The intimacy of a musician and their guitar is enough to captivate anyone, from a busker on the street to the largest of arenas. Tonight strayed towards the former, with a small gathering of loyal fans to all three acts surrounding candle-lit tables towards a small Mr Kyps stage favoured for such occasions.

The first of tonight’s acts is Pete Christie (pictured below). He is the archetypal singer songwriter, opening his set with a wistful and dreamy number called ‘Normal Shade of Blue’, an ode to unrequited love. His story of distance and missed opportunity is paired with interesting chord voicing and well used vibrato during instrumental sections. His playing style is further defined with his second song, using a loop pedal to create a rhythm track as a basis for his emotive lead playing. His third song is preceded by a humorous quip as to its origin, a tongue-in-cheek repartee highlighting the shortfalls of the town of Swanage. Alas, the truths were echoed in the reactions of the crowd, and unlike a previous performance were met with warm applause.

Christie’s ability to connect with his audience lies with his unabashed and honest delivery, his plausibility due to a belief that when he sings of love, loss and life, it is from his own experience. This is all but confirmed by his last song, in honour of a friend confined to a wheelchair. Christie found his inspiration in the eternal optimism of his friend, and was compelled to complete the writing of this song in one brief sitting. Entitled ‘Waiting In The Wings’, the song’s moral is that there are always people worse off than yourself, and if their positivity is able to shine through, it would be an injustice for yours not to. This was my first first encounter of Pete Christie, and I was left thoroughly warmed by it. By all that I have just described, I wish I had heard him sooner!

The second act tonight was the ever-impressive Hannah Robinson (pictured below). Having known Hannah since her early days with Fearne, it has been a joy to watch such a talent develop and flourish. After discovering her true voice and a passion for a timeless mix of blues, soul and jazz, Hannah is fast becoming one of the most highly booked acts in the south, with world domination surely the next step! She opens with two self-penned numbers which were her first foray into songwriting, before continuing with the song ‘Church Of Storms’. This was written on the back of a visit to Cornwall and speaks of someone encountering a change of spirit and leaving a different person to the one that arrived. Hannah sings with an emotional style that aids the lyrics to really hit home with the listener, and performs with an implied experience beyond her years.

Her manner between songs is humble and almost self conscious. Her girlish charm is genuine and welcoming. Even in front of a crowd primarily in attendance for an artist whose career is twice the length of Hannah’s age, she has their total and undivided attention. For a first time listener, the difference between Hannah performing and her colloquial manner in between would give you the impression of two different entities. Though it is the youthful English rose underneath that gives credibility to the soulful songstress on the outside.

Love can affect people at any age, and the thought of young love can be as precious as the connection of two people over many years. This is shown in the final trio of songs of Hannah’s set. The first of these ‘Matter of Time’ comes to terms with the end of a relationship, although involuntary, where the distance overwhelms their relationship. Even by channelling the grief of a wounded heart, Hannah’s penchant for romance shines through, consoling herself that the world continues and wounds heal, the melancholic chords of the verse making way for a Major progression in the chorus, with the lyrics “I never meant to forget you, I guess you slipped my mind, I never meant to leave you behind, but I guess it was just a matter of time”. Her set list choice allows a natural flow of the journey of the heart, with the next song ‘All I Know’ documenting the discovery of someone new in its most infant stages. With the feeling of promise and hope, she sings of the unknown that someone readies themselves for when ‘all I know is your name’.

Her final song of the evening is the beautiful ‘You Don’t Have To Hide My Shoes’. As the journey continues, love flourishes and her reassurance of reciprocated emotion is delicately and lovingly told. Any human being can recall a moment where insecurity hits and irrational behaviour is seemingly the only way to hold on to someone. I’ve never hid someone’s shoes personally, but that doesn’t mean I can call myself exempt from this! In that heightened moment of worry, I would have given everything I owned to hear the words Hannah has so delightfully written. This song and its sentiments are a perfect combination and another astonishing creation by Miss Robinson that many a musician would wish had come from their own creative minds.

I wish I could find fault in her set, as reviewing should not always be an opportunity to highlight the positives, but there is nothing noteworthy. Well crafted songs, lyrics that anyone can relate to and identify with and a voice which bears no comparison… Forget television shows searching for the next big thing, she’s here. Watch this space for my review of Paint It Blue’s new album, also featuring Hannah Robinson on vocals.

