overlap

And after a short break... I've had a vague but growing feeling something was missing over the last month or so, and so I've just checked. There's only a couple of times in the last five years I've gone more than forty days between gigs, which answers that question! Despite discovering yet another new variant of how to make a mess of finding my way into Brum, I ended up parked with time to spare. There's a good reason why I try to build room for manoeuvre into my travelling plans! The recently re-opened after refurbishment Town Hall is a magnificent building, and a far cry from the sticky beer floored venue across town I was in last time. This is a great example of how local authorities can do venues well, and for future reference it's definitely a big handbag venue for grown-ups rather than a minuscule clubbing purse venue for teenagers, which has its own obvious attractions. In a change from common practice, this was a one-off (for now) event where instead of a support act and a headliner, the idea was to showcase a number of people whose songwriting has influenced the headliner, and a chance to introduce some fans to some other artists who they might be less familiar with. * Katell Keineg (sounds like cuh-TELL cuh-NEGG) opened the evening. I hadn't checked her out on myspace beforehand, partly because I quite like the idea of complete newness, and partly because I am idle. Over the course of a twenty minute set, her nerves settled and she went down very well. Female singer-songwriters, especially of the acoustic kind, are always going to suffer from comparison with Joni Mitchell, Janis Ian et al. Katell reminds me more of the latter, with a hint of what Carina Round could do with a bit more songwriting discipline and a bit less catharsis-screaming. * Roddy Frame shouldn't need much introduction beyond the two words 'Aztec Camera', but his solo stuff is also excellent. I hadn't seen Roddy for a couple of years, but it's great to be reminded of what a stunningly gifted guitar player he is, and I really should make plans to see him again. Setlist(ish): Small World/Black Lucia/Bigger Brighter Better/How Men Are/Down The Dip/Oblivious/Birth Of The True/Reason For Living After a short break, the audience settled into their seats again for the next act. One of the interesting things about this sort of multi-performer show is the variation among the crowd of who is there to see one act in particular, and this was especially apparent if mildly suprising in view of the varied age groups. * for many people Nick Heyward is inseparable from his Haircut100 days as the face of magazine covers, but that was quite some time ago. In recent times, the Now And Then tour has kept him on stages around the country, which sort of explains how people half my age may have encountered him if they've been dragged along by their parents to see Bananarama and Curiosity! He noted that that sort of exposure has its drawbacks, explaining how much he was enjoying playing a few select pieces of new material rather than the N&T hits medley. All the same it takes a certain boldness to do Love Plus One in acoustic guitar and vocal format though I'm sure I'm not the only one who could hear the sax line in their head anyway. Fantastic Day closes, with the help of someone from the crowd that he knows from myspace, and her friend who was delighted to get on stage with a hero, and help him with the odd forgotten line or two! Great fun. * If you'd asked me beforehand, I'd have said I'm really not sure I know anything by The Mission, and certainly have never seen (and have nothing by) either them or the Sisters Of Mercy, which is what Wayne Hussey is probably most famous for. So it's a minor surprise when we start with Wasteland, which I recognise as familiar, and then move into Severina, a song I'm certain I haven't heard in twenty years but which nevertheless dislodges long-dormant memory cells of it being on the telly, presumably on The Tube, though I could be wrong. We also get a cover of Ashes To Ashes, Butterfly On A Wheel and Erica Nockalls joining him on stage to add some fiddle. Then Miles joins the pair of them for a final romp through Tower Of Strength, which rather sounds like Vent414-go-goth. Unlike a certain saving the world type with a mate whose hat is permanently glued to his head, Wayne even makes wearing shades indoors look cool. Nice one. * With the new album Catching More Than We Miss on sale tonight in advance of its proper release in a month or so, Miles and Erica give us the first live sighting of a handful of new tracks, some in collaboration with Erica's Nemesis String Quartet, a quick run through Mission Drive for fans of The Mission, er, no, for fans of The Wonder Stuff, and close with Amongst The Old Reliables which sounds a bit more delicate with strings. As an intro for fans of some but not all of these acts, this was a great opportunity to check out some other people they might not immediately have thought they'd like, and makes a refreshing change. Excellent idea, Miles! Miles & Erica's setlist: D.W.I./Corny But True/Back On The Charm Offensive/The Rogue's Biography/The Test/Fill Her Up And Foot Down/Everything Is Not Okay/Mission Drive/Amongst The Old Reliables

Labels: Erica Nockalls, gigs, Katell Keineg, Miles Hunt, Nick Heyward, Roddy Frame, Shared, Wayne Hussey