REVIEW: Christmas at THE BEDFORD, Balham
- Posted on December 22, 2006 2:40 PM
- 0 comments
MUSIC-LIVE IN LONDON
by Peter Coulston
Christmas at THE BEDFORD
According to that great comedian, actor and Goon, Peter Sellars, Balham is the gateway to the south. Well, I could suggest better ways to get to Brighton; but he was joking, right. For all that, Balham is OK. It's near Clapham Common (handy if you happen to be a Cabinet Minister), has a well served railway station, and is on the Northern Line; a real novelty for us folks south of the river. However, the most important thing to know about Balham is The Bedford, one of London's best live music venues. Located on Bedford Hill near the station(you can see it from the train), it offers three floors of entertainment; from piano music in the saloon bar, live music shows in the opulent Shakespeare Globe and comedy, quiz nights and dancing classes on the other floors.
One of the attractions of the Bedford, apart from the great music, is that it is free admission most nights. The other attraction is that the guy running the show is Tony Moore, formerly of Iron Maiden and Cutting Crew, and now pursuing a successful solo career. He was the compere on my last visit which is always a bonus, as he works the audience beautifully and uses the occasion to play some songs from his excellent new album. And why not, I say? You can find him on MySpace with his name hyphenated to avoid confusion with a real estate agent in Florida. Much as I enjoy an evening in Tony's company, there is usually an ulterior motive for my attendance at this finest of venues. On this occasion, it was to hear two very talented artists who you will certainly hear more of in the future.
One such artist is Beth Rowley. I have seen Beth on many occasions in the past but have never reviewed her, so this was a perfect opportunity to introduce an exceptional talent and award myself a well earned Christmas present. Beth is an altogether beautiful lady from Bristol with a voice to die for. Her material is based in the jazz and blues mode and, believe me, there are at least a couple of other female singers currently enjoying success in this genre who should seriously watch their backs once this lady gets discovered. She is usually accompanied by a keyboard player and a saxophonist, but the keyboard player was ill on this occasion; leaving her co-writer, Ben Castle to cover both instruments (no, not at the same time!). This would have been a disaster for a lesser singer; however: with Ben ably working the keyboards she confidently treated us to the bluesy "Almost Persuaded" followed by the more jazzy "Little Dreamer". Both performances captivated the audience and left them wanting more, which they were fortunate enough to receive in the second half. This time Beth showed that she is just as effective without her musicians as she performed the first verse of "Nobody's Fault But Mine" unaccompanied. Ben moved to saxophone for "Beautiful Tomorrow"and Beth, once again, stunned the punters with her exceptional vocal depth and intensity. What a lady. Nice sax solo by the way, Ben. All that is left to say about Beth is, check her out in 2007. She will be big. Find her on bethrowley.com.
The influence of the Bedford on the UK music scene should never be underestimated. As Tony rightly reminded us last night, it wasn't so long ago that Paulo Nuttini and James Morrison were performing here as unknown talents. Could it be then, that a whole new wave of artists are destined to emerge? Beth Rowley? It has to happen. And what about Simon James? His website is named "It's All About Simon", and it was last night. Nicely supported by a guitarist and a bassist , Simon opened with "River People" a beautiful example of gentle acoustic and fine songwriting. "Real" was more upbeat and another strong entry. He opened his second set with "Monsters", a well crafted piece of work and one of my favorites from his play list. "She's a Lady" was new, funky and melodic and featured some nice licks by the guitarist, Adam. I have reviewed Simon before on other sites and firmly believe that he is destined for big things. My advice. Check Beth and Simon out before they start doing sell out gigs. Get there first.
Once again, I have neither time nor space to cover the exceptional singer songwriter, Rob Reynolds and the funky and talented Ali de Siati(Ali, I loved your version of "Material Girl"). Brilliant guest appearances from Gus Isadore and David Saul made the evening a memorable last gig before Christmas. Seasons greetings, have a good one, see you next year.
A note from the Editor: Keep your eyes peeled on the site for next week's Venue of the Week... The Bedford. If you have a venue you'd like to nominate, post a comment and let us know. in the meantime, good luck stuffing yourself silly... bring on the cranberry sauce and soggy pudding!
- Ed
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