Jana Varga @The Sound Lounge

Monochrome; it just keeps on hanging in there, After about 1960, the mass market had adopted colour film as the norm and black and white photography was seen as old-fashioned by anyone other than photography enthusiasts. It’s a common thing; the public embraces the new and instantly rejects the old leaving it to claw its way back. Just look at the resurgence of vinyl among music enthusiasts. Even my first attempts at gig photography included quite a few rolls of black and white film. Black and white TV is virtually gone now, with fewer than 5,000 black and white TV licences across the UK, but monochrome lives on in arthouse films and photography, particularly gig photography. Why? The glib answer is that sometimes it just looks better. Maybe the comments on some of these photos will help answer the question.

Cloudy Galvez @ Pizza Express, Holborn

Cloudy Galvez @Pizza Express Holborn

Cloudy’s someone that normally works well in colour, particularly with a bit of interesting lighting but this shot at Pizza Express was lit purely in purple, so it was a monochrome shot before processing it as black and white. One of the things that makes black and white shots work is high contrast, which this shot definitely has. I break two of my photography rules in this shot; there’s a microphone in front of Cloudy’s face and there’s a silhouette from the audience cutting in to the bottom left corner, but Cloudy’s gesture and the eyes looking straight down the lens (which they actually weren’t, Cloudy told me she had no idea I was taking that shot) make the image work.

Jenny Colquitt @Green Note

Jenny Colquitt @Green Note

This is a shot from a few weeks ago. Green Note’s a fabulous venue and, if you know how to work the angles, you can get some really nice shots. If an artist’s wearing something really colourful, you can get some great colour shots. Jenny was wearing neutral colours, so monochrome was always going to be the way to go. This shot was taken from just behind the mixing desk, giving a viewpoint that you can’t always get at this venue and the shadows created by Jenny’s hat add to the contrast of the shot.

James Sayer @St Martin-in-the-Fields

James Sayer @Crypt Lates

The Crypt is another one of those venues that has fairly monochrome lighting; unless there are strikingly-coloured stage clothes, black and white is going to be the best choice. This shot came towards the end of the gig and it was one of those unique moments. James was joined on stage (and at the same piano) by his brother and his father. It took a few attempts to get the perfect angle for the shot, but the end result really works.

Jana Varga album launch @Sound Lounge

Jana Varga @ The Sound Lounge

This is a lucky combination of knowing the perfect shooting angles at a venue and having something interesting happen while you’re using one of those angles. There’s a position where you can shoot the artist against a completely black background; if you happen to be there when something interesting happens, then you automatically get a good shot. On this occasion, Jana (who is incredibly photogenic) created a perfect shape and it was just a question of pressing the shutter release.

Martin Harley (Harley Kimbro Lewis) @Landmark Arts Centre

Martin Harley @Landmark Arts Centre, Teddington

This was my first visit to this venue in a deconsecrated church, where they get everything right. They look after the audience well, the sound is excellent and they pay attention to lighting the stage effectively for the audience and any passing photographers. This shot is one of the rare few that look good in colour and black and white, but the monochrome just edges the contest. It’s always a joy to shoot Martin (and his partners on this night Daniel Kimbro and Sam Lewis) and this shot captures something of the real Martin Harley.

Ok, I’m taking control of the editorial introduction for this one to give the gaffer a rest and because it’s more personal than most of my pieces. You probably know I like to keep things moving, visit new venues, see new artists and just generally keep things moving along – I have a low boredom threshold. So here’s a few firsts for this year; the title probably has a lot to do with the fact that I’m reading Jarvis Cocker’s latest book ‘Good Pop, Bad Pop’ at the moment and there’s a fairly obvious link there. Neil Sheasby picked the book as one of his High Five selections and I definitely agree with him. If you’re looking for a present for the music geek in your life, then you won’t go far wrong with this one. Time for the firsts.

Three Gigs in One Evening

Tamara Stewart @Camden Chapel

Why would I want to do that? Well, why wouldn’t I? “Why did you climb the mountain” – “Because it was there.” By a complete coincidence, they were all Talentbanq gigs and not too far apart geographically. The mini-marathon started with Zoe Wren doing the last session in The Courtyard of St Martin-in-the-Fields. She was stunning as always and even introduced some loopstation things to complement her guitar/vocal material. After Zoe, it was a quick walk up to Leicester Square tune station, three stops down to Hyde Park Corner and a five-minute walk up to The Back Door Bar to catch a set and a half from Brooke Law. Brooke’s another one that I’ve photographed a few times. I’m not sure that I know where she’ll finally position herself musically because she’s had a country hit but I like her as a rock singer in the Pat Benatar mould when she’s with the full band; time will tell.

