In November I saw
my final two gigs of the year, with the wonderful Songhoy Blues at KOKO in
Camden and the incredibly talented Courtney Barnett at The Forum in Kentish
Town. Songhoy Blues are a bundle of energy, with permanent grins of enjoyment
fixed on their faces and some some killer songs in their repertoire – but not quite the amount of
top notch material to maintain a ninety minute set. It feels a little like they
are treading water until they reach the crowd pleasers. This doesn’t deny the
fact that Songhoy Blues are an excellent live band. Once they hit their stride
there is no stopping them and I can’t wait to see them progress. Their
guitarist by the way, is incredible.
Courtney Barnett
on the other hand is brimming with crowd pleasers and what a great live performer
she is too. At The Forum she was maybe not quite as free as she was on the Far Out Stage at Green Man Festival (see HSD Green Man Review) but she has developed the music with
her band to extend live versions of songs, with greater intros to build anticipation, or simply
adding some new touches. Her rendition of Elevator Operator was without doubt my
live track of the year, the hairs were literally standing up on the back of my neck.
Her bass player is like a long haired Tazmanian devil bouncing around with a
loony grin on his face, whilst the drummer keeps it all ticking along nicely.
If this year was breakthrough for Courtney Barnett, next year could be massive...
This year the
infamous HSD Top Ten Albums Of The Year will be run down from ten
to one with the top spot being announced on Christmas Eve!! Keep it locked to
HSD...
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