I think something rather special happened last night – a few kids from Southend played a gig that might be the start of a whole career and blew this grizzled old humbug away in the process.
Their new album, ‘Gabriel Forgive My 22 Sins’ was worthy of a 4 star review here and I was really looking forward to the chance to see them live as the headline act and in the rather splendid little church above St Pancras mount they showed just what they were capable of.
With Dave Giles looming up over his keys and Matt Boulter resplendent and looking like a bearded Wyatt Earp in the centre stage and with ‘Wild’ Jim Wilson cradling his fiddle in the crook of his arm they make a very individual visual statement and they kicked off with a couple of brand spanking new numbers. Will Bray on drums and Paul; Ambrose – ‘the new kid’ – on bass were almost lost behind the others on the stage but made their presence felt, driving the music along and allowing the front men full space for their efforts. The audience was beginning to warm up but it was the first of the numbers from the new album that really seemed to catch the mood and as they kicked into ‘Bel and the Dragon’ the mood darkened and the audience really seemed to grab ahold of the band. The next few numbers really lifted the place and the band seemed to grow in intensity and wild enjoyment of the music and the feedback they were getting from the crowd. Bearing in mind that this was on the edge of Camden Town the simple fact that they managed to shut the crowd up and get them all focused on the stage wasd plenty of evidence that there is something special here but by the end they had most of the mod dancing and reeling as they tore into ‘The Boxer, The Bribe and The Father’ and a brilliant ‘The Waves’. The encores got maximum boogie out of the crowd and the sheer sense of exhilaration was palpable.
Of course it wasn’t perfect – they were too loud at a few points and the mix lost Jim’s banjo a couple of times but the brio and the abandon of five guys playing their socks off and having a good time made up for it.
As I say, I think something special happened last night and I look forward to watching these guys development in the years to come.
Set list:
Blood on the Estuary
To be King
Bel and the Dragon
Gabriel
Snake in the Grass
Tender is the Night
Ballet Shoes
Piano Song
The Road
The Fight
The Boxer, The Bribe and the Father
Easily Easily Until it's Done
We are Waves
Encore:
The Devil Knows Yourself
Morning Light
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