A quick walk up to Green Park, on to the Victoria Line up to Highbury & Islington, then two stops on the Overground to Camden Road. Ten minutes later I’m in The Camden Chapel shooting  a support set from Roisin O’Hagan before the headline set from Tamara Stewart. If I’d been a bit more ambitious, I could have probably picked up a fourth gig in Camden at The Camden Club or Spiritual Bar. Maybe next time, but while we’re talking about Spiritual.

First gig at Spiritual

Amy Taylor @Spiritual

Sometimes I wonder how I manage to avoid venues. I didn’t shoot in Hope and Anchor until 2021 and I managed to miss out on Spiritual until 2022. I don’t know how I managed that because so many artists I know have been regulars there and the buzz about the place has been going on for years. What makes the place special is that the owner, Rafael, is passionate about music and he looks after the musicians that play there. He’s one of the good guys; he holds the whole thing together and the musicians love him.

The reason I finally shoot a gig there is that Amy Taylor is playing and I can’t resist that. I love Amy’s songs and her live delivery and she’s another one of those artists that photograph really well in a live setting. So, a great night all round – I got to meet the Spiritual team for the first time and got some nice shots of Amy in an intimate setting.

Pete Gow ‘Leo’ album launch

Pete Gow @The Playground

I’ve seen Pete Gow play live a few times, usually alongside his former Case Hardin bandmate Jim Maving; I’ve never seen him play with a full band including a horn section. I love Pete’s songs so when he announced a couple of full band gigs to launch his album ‘Leo’ this year, I got my name at the top of the list. The album’s a collection of songs about human frailties and even criminal behaviour that’s not even borderline and it features one of my favourite songs of this year ‘Side III of London Calling’. You have to listen to that.

On the night, Pete was supported by some old friends of mine, Belle Roscoe (Matty and Julia Gurry) and then appeared on stage resplendent in a white suit and looking incredibly like George Harrison at the ‘Concert for Bangla Desh’. Do I need to say that everyone involved nailed it and it was a great night? Thought not. And The Playground was a new venue for me as well.

Harley Kimbro Lewis at Landmark Arts Centre Teddington

Martin Harley @Landmark Arts Centre

I’ve seen Martin Harley, Daniel Kimbro and Sam Lewis solo and in various combinations over the years, but never in this one. There are a couple of other firsts; I’ve never been to the Landmark Arts Centre before and I’ve actually never been to Teddington, so that’s a triple first. Better than my 2(ii) degree. I knew that Harley Kimbro Lewis would be superb but I was surprised by the quality of the Landmark experience. There are no compromises; this is all about a beautiful sound in a venue with great acoustics and a stage that’s lit perfectly for ambience and photography. Congratulations to all the volunteers who create a perfect live music environment in this deconsecrated church.

Isabella Coulstock T-shirt

Isabella Coulstock & T-Shirt

I’ve shot a book cover, my photos have been used in print media and on publicity material, but I had a bit of a bonus a few weeks ago when Isabella Coulstock, who I’ve shot many times, gave me my first T-shirt print. It’s one thing to see your work on social media and on posters in the toilets at Green Note, but it’s very different to see people wearing it at gigs. Apparently sales are pretty good, so it’s looking like a bit of a success. The shot was taken at the slightly unlikely venue, The Ned, and my original version was a colour shot, but the monochrome image works really well with Isabella’s signature underneath. Thanks to Graham Jackson for making the image work.

It’s difficult to see where this one could go wrong really; three internationally renowned writers and performers combining to make music for no other reasons than that they want to, and they can. There’s a slim chance that you haven’t heard of these three people (if you regularly check out this site, there’s no excuse), so here’s a quick triple cv. Martin Harley writes songs, has a rough-hewn voice that works perfectly with his material and plays a variety of instruments, usually with six strings, including the Weissenborn, which is a bit of a speciality (classic bit of understatement there). Sam Lewis is a singer-songwriter with a fabulous soulful voice and an ability to create songs from harrowing personal experiences as well as much lighter raw material. Which brings us to Daniel Kimbro playing a wide range of stringed instruments of widely-varying sizes and number of strings (plus synthesiser and mbira); he also has a great voice and a nice line in slightly left-field songs. If you like a bit of trivia, all three have recorded live albums at Southern Ground Studios, Sam solo and Daniel and Martin together.

