The Weekenders

[iainjclark]

It's been a fairly hectic weekend all told. By which I mean not even remotely hectic by most reasonable standards, but the kind of weekend which involves constant socialising - very pleasant, but also tiring!

On Friday we went to see Tom McRae and an ensemble of other singer-songwriters at the Carling Academy 2 in Newcastle.

Comments

[veggiesu]

On Friday we went to see Tom McRae and an ensemble of other singer-songwriters at the Carling Academy 2 in Newcastle.

Sounds like a really good evening :-) *is jealous*

[iainjclark]

It was a great night. We don't go to music often enough really.

[immortalradical]

Went to see the Birmingham leg of this tour last night and had a brilliant time. I'm not sure Steve Reynolds was as good as you suggest, though he played a tune called 'Forsaken' which was very good. Carey Brothers was indeed a bit radio friendly, but I think if he had allowed his songs to breathe a bit more if might have been cool. I thought Joe Purdy was brilliant (unsurprisingly), and I really enjoyed Jim Bianco - though I too wonder if an entire album or set would be a bit much to take. Tom was great, too, and I think we got a bit more of him, too (though they had to finish by 10 at our venue, as well) - he did an encore of End of the World News (with some types on stage with him), and also Walking To Hawaii.

Anyway, yeah - I was expecting to enjoy this, and I did. It was exactly my bad - a bunch of songwriters doing their thing in a revue format appeals to me as a muso, and I'd love to see the Hotel Cafe idea catch on over here. I was also left looking forward to the new Tom album next year, which is always nice.

[iainjclark]

he did an encore of End of the World News (with some types on stage with him), and also Walking To Hawaii.

Janet: "arse!" I think she'd have quite liked to see him play those songs... ;)

I can't decide about the true quality of Steve Reynolds as the whole evening is now a complete blur, but at the time I did think he was well above average on three of the four tracks he played. I've got his album so we'll see what I think. Joe Purdy was easily the best of the bunch, and we picked up his album "Julie Blue" only to find that it's almost entirely low key folk americana. Pleasant, but not quite what I was after. I've ordered Only Four Seasons from t'internet which sounds more representative of how he was on the evening.

I'm definitely looking forward to the new Tom album, although he made a remark about it being quite a 'pop' album and letting him pay off a few debts, which I'm not entirely sure was tongue in cheek.

[immortalradical]

I think Joe Purdy must have played some different songs at the two gigs we went to - certainly I would have expected low key Americana from him, though he also played one song with an electric (gasp!) guitar, and another that was upbeat (in the way that 'Cold Jordan' is upbeat). Of course, low key Americana isn't a problem for me. ;) You'll have to let me know about Reynolds - I really wasn't terribly struck, but I think he may have been a bit out of it that evening. Milburn fairly liked him, I believe.

And as for a pop album from Thomas ... I'm not sure I would begrudge him a few hits. :)

[iainjclark]

Purdy's music was surely americana, but 'Julie Blue' is very, very sparse - much of it is one lonesome man, a geetar, and some mournful riverboat ditties whispered and croaked into the gloom. The whole thing was written and recorded in one week on an island in New York State, and it sounds just like that description. It's atmospheric, and I suspect I'll like it lots in the long run, but it's more of a collection of song sketches than a true album. 'Only Four Seasons', which arrived this evening, is in the same genre but with a full band sound that's much more like his live set.