LAST WEEK IN LONDON
- Posted on March 31, 2008 10:27 AM
- 0 comments
Here Come the Girls
by Peter Coulston
Hello and welcome to a live music week in London which was, for me at least, very female dominated. By that I mean that most of the acts that I saw were female; just thought I would clarify that point. Yes guys, the girls were out in force this week, and making a very good job of it too. I started out on Tuesday at The Bedford in Balham, where the evening offered a show in the Shakespeare Globe Theatre consisting of three very talented female singer/songwriters. As an additional bonus, the show was ably hosted by the ever charming Lexie, who certainly caught the attention of one particular group of likely lads. Haley Glennie Smith opened and gave her usual professional and enjoyable performance. I saw her last November at this very venue and can only reiterate the praise that I heaped on her then. Check out “Waiting On The Lawn” and her other well constructed songs on myspace and you will share my enthusiasm.
By the time the second act appeared, the aforementioned likely lads were on hormone overdrive and Lisa Theunissen (pronounced Tennyson) became the object of their attention. This excellent singer/songwriter/keyboard artist from South Africa really hit the spot with the rest of us as well, with her country ballads and rock songs and her great voice. She connects very well with her audience and, to be fair to her male admirers, they obviously enjoyed her music a lot and showed that appreciation at the end of each song. All the songs were her own well constructed compositions, and she was at home in every tempo and genre. She has a band, and I can’t wait to hear her with them. I am on her mailing list and will check her out again. She has a website, www.lisatheunissen.com.
The last act, Elissa Franceschi, was there to launch her album, “Touch”, which I shall be reviewing in the next day or so. She has a band consisting of keys, guitar, bass, drums and cello, but does not necessarily use them all together. She opened with “Quickfix” supported by some very good acoustic guitar and on “You Never Know” she only used the cello player. A very good set of varied songs from this Brighton based writer and performer who has some nice material and presents it well. Check out my album review.
Still south of the river on Wednesday, I found myself at the Hammersmith Apollo enjoying a set from Kelly Clarkson and special guests. Special guests turned out to be the very talented Jamie Scott, who I last saw at the Bedford Christmas party last year. With his own guitar and a cellist to support him, he played some of his excellent acoustic material and pleased an audience that had basically come out to hear some loud, heavy rock. He seems to do well at getting support jobs, having previously opened for Take That, and it is only a matter of time before he is headlining himself. Nice one, Jamie.
Now, as you know, I am not a great fan of X Factor type shows, and Kelly Clarkson was, of course, the 2002 American Idol winner. I did not, however, prejudge, and have to say that this young lady from Texas certainly gave her audience a good show. Regarding the audience, us guys were outnumbered by at least two to one by the girls, and it was apparent early on that many of the girls there really liked each other a lot. I have no problem with that; we need more love in the world, that’s what I say. There was a lot of love for Kelly from the outset as she delivered lots of her good old rockers, including her new single “Don’t Waste Your Time”. Things slowed down nicely with “Addicted”, a great version of “Because Of You” with just a piano backing, and a gospel-like number with keys and guitar. “Beautiful Disaster”, “Be Still” and “Breakaway” ended the pre encore set, and the punters were loving it. A bit more acoustic was used to open the encore in the form of “Sober” followed by “Chivas” before rocking us out with “Since U Been Gone”. While I know that there are lots of great girl performers just as good as Kelly Clarkson, but nowhere near as successful, I must give credit to her for giving her audience a very professional show and sending them home happy. Her band were spot on, and she certainly can sing.
On Thursday I crossed the river at last to attend The Troubadour in Earls Court for a mixed set of acoustic and rock. Jill Jackson opened with her band from Scotland, where she is compared to Emmylou Harris. Those are big boots to fill and a little unfair, given that she is a strong talent in her own right. With her solid backing of guitar, cello and drums she impressed particularly with “Jealousy” and “Tennessee”, a couple of very good songs that brought out her vocal skills. “Driving You Home” was the great tex-mex rocker that they ended with after working hard on an even colder than usual Troubadour audience. Very nice set. The Troubadour website had no information about The Visitors, and the band that came on second did not introduce themselves, so I am assuming that they actually were The Visitors. This is a country rock band with pedal steel on most numbers that would be good if they didn’t play it so darned safe. I have seen a few bands recently that, like these guys, are good musicians and singers but seem very reluctant to show any sense of adventure either in their songwriting or performance. The only time I sat up and took notice was on the last song, which featured one of the singers on saxophone. He played well, and it gave the band something a little different, which they certainly needed.
Now Krishna Black Eagle could write the book on adventurous. He is a Cherokee Indian from New York (don’t ask, it’s on his myspace!) who is a combination of James Brown and Chuck Berry with a band to die for. His guitarist looks a bit like a young Eric Clapton and the resemblance does not end there. His solo on “Call Me” was awesome. The man himself, Krishna that is, is an exceptional soul and rock vocalist and his medley of soul hits like “Unchain My Heart”, “Kiss” and “Shake Your Money Maker” left the audience breathless. He was promoting his new album, “Phoenix Rising” which is on Matchbox Records and is highly recommended. So, after such a female filled week, maybe next week us guys will tip the balance a bit. I have a few treats in mind but you will just have to wait and see. In the meantime, stay safe and well and go for those gigs.
Related links:
Buy and sell concert tickets on Seatwave.com
Post a comment
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.seatwaveblogs.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/2805