The idea behind “Harley Kimbro Lewis” is pretty simple. Martin, Daniel and Sam decided to combine their many and varied talents with no plan other than to create an album that they all liked; no rules except mutual respect in the creation of twelve songs (actually, eleven, because Sam’s song “Neighbors” has already had a commercial release). And it worked like a dream; the songwriting is a combination of solo efforts, duo writes and the three-way collaborations of the love song “Tokyo” and the humorous “Good Guy”, which tells the story of the dodgy character that we all know (don’t we?) who can supply anything we need. It perfectly demonstrates Daniel Kimbro’s talent for delivering the slightly offbeat stories with panache.

The songwriting collaborations bring out some surprising results but, if you’ve heard the previous work of any of these guys, you’ll be able to pick out their solo songs; “Whiskey Decisions” is a classic wistful, triple-time Martin Harley song looking back at past mistakes without too much regret; Sam Lewis’s “Who’s Hungry” contrasts a sinister, unexplained nocturnal event with the mundane daytime routine, with a musical hint of “Ode to Billie Joe”, while Daniel Kimbro’s “Man Get Ahold of Yourself” is quirky and funny and a nod in the direction of the traditional song “Skip to my Lou”. The song’s about the things you really shouldn’t do and probably have at some time. It might even be slightly biographical; it’s certainly a fun way to close the album.

“Harley Kimbro Lewis” is a triumph of songwriting, arranging and playing. It impresses quietly; there’s no need to hit the loud pedal when the songs and performances are as good as these. Any fan of traditional musical skills will love the quality on display here. I can’t recommend this album enough. Buy a physical copy, and buy it from the band’s website; this kind of quality needs to be rewarded.

The album will be released on 22/2/22 on HKL (HKL001).

There’s also a lot of humour, which brings me neatly to something else you need to know. I’ve seen all of these guys live in various configurations; for me, that’s the best way to hear their material. They’re all fabulous live performers  and their gigs fizz with musical wizardry and, of course, humour. Fortunately Martin, Daniel and Sam are about to start a UK tour starting on March 6th. Full details are again on the website. Finally, here’s a little treat for you. It’s the latest video from the project, “Cowboys in Hawaii”:

Well, we’re hoping to bring you some great photos from some of the best live music photographers on the circuit as part of this High Fives season, but until then you’ll have to make do with another selection from our resident snapper, Allan McKay. This time he’s picked out a selection of colour shots of male performers from a widely varying range of venues.

 

 

John Crimes (Jaxhill)

This was taken at Leek Blues and Americana festival in October of this year. This is a great community event staffed by volunteers and features a stack of free events in the town’s pubs (there are a few of those) plus a small number of ticketed events, over a period of 6 days. The smaller events are interesting because they don’t usually have any stage lighting, so it’s about playing the hand you’re dealt. Turning away from singer Mike Gledhill, I noticed that John was beaming out this 100—megawatt smile. Press the shutter button and there you go.

Maceo Parker

This shot was from Maceo’s show at The Roundhouse as part of the Innervisions Festival in 2019. Why do I like this festival? Easy, you can go home at the end of each gig, have a shower and sleep in your own bed. This shot was a combination of planning and luck. I saw Maceo place the wooden ‘Love’ sculpture on the stage and thought that there must be a way of working it in to a shot. After trying the sculpture on its own and as an out-of-focus foreground, Maceo walked to the back of the stage and there was the shot. I like to take away a lesson from every gig. The lesson here was that LED stage lighting and a shaven head isn’t a great combination.

Martin Harley

Leek Blues and Americana again, and this was the first ticketed event of the festival at the wonderful and intimate Fowlowe Theatre. I’ve photographed Martin before, but usually in much smaller venues, acoustic, and with upright bass player Daniel Kimbro. This time he was leading an electric trio and, apart from the Weissenborn songs, playing standing. The combination of those things with the heavily-modified Stratocasters created opportunities for some images that were very different from past gigs. And there’s a bit of the lead guitarist thing going on there as well. Combine that with decent stage lighting and you’ve got a shot.

