sold out a few weeks back which is impressive given the length of time that has passed and indeed the 15 or so months since the last album came out. Whilst I will always prefer to see bands at small venues, it’s probably time for an upgrade for Dawes to say the 1500 capacity Electric Ballroom next time.
 
It’s very much a best of show tonight with an almost equal number of tracks from every album showcased tonight. You know it’s going to be a good one when they start with ‘If I wanted someone’. Over the course of the six albums Dawes now have a solid ten or so absolute classic songs and the question is can they back these up with a strong second suite. I’m never going to be a fan of ‘Stories Dont end’ or the latest album ‘Passwords’ but I thought the version of ‘Crack the Case’ from the latter was superb tonight. This provided a subtle delicate departure from the rest of the set that was full of bombast, shredded guitar, crazy drum n bass and stirring organ.
 
First and foremost Dawes are an exceptional group of musicians. When you couple this with the intelligent lyrics, (Tequila aside), of Taylor Goldsmith then it’s the perfect recipe. There were some real rock out moment tonight’s and while I have always admired Taylor’s picking he didn’t waste any opportunities to launch into a blistering guitar solo. As always Griffin provides more than the beats but perfect complimentary harmonies with Wylie’s fingers continuously moving over his bass’ fret board. What stood out for me tonight, which I hadn’t appreciated as much, was Lee Pardini’s dextrous keyboard skills. Stunning.
 
As always in this great venue, the sound was spot on from the first note. Its only drawback, despite it being a cold night outside, was the sauna like temperatures inside.
 
The crowd were on fine from vocally on the night on the usual favourites but of course especially on ‘When my time Comes’ and set closer ‘All Your Favourite bands’. A special mention for ‘Somewhere along the way’ which is one of my favourite tracks of theirs performed impeccably tonight.
 
After six or seven shows now for me, Dawes never fail to raise the bar and maintain those standards. I defy anyone not to have a good time listening to this band and everyone here leaves with a broad satisfied smug grin on their faces. Good to see the merch stand busy after the gig to further support the lives of touring musicians.
 
Keep on rockin y’all

ps apologies for the appalling photos, forgot my camera and phone is rubbish in poor lighting
pps video not from London

Wednesday 30th October, Bush Hall, Tyler Ramsey. Sadly, there’s a very sparse crowd tonight for long term Band of Horses alumni at Bush Hall. What we lack in numbers we more than make up for in rapt attention for Tyler over here in support of his new album, the rather excellent ‘For the Morning’.

​It’s a full band affair tonight who are over here for the first time and they are slowly introduced on stage after an opening instrumental number that has been named by Tyler’s five-year-old daughter something along the lines of the car drives under the sea.

Once the band is at full complement we are treated to ninety minutes of the finest Americana steering between acoustic and full electric with Tyler ably supported by pedal steel to further enhance the sound.
It’s in this hushed setting that you really appreciate the delicate voice that Tyler has and along with his superb guitar skills it only show cases what Band Of Horses are now missing but we are benefitting from as a solo artist.

The set ends with a nod to his previous band with a subtle low key version of ‘Evening Country’. The band are dismissed and Tyler returns to the stage for one last song and we are returned to the classic one man and an acoustic guitar, the purest form of music.

It’s a spellbinding performance from Tyler with the band showcasing their musical talents, with great songs, great backing vocals from the bass player and indeed fine musicianship all round. It’s a shame that there were not more to witness this show but hopefully word will spread out with new listeners and also the thousands of Band of Horses fans that need to make this transition.

Keep on rockin y’all

Tuesday 29th October, Bush Hall, London. Molly Tuttle. It’s a chilly October night in old London town but we made sure we got here early for support act Emily Mae Winters. To be honest I didn’t know a lot about Emily beforehand but have certainly left the thirty minute set as a fan. What a wonderful voice.
 
Next up is Molly Tuttle, originally from California but now Nashville via Boston. However, if you listen to some of her songs I would swear she hails from somewhere in deepest Shropshire leading the English folk scene there. Whats interesting with Molly is her seamless shift between styles such as folk, straight country and Bluegrass which I guess is largely down to her father, a Bluegrass music teacher.
 
What shouldn’t be underestimated is her guitar pickin. I compare her as a female version of Richard Thompson, again an underrated guitarist and like Thompson she has at times a classic folk voice with some great traditional tunes to back it up. This style I think is highlighted especially on the older tunes tonight and certainly on one of my favourites ‘Friend and a friend’. There is a more rounded sound on her latest release this years’ ‘When You’re Ready’ and her voice moves somewhere between Suzanne Vega and Sheryl Crow.
 
Molly is supported tonight by her band which adds depth to the songs with their close harmonies and especially the addition of Christian Sedelmyer on fiddle taking a key spot in moving the songs to the next level.
 
The set tonight cover all bases from her first EP, the new album, covers and even time for some traditional Swedish folk music which further highlights the on stage dynamics of the acoustic guitar and fiddle showdown. The finger work is so quick that the amount of notes played in that one track must have run into the many hundreds.
 
We are watching an artist certainly at the top of their game with a faultless performance of a folk, country, Bluegrass mash up. Tricky to pick highlights but let’s go with ‘When You’re Ready’ and ‘Rain and Snow’ with a special mention for the finale of The Band's ‘Cripple Creek’.
 
Great night, great voices, great band. 
 
Keep on folkin country rockin’ y’all.

​PS great jumpsuit

Wednesday 23rd October. The Garage, London. Striking Matches. It’s a significantly bigger venue for this great band who we have seen at Bush Hall in the past couple of years and its good to see a healthy crowd out midweek on a school night.

I did go back and look at my past two reviews of Striking Matches and every word written on those occasions stand tonight. There are two super talented guitar slinging singer songwriters. They are not straight country although they can do that and they’re not straight blues although they can do that too, they’re not rock but they can certainly do that too. They weave a wondrous world combining the three.
Opening with an epic 10-minute blues jam of Retrograde it sets the scene for the first half of the show that is a full-on rock n roll slide blues masterclass from Sarah Zimmerman while Justin Davis tags in and out of lead guitar seamlessly.

Catching our breath, we take it down a notch for an emotional acoustic segment especially for Justin who shares his thoughts and prayers for his grandfather who is ill at the moment. He then delivers a touching ‘Every Word’ to remind us all that every second counts in our short time on this planet. This is followed by a superb version of ‘While my guitar gently weeps’ and then one of the great love songs with ‘When the right one comes along’.

Onto the finale of ‘Cross Road Blues’, ‘Desire’ and ‘I Ain’t leaving without your love’ that further showcases their sublime guitar skills, close harmonies and song writing.

What always inspires me about Striking Matches is the pure joy they have with performing. I know every band say you’re the best audience, we love playing here, etc and it just comes across as part of the schtick. But these guys seem really genuine and you can feel the two-way love between band and audience every time they play. You cannot feel anything but uplifted after watching these guys in action. I for one can’t wait for them to return back to these shores.
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Keep on country blues rockin y’all