After writing what could only be described as a novel for my last review, I felt embracing the art of ‘pith’ would be a welcome addition, especially for those reading. This seems somewhat ironic when writing of an artist who would rather use ten words when one would do the job. Before tonight, I had no knowledge of Jackie Leven or his musical exploits, so here’s a brief introduction – Jackie Leven (pictured below and at top) has a musical career that spans decades, starting in the late 1960s and then forming the band Doll by Doll in the mid 70s. Over the years, the ever present celtic and folk influences of his roots have become his main works, with his latest original studio release, this year’s Gothic Road, surpassing its expected demand and exhausting the copies produced.

From the start, Leven held a commanding presence and a quiet confidence. Sharing his time equally between stories and anecdotes and songs from both his latest release Gothic Road and his extensive back catalogue, Leven cannot be seen as just a musician. Tonight’s modest crowd were treated to a flawless performance by a world-wearied and travelled artist, who could have provided a performance without any musical content and still enchanted the crowd in a similar way. He started with a gently composed song, entitled ‘A Little Voice In Space’, with hints of romance and lessons learnt in equal amounts, immediately proving his instrumental skills with delicately coaxed harmonics used to enhance the song. The aforementioned confidence is shown in starting a set with a song that, recorded, is ten minutes in length. Lesser artists would not demand an audience’s attention so early on with a song of such length, but Leven’s ability to paint a picture proves it possible. The room is silent but for one man and his guitar.

He continues with another song from his back catalogue, ‘Elegy for Johnny Cash’. My naivety to Leven’s work left me confused, as he accompanied his spoken introduction with a guitar line that continued through the song, with little differentiation to highlight the start. He set the scene of being in Norway, having a day’s respite from touring and being left with little to do but watch Norwegian television. Unlike his father, he was never a Johnny Cash fan, and watching the fragility and vulnerability of Cash in his music video for NIN cover “Hurt” enveloped Leven in his own emotions towards his father’s recent passing. He accentuated the minimalistic guitar playing at points of increased emotion and had a mesmerising quality. Several minutes into his monologue, the song, in its known form, began. The song thanks for the loves and losses of life and experiences held, with a chorus that departs from the melancholic verses towards a grateful acceptance of all he has experienced and the wealth he feels from this.

By now, my intrigue had turned to inspiration from all aspects of his performance. His guitar playing was deeply rooted in celtic mannerisms, and his melodies and lead showed this frequently. ‘Song For Bass Guitar & Death’ was his next song, a showcase of the creative direction of his latest LP, with the lyrical message continuing on from his last song. This song was preceded by a wonderfully told story of an experience with Ralph McTell (of ‘Streets of London’ fame). Hearing a man of his stature and of such well-enunciated speech, there is a very enjoyable and slight guilty pleasure of hearing expletives in his tales. Littered frequently, though not excessively, they punctuate his stories and provide a light hearted twist, a well measured contrast to the tone of his compositions.

Leven’s next choice of song was a semi-autobiographical number from his 1994 album The Mystery of Love (Is Greater Than the Mystery of Death). Based on his leaving of Scotland with a close friend in the 1960s, they found work as labourers, with the memory of the song recalling the building of fences which today can still be seen. His unique picture painting qualities are again on show with lyrics such as “…. a coldness, more bitter than any song ever sung” creating just a simple mental picture, but magnified in intensity with a sublime metaphorical comparison. This was another chance to see Leven’s lead playing which, as playing solo, can be quite some achievement to continue a song without losing its impact and flow.

Just prior to his last song, there was a moment of magic. Again returning to my point of Leven’s quiet self confidence. With one song left to play, he decided to up and leave the stage to briefly visit the bathroom. Now in my opinion, this is daring, cheeky and pure genius in equal amounts, with his return to the stage garnering an impromptu round of applause. His last song, ‘New Wreath’ brought to a close a magnificent night of storytelling, both spoken and musically. There are not many artists that I would actively push onto my friends and colleagues, however all three showcased tonight, Leven in particular, deserve to share their work with larger audiences and it would be a travesty if this was never the case.

photography by Damian Godley

Share/Bookmark