Lewis Bewley-Taylor (Hardwicke Circus)

Hardwicke Circus is cracking young band from Carlisle with great songs, bags of energy and presence, and a hint of early seventies-era Stones. They’re managed by the legendary Dave Robinson and they’re always worth seeing live. This shot was from the newly-refurbished Bedford in Balham. It’s always had a reputation as a great music venue and it has one huge bonus for photographers; it has a balcony over the back part of the stage allowing you to shoot from above, which works well for drummers and keyboard players. The shot was made by the seventies prog-rock setup and the carpet and the use of an unusual viewpoint. You really want a bit of trivia don’t you? The band’s name is taken from a traffic island in Carlisle.

Jim Maving (Dean Owens and The Southerners)

Taken at The Exchange Theatre in Twickenham. Jim is a stunningly good guitar player who has spent some time recently working live with Dean Owens and Tom Collison. Jim isn’t keen on being photographed, but was good enough to tell me that he liked the shots I’d done at this gig. The thing that I really like about this shot is that it captures some of the intensity of Jim’s playing and the purple stage lighting (not normally my favourite) works really well with Jim’s silver hair.

 

When we review gigs, we talk a lot about the artists (quite rightly), but we don’t often mention the things that go on behind the scenes to make the magic happen. The people who take the financial risk promoting gigs, the sound engineers and, in some cases, volunteers who give up their time to create special nights for us. All of these things combine to make the magic happen; to make a great venue. And that’s what Allan’s looking at next, five great venues that have featured on the Riot Squad itinerary this year (and some in previous years).

The Union Chapel, Islington

For many artists, this is the Holy Grail of live performance. In an earlier High Five I wrote about Martin Harley’s desire to make this dream come true, which he did in a triumphant manner on March 10th 2018. But back to the venue. It’s a working chapel, which explains the superb acoustics (and the fact that you can’t take alcoholic drinks into the main chapel). It’s largely staffed by volunteers, which gives it an atmosphere that’s professional but warm and welcoming and carries its own little traditions. For example, unlike in Spanish hotels, it’s acceptable to reserve your seat (with a jacket rather than a towel) while you go to the bar, which works really well – if you know about it. A friend of mine saw a nasty little turf war break out when a party of latecomers shunted a bunch of coats along and took the reserved seats. You don’t want to upset the normally mild-mannered Union Chapel crowd.

The sightlines in the venue are good, the live programming is interesting and eclectic and the natural sound is always superb, which is why the unplugged encore is virtually de rigeur. And, with the photographer’s head on, I have to mention the gorgeous stained-glass window at the side of the stage. One piece of advice, which I gave to the friend who witnessed the seating incident; always take a cushion. Those pews are hard.

Green Note, Camden

Another award-winning London venue, although on a smaller scale than The Union Chapel, Green Note is nestled between the The Dublin Castle and The Edinburgh Castle in Camden and it’s a cosy intimate venue (the main room has a capacity of about 80, the basement about 20). Green Note is all about musical quality and, like The Union Chapel, it’s hugely eclectic. The sound engineers are always roundly praised by the performers and the atmosphere is always intimate. It’s like having a gig in your front room. There’s also a menu of tasty vegetarian snacks and a great selection of beers.

I’ve seen many gigs at Green Note and never one that I didn’t enjoy. It’s a completely welcoming environment that lends itself to an intimacy between audience and performer and, for reasons of closeness rather than acoustics, lends itself (again) to the unplugged encore. They’re always entertaining. Any downsides? The lighting isn’t ideal for photography but, if you’re any good you can work around that. I always have a warm glow walking back down Camden Parkway to Camden Town tube.

The Picturedrome, Holmfirth

It’s set in the Yorkshire Dales; it’s the village where “Last of the Summer Wine” was filmed and it’s picture postcard England. If your journey to the venue is longer than about an hour, you should stay in one of the many affordable hotels, guest houses and B ‘n’ Bs and soak up the atmosphere of the place before a gig. There are loads of good places to eat as well.

The venue has been open for live music for just over 20 years now (21st birthday celebrations coming up in 2019?). With a capacity of 690, it’s relatively easy to fill, with the right artists. The programming isn’t as eclectic as some of the London venues and it’s built mainly around heritage artists, but there’s absolutely no doubting the quality of what’s on offer. Well, it would have to be good to make me take a 400-mile round trip, wouldn’t it?

