Last Week In London
- Posted on January 28, 2008 12:02 PM
- 0 comments
A Good Reason For Joining the EU
By Peter Coulston
Hello and welcome to the real reason for living in London, the music. With contributions from artists from Germany, Denmark, Ulster, Edinburgh and Hull as well as home grown talent, this was certainly a good week to go gigging. I started on Monday at the 12 Bar Club on Denmark Street, initially to find out what I was doing there last Monday. Not a lot, according to Andy Lowe, who runs the place, so I decided to make up for it this week. The show was very acoustic, and opened with Tim Bartlett, a singer/songwriter with a nice guitar style and clear vocals. Good songs like “Less Is More” and the darker “Imperfect” started the evening well.
Nick Trepka is another singer/songwriter who is also a great entertainer with his quirky songs. Hailing from Edinburgh via Bradford (well, it is on the way here), Nick sings well and plays guitar, ukulele and balalaika with equal skill. The show closed with Martin Oostrcil, a Bavarian blues and ragtime guitarist who learned his trade from the likes of Kevin Coyne and Alexis Corner many years ago. He uses the classic clawhammer finger picking style on his guitar to great effect and his songs were good, particularly “Rosie Knows”, which was written at the 12 Bar.
This week is decidedly acoustic, with another selection of solo artists performing at that delightful Wednesday night venue, The Big Secret at Ginglik in Shepherds Bush. Organised and hosted by the very charming Amity, this is always an excellent night and this week was no exception. The evening opened with Susy Thomas, a very talented singer and guitarist who I saw many years ago at the Original Songwriters when it was at the Orange in West Kensington. Her vocals are beautifully controlled and her songs range from rocky to folky with strong melodies, which was well displayed on the ballad, “Enough Now”. Find her on myspace/susythomasmusic to listen to her music and check out her gigs. She’s great. Next up was Phil Marshall from Hull, an indie/rock/acoustic artist who usually fronts a band. With a few albums to his credit, including his latest, Magnolia, and extensive tour work in the USA, Phil is a very professional performer with good songs and a gutsy voice. “She Had To Leave” played on a nicely retuned guitar was a good closer. Check his myspace, there’s lots to hear. I first heard Niamh McNally at this very venue last October, and was very impressed with her songs and her performance. Originally from Belfast, she writes and sings excellent soul and R&B material and plays a great keyboard. “Show Me Some Love” and “City Song” were upbeat, jazzy and soulful while “I Got A Lot To Learn” and “I Won’t” had some blues influence. Excellent stuff that can be heard on myspace/niamhmcnally.
Things got a little rockier when Jack McManus took to the stage with his keyboard and friend on acoustic guitar. Jack does a fine line in American rock/country ballads like “Fine Time To Lose Your Mind” and “Not The Hardest Part” which you can download for free on myspace/jackmcmanus. “Bang On The Piano” had a nice hook and was a good country rocker which will be available as a single in April. Nice stuff; I will check him out again. To close, we were back to acoustic guitar with Leo Altorelli, a good performer who is difficult to pin down. “Cabin Fever” was dark and folky with some jazz and blues in there and something vaguely Italian. Maybe it was the Minestrone that I had at lunch. Anyway, there was some country, sixties, bossa nova and pure pop in this entertaining set that ended the evening well.
Thursday was a special occasion at the Electroacoustic Club at the Slaughtered Lamb pub in Barbican, namely the launch of a new album by Tina Dico, the very talented singer/songwriter from Denmark. The show was opened by Oli Wennik, an excellent keyboard player with some strong melodic material. “Strange Thinking” was a soulful ballad with hints of Gershwin and early Elton John. He did a blues cover of Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released” and some other songs of his own that meandered a little for my taste. He is certainly a talent, but should keep it a little simpler and show off his keyboard skills more. He can be found on myspace.
I thoroughly enjoyed Charlene Soraia and her jazzy, urban songs at this venue last November and it was good to here her again. She plays an electric 1973 Raver Japanese cello guitar which has a beautiful sound to compliment her wide vocal range. She is on myspace, where you can hear her songs and check out her gigs, which I recommend that you do. I certainly will.
Tina Dico did a live acoustic set to close the show, featuring songs from her new album “Count To Ten”, which I will be reviewing very soon as it is released on February 4. This lady has a crystal clear voice and songs to die for; and she plays guitar pretty good too. Her beautiful set included the dark, folky title track, the rockier “On The Run” and soft ballads like “Cruel To The Sensitive Kind” and “You Know Better”. My personal favourite was “Sacre Coeur”, written in Paris while on tour and released as a single for download only along with the album. I have heard the album, and am so impressed with this lady that I recommend her and it to all of you that appreciate quality material superbly performed. So ends another, rather laid back week on the music scene, but a very enjoyable one. Next week promises to be rather more band oriented, so check this space to find out where it is all going on. In the meantime, stay safe and well and keep gigging.
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