Having reviewed Laurie Levine’s latest album SIX WINTERS a
couple of weeks previously, the opportunity to catch one of her live shows, on
this her inaugural UK tour, was not going to be missed. So it was a return to
the Bridge House Theatre in Warwick which was also the venue for the first gig
of the year in January when they hosted Canadian singer-songwriter, Ruth Moody.
The theatre, located within the exclusive Warwick School, has started to
showcase a few folk and roots artists with the added bonus of hosting shows on
a Friday and Saturday night, evenings which most venues restrict to pop and
rock acts. Therefore the scene was set for Laurie and her musical partner,
Jessica Lauren to demonstrate live what extremely fine artists they both are.
Unfortunately the counter attractions of a December Saturday
night impacted upon the turnout but in a positive way the re-location to a
makeshift stage in the foyer added to the intimacy of the show and like true
professionals both musicians gave exemplary performances of their creative
talents. It was quite remarkable that South African Laurie had only teamed up
with UK based Jessica in the last couple of weeks as their onstage presence
came across as seamless thus enabling Laurie to give a more effective and
rounded rendition of her music.
Spread across a couple of roughly 45 minute slots, Laurie
set out to offer a mix of songs from the latest album, her previous recording LIVING
ROOM and to introduce a series of new material that will surely be featured on
any future release. After opening with a couple of these new songs, Laurie soon
launched into some of the standout tracks from the SIX WINTERS album. The
previous album review had earmarked the title track as a superb number and its
live airing didn’t disappoint along with the wonderful ‘Beautiful Loser’ and ‘Where
Have You Gone’. Throughout these songs, Laurie switched between her
acoustic guitar and banjo, effectively supporting her distinct vocal style that
was such an appealing component of the album. Out of the new songs previewed in
the first half, ‘Everyman’ was the
one which made the greatest initial impression.
After the interval, Laurie resumed with the SIX WINTERS opening
track ‘Oh Brother’ before
focussing a little more on her older
album by featuring the impressive ‘Kites’,
‘Advance’ and ultimately closing the
show with ‘Tonight’. The between-song
banter increased in the second half possibly after adjusting to the slightly
surreal surroundings. Earlier in the show Laurie had intimated to her
country/Americana influences and true to her beliefs she included the slowed
down version of ‘Ring of Fire’ after
the break. Having previously listened to this recording on the SIX WINTERS
album, it once again re-confirmed a view on how a cover should add value to the
original and this one definitely does.
While the focus of the show was very much on the musical
output of Laurie, a special mention needs to be reserved for Jessica. This
multi talented musician with a jazz/blues/world music background contributed
keyboard, harmonica and auto harp amongst others to give the show a more authentic roots sound
as well as providing backing vocals. You never know on a future visit a touch
of dobra and lap steel may be added to enhance the timeless country and
Americana feel to the live performance of these fine songs.This penultimate show of the tour may not have had the greatest turnout but this initial visit has been about spreading the word. Laurie Levine is a new name to most people on the UK circuit but she has been a very welcome visitor and hopefully will continue to cultivate her presence in this country. Her talents have been well appreciated and generally the reviews have been positive. We look forward to enjoying more from her in the future.
www.laurielevine.co.za
Kites