As an old cinema, it has a raked floor, which means that there’s less chance of being stuck behind the huge bloke and missing everything on stage (and there’s a balcony as well). The sound is always good and it has another huge pluspoint in the eyes of the Riot Squad’s Northern Man, Steve Jenner. It serves proper, hand-pulled, cask-conditioned beer; you got Mr J right there. And it’s a friendly and musically knowledgeable crowd. Just be careful in the winter, although there are worse places to be snowbound.

The Slaughtered Lamb

It’s situated in Clerkenwell, close to Farringdon and St Paul’s tube stations and it’s a bunch of contradictions. The live music venue is in the basement and is about the same size as the main room at Green Note. Like the Camden venue, the boundaries between audience and artists tends be fairly flexible. While the artists have green rooms available (generally), they tend to mingle with the audience throughout the evening, which creates a certain intimacy.

The sound is always crystal clear and, generally speaking, it’s what artists call a listening room. If you have a good song to get across, this room will allow you to do it; there’s just one thing to be aware of; the bar upstairs, which is mainly aimed at local workers having a beer or two on the way home. Nothing wrong with that, but those gatherings tend to be loud and the music is ramped up to compete with the background (?) noise. The result is that, in the basement bar (quiet and intimate), it sounds like the Dave Clark Five (ask your nan) are rehearsing upstairs. And (again like Green Note), the lighting’s a bit challenging for photographers. Me? I like a challenge.

The Bedford, Balham

This one’s a bit of a London institution really. It’s been renowned as a music venue for years and recently closed down for a refurb. I’m ashamed to admit that I’d never visited The Balham before this, but I went along to the opening night after the refurb to catch the buzz. It helped that one of my favourite bands, Houndstooth, was headlining. After the standard opening night glitches (the fire alarm being repeatedly triggered by the hazers), the night kicked off pretty much on time.

The performance space is what would have the pub’s back room in the past, but it’s a long way from being a dingy little corner of the venue. There’s an area in front of the stage which was completely open on the night, but can be configured cabaret style for more intimate gigs. And there’s a balcony; as a photographer, it opens up all sorts of new views, but it’s also a great place to see the entire stage without being miles away. So there’s absolutely no complaints about the physical space, what about the sound? Good news, it’s superb. The opening night was such a good experience, I’m going back again this week to have another look.

Finally a few honorary mentions: the intimate Nell’s Jazz & Blues in Chelsea (or West Kensington if you prefer), The Fowlowe Centre in Leek, Staffordshire which is attracting some fairly major touring artists now and the new, and ever-changing 26 Leake Street (near Waterloo Station) which is state of the art and has huge potential. They’re all great spaces to see live performances.

2018 has been a cracking year for gigs. I’ve been all over London and I’ve even managed to get to Staffordshire, Oxfordshire, Yorkshire and Brighton. I might have to do a count at the end of the year to work out how many different gigs and bands I’ve seen. I haven’t seen a bad gig, I’ve seen a lot of good ones and I’ve seen a few absolute belters. I’m guessing that those are the ones you want to hear about, yeah? As always, in no particular order.

 

Martin Harley & Daniel Kimbro @The Union Chapel

A year before this event, Martin told me after his gig at The Forge in Camden that he was booking The Union Chapel. He had no idea if he could fill the venue, or if he would break even on the event. At that time, I suspect I was more confident than Martin was. Anyway, fast forward a year to March 10th 2018 and a packed Union Chapel (almost sold out on pre-sales) saw finger-style guitarist Mike Dawes open for the dynamic duo. The intimacy of Martin and Daniel’s small venue performances scaled up perfectly for this particular venue. The combination of superb playing, perfect harmonies and the laconic interplay between songs was absolutely entrancing. Martin’s Weissenborn playing and Daniel’s virtuoso bass (I actually wanted to hear the bass solo) combined perfectly to create an almost Spectoresque wall of sound at times. And then the obligatory unplugged Union Chapel encore. Want a great Christmas gift? How about the live DVD?

Photo courtesy of John Hayhurst.

John Fogerty and Steve Miller @The O2

I really loathe the O2. It’s impersonal and it’s ridiculously expensive; it’s everything that winds me up about the enornodromes. And, as the start of the evening proved, if the mix isn’t spot-on it can sound awful in the auditorium, which it did for most of Steve Miller’s set. Which was a shame because the last half-dozen songs, when the mix was finally right, sounded superb.

But the reason for my tolerance of this corporate barn was John Fogerty. I’ve been a fan of his work since I was a teenager, progressing from Creedence Clearwater Revival to the solo material. He has a phenomenal back catalogue of classic songs, most of which were dusted off for this gig. When you can open your set with “Travelin’ Band”, you can’t go too far wrong. The band was absolutely stunning; all superb musicians, with keyboard maestro Bob Malone dashing around the stage between blasts of piano and Hammond. The greatest hits all got their airing (including the one we know better from Live Aid and Quo, “Rocking All Over the World”, which he only plays in Europe) but, in a little tribute to New Orleans, we got covers of “Don’t Mess With my Toot Toot” and the Gary Bonds song “New Orleans”. Just phenomenal. Read what Steve J thought about it here.

Albert Lee & Peter Asher @Cornbury Festival

For various reasons, Cornbury was the only festival I did this year. It was a bit of a mixed bag on the main stage, but the bill on the second stage across the weekend was eclectic and classic. The one performance I didn’t want to miss was Albert Lee & Peter Asher in the Caffe Nero tent on Saturday evening. I wasn’t disappointed; the songs were delivered in an Everly Brothers style (well, Albert did play in their band) and were interspersed with anecdotes about songwriting greats in the 60s and 70s on both sides of the Atlantic. It was all very laid back but the quality of the playing and the harmonies was absolutely superb. I’m a big fan of the duo format and this was the ‘two voices, two instruments’ at its absolute best. The tent was packed throughout the set and the entire audience left with a warm glow.

Belle Roscoe & Lisa Canny @26 Leake Street

This was the first night of live music at a new venue and it introduced me to not one but two new artists.

Belle Roscoe are brother and sister Matty and Julia Gurry. They play gigs in the duo format, but also have a band for bigger gigs (like this one). The songs are strong, the harmonies are great and the arrangements, with Matty’s guitar and Julia’s floor tom and keyboard playing augmented by bass, drums and guitar are powerfully percussive. It’s a big sound and it completely won over a crowd who were mainly there for the occasion, and not necessarily the music. And that was just the start of the night; there was still Lisa Canny to come.

Lisa also adapts her live arrangements according to the size of the venue. She’s perfectly happy with just the harp and banjo, but this was also a full band set. Lisa’s originally from Cork and a traditional Irish music background; that background is part of what she’s about now, but there’s a lot more. She blends Celtic influences with pop and rap to create a totally infectious mix that’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. I’m not exaggerating when I say that at times most of the audience was absolutely stunned by what they were seeing and hearing. And then the finale; Lisa playing a projected laser harp (honest, and I was stone-cold sober). A bit of a night.

Skatalites & The Majestic & Nell’s Jazz & Blues

Another night out with Steve J and Mrs J in a slightly smaller venue. Nell’s is renowned for its intimate atmosphere, with a cabaret layout and a very chilled vibe. I hadn’t heard The Majestic before and I loved the band; proper roots reggae. They’ve been around for years doing their thing around West London and they’re such a powerful reggae unit. It’s not about individuals, it’s about everyone playing their part to create a slinky, sinuous groove. I hear a band like this and I can’t understand why there are people who say they don’t get reggae.

 

I didn’t know what to expect from Skatalites, apart from the obvious “Guns of Navarone”. The membership may not be the originals, but most of these guys have been in the band for decades. They’re tight and punchy with the classic tenor sax, trumpet and trombone horn section. It’s a pleasure to hear guys who are this good just doing their thing; but that’s not all. Part way through the set they were joined by the phenomenal ‘Queen of Ska’, Doreen Schaffer. She’s looking a little fragile now, but the voice is still there and the audience loved it. I think I had something in my eye at one point.

It was a taste of carnival at the end of October.

Not so much a gig review as a triumphant celebration, I think. On March 16 2017 I was talking to Martin Harley after a gig he’d played with Daniel Kimbro at The Forge in Camden. He told me that he’d booked The Union Chapel for a gig in March 2018 and he was hoping he could make it work because he’d always wanted to play there. That’s the kind of romantic idealism that will always blindside me; I was sold on the idea instantly. Flash forward fifty-one weeks and I was listening to Martin, standing in front of the stage at The Union Chapel two hours before showtime telling me that the night was almost sold out on pre-sales. It was a bit of a “Field of Dreams” moment; flying in the face of the best professional advice, he filled The Union Chapel and decided to film the event as well.

I suppose you want to know what actually happened on the night. Well, it was opened by Mike Dawes, an incredible finger-style guitar player who combined virtuoso-level technique and passionate playing with outrageous stagecraft and a wicked sense of humour. You should really make the effort to see him play; you’ll fall in love instantly. Just for trivia fans, his first ever gig was supporting Martin Harley eleven years ago.

As for Martin and Daniel, this gig was the perfect demonstration of what they do. They’re gifted songwriters, they have superb voices (Daniel’s sweet tones complementing Martin’s more bluesy and soulful rasp) and they each play a couple of instruments incredibly well, Martin playing acoustic guitar and Weissenborn while Daniel plays upright bass and acoustic guitar. The atmosphere on stage was so relaxed that a thousand-capacity venue had the intimacy of a house gig where the performers were sipping and chilling and just enjoying the vibe. The highlights are completely subjective, but Martin’s Weissenborn tour-de-force on “Nobody’s Fault but Mine” and Daniel’s environmental ballad “Loyston” are difficult to beat, apart from two very special moments.

The first was the opening song of the encore, an unplugged, stage-front-and-centre version of Martin’s gorgeous ballad “Winter Coat”. It was breath-taking. The second was the well-deserved standing ovation at the end of the encore; it was a celebration of a wonderful performance and an artist who had the faith to follow his dream. Martin Harley and Daniel Kimbro, I tip my hat to both of you. Book it and they will come.

Let’s start 2018 in the traditional way by dusting off the Riot Squad crystal ball and having a peek into the next few months to see what we have to look forward to. As always, in no particular order.

After an absence of a couple of years to deal with serious health issues, Phil Burdett’s back in business again and firing out creative sparks in all directions. The action starts on Saturday January 27th at The Dickens in Southend with the launch gig for Phil’s latest album, “Psychopastoral”. He’ll be backed by the sublime Phil Burdett Group and the support band will be Winter. But that’s just the start; Phil has big plans for the rest of the year, including recording a double album of the songs written while he was in hospital, working on an art/film project and completing a book of poetry and a novel. We’ve got an interview with him coming up in the near future, so just watch this space. (Breaking news on this, Phil’s currently looking for a new venue for the gig on the 27th after The Dickens closed down over Christmas).

 

While we’re on the subject of grand ambitions, let me tell you about Martin Harley. He’s doing a three week tour of the UK with upright bass player extraordinaire Daniel Kimbro. They work together perfectly as a duo, both live and in the studio. The songwriting’s first class, the playing’s perfect and the harmonies are superb; even the chat between songs is interesting and often hilarious. Anyway, one of Martin’s ambitions is to play the Union Chapel in Islington, so he’s booked it for the last night of the tour on Saturday March 10th and he’s promoting the gig himself. It’s the perfect venue for Martin’s music and the Riot Squad will be out in force to support such a brave venture.

 

Another musical partnership we’ve been following for some time is Dean Owens and Will Kimbrough. Will’s guitar playing is in high demand; I lost count of the albums I reviewed in 2017 that featured Will’s playing, but he’s built a special relationship with Dean that’s led to a full-scale collaboration on their latest album “Southern Wind”. We’ve had some sneak previews here and we’ll be reviewing it in the next couple of weeks ahead of the official release date of Friday February 16 on At The Helm Records. You’ll love it.

 

2017 saw the release of the ‘lost’ PP Arnold album and the announcement she’s going to be making an album this year at Paul Weller’s Black Barn studio. It’s fantastic that “The Turning Tide” has finally been found, but even better that Pat is actually making original music again. And there’s plenty of speculation round the water cooler here at Riot towers about possible guest appearances and collaborations on the new album.

 

Finally, and this is specifically a London thing for the moment, late January will see the launch of Talentbanq, the latest venture for Ray Jones. Ray, former Development Director at Time Out has a passion for music that would shame most journalists and he’s always been willing to put a lot of time and effort into promoting new talent. Now that he’s no longer at Time Out he’s focussing his energies on promoting up-and-coming artists with Talentbanq. We’re still waiting for more details, but we do know that it’s going to be an interesting ride.

 

We’ve been keeping Allan really busy this year forcing him to go and listen to loads of live music and take pictures of musicians. We really don’t know why he puts up with it. To show how grateful he is, he’s put together a highlights package of his favourite gigs this yeqr, in no particular order. We think it’s a sneaky way of shoehorning more of his photos in.

Martin Harley and Daniel Kimbro at Camden Forge – I’ve seen Martin Harley and Daniel Kimbro before. They’re stunningly good individually, but more so as a team; the two voices, Daniel’s upright bass and Martin’s acoustic guitar and Weissenborn are a perfect combination. Even the verbal sparring between songs adds to the entertainment. As an added bonus, The Forge has a gallery overlooking the stage that they allow polite photographers to use, which gives a unique view of instruments played on the lap. The two sets flew by as the moved seamlessly from originals like “Winter Coat” to energetic covers like “Nobody’s Fault but Mine” and Tom Waits’ “Chocolate Jesus”. I knew it was special when I looked at my gig-buddy Paul and saw him staring in awe during one of Martin’s solos – he’s not easily impressed and that’s high praise indeed. Great songs and great performances.

Martin Harley

 

Hannah Aldridge and Dana Immanuel & The Stolen Band @What’s Cookin’ – It’s an interesting venue in a room above a working men’s club in Leytonstone, but it’s only a bus ride away from home, so it’s a no-brainer. Now, I take every opportunity to see Hannah Aldridge. She’s a gifted songwriter with a powerful Southern rock voice and she’s someone I love to photograph because she has a different visual image every time. The night looked even better when I discovered that the headliners hadn’t turned up and the short-notice replacement was Dana Immanuel. Hannah did a great job, picking songs from her latest album “Gold Rush” and a few old favourites to win over the crowd and even managed to fit in a bit of audience participation during “Burning Down Birmingham” and then it was time for Dana Immanuel. The instrumentation of the all-female line-up gives a hint of the eclecticism to come – cajon, electric guitar, banjo, fiddle and upright bass. It’s part country, part klezmer, part pop, part rock – you name it. Dana’s own songs have a very original voice and she doesn’t mind throwing in a cover or two including a mad closing version of “Viva Las Vegas” and “Chocolate Jesus” (again). The band was so good, I booked them to play at my birthday party.

Hannah Aldridge

Michael McDermott & Heather Horton @Water Rats – You can find Michael McDermott’s history online; it’s worth reading because it gives some clues about the origins of his most recent songs. The two albums he released in 2016 are superb, one focussing on prison, addiction and the road to recovery, the other dealing more with life in the present as a sober father and husband. I’d seen Michael before playing a solo show, but this was great opportunity to see him with his wife Heather, who also did a support set. The addition of Heather’s vocals and fiddle to Michael’s vocals, piano and guitar added another dimension to the songs adding poignancy to “Shadow in the Window” energy to “Stolen Car” and joy and exuberance to “Willie Rain”. Michael’s a great songwriter in the mould of Dylan and Springsteen (with a bit of the Boss’s penchant for the wide screen) and working with Heather he creates a very intense performance. I’m guessing he’ll be back in the UK in 2018; you really should make the effort to see him.

Michael McDermott

Brigitte DeMeyer & Will Kimbrough with Dean Owens @Green Note – A big night out for the Riot Squad, this one. Brigitte and Will are long-time songwriting partners and Dean and Will have collaborated on an album to be released in 2018. For fans of trivia and connections, Will also played on Michael McDermott’s Westies album “Six on the Out”. Dean played his usual excellent set with a little help from the headliners before Will and Brigitte did their thing. Will’s known as an extraordinary guitar player with a huge list of session credits, but he also has a great line in high harmonies – I’ve been lucky with the talented partnerships I’ve seen this year. The set featured mainly songs from the latest album and was a masterclass in understated delivery of great songs, particularly when they were joined by Dean for some beautiful three-part harmonies. Absolutely gorgeous.

Brigitte DeMeyer

Henrik Freischlader @The Borderline – This was the second time in a year I had seen Henrik, and it was very different. Earlier in the year it was as part of a trio playing some intense blues rock as a tribute to Gary Moore, this time it was as part of an eight-piece band out to have a good time, play a few originals, a lot of covers and generally take the focus away from Henrik by giving the whole band a little bit of the limelight. Every band member was either given an extended solo or featured vocal and a chance to show what they could really do, and they each grabbed it with both hands. It was one of those gigs where everyone, band and audience, could do nothing but grin all the way home. A pretty good result considering the band couldn’t get their gear truck into the load in, had to hire equipment locally and didn’t get a soundcheck. That’s how the pros deals with setbacks.

Editor’s note – Martin Harley has booked The Union Chapel to promote his own gig on Saturday March 10th. He’s taking a huge risk to play a venue he’s always wanted to play and we think he deserves some support. The Riot Squad will be there, we’re hoping you will too.