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| Americana UK 2012 |
For a decade now, Eve Selis has had a regular touring
presence in the UK. The appeal to leave the sunshine of San Diego behind can’t
be in the British weather but the warmth of the reception the UK fans give her more
than compensates for this, almost making it a home from home. The Robin 2 and
Eve have been good to each other over the years and to reward the loyalty of
the sizeable midweek turnout, this evening’s performance was as good has been
witnessed over the years.
Without the advertised presence of a supporting act, there
was the added bonus of a longer performance by Eve and her band with a pair of
sets spanning over two hours. Having just flown in from a date in the North
Atlantic outpost of the Faroe Isles, there was no rustiness on this opening
night of the UK leg with Eve hitting her stride straight from the off with the
excellent rendition of the Lori McKenna tune ‘Witness to your Life’. Although the band line up was one down from
last year’s visit, the core guitar maestros Marc ‘Twang’ Intravaia and ‘Cactus’
Jim Soldi continue to excel including a majestic duel in the mid section of
Johnny Cash’s ‘Passing Through’ which
just preceded the interval. It would be discourteous at this point not mention the bass of
Rick Nash providing the essential rhythm for the lead duo.
With a key life milestone approaching, there is absolutely no
let up in the energetic charisma that defines an Eve Selis stage performance,
although she admitted the recovery may take a touch longer. A review once
described her voice as bruised from the excessive dose of early year’s rock,
although a more accurate observation is its rounded maturity that rises to the
challenge of powering the fabulous songs from her back catalogue. Most of the old
favourites were belted out in a country rock/roadhouse blues style from the
nostalgic ‘Russellville’ to the
rousing ghost inspired ‘Ballad of Kate
Morgan’ with the usual vocal contribution from drummer Larry Grano.
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| Maverick Festival 2012 |
There was still a bias towards material from her most accomplished
album to date FAMILY TREE which is fine by me including the country hit that
never was ‘Don’t You Feel Lonesome’
and the storming ‘Stop the Train’
which brought the second set to a scintillating close. While Eve and Marc have
been the architects of an abundance of fine songs over the years, many
containing memorable hooks, they don’t refrain from paying respect to some of
the past’s great tunes. Two regular fixtures in their set have become ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ and ‘Hallelujah’, the latter crowning the
finale with a spine tingling version climaxing to a crescendo – truly heavenly
stuff.
Like all independent acts, the search for the next record is
always a challenge and this evening saw the band preview a couple of songs from
the EP they have recorded with fellow San Diego residents Berkley Hart. This
duo provided the support on last year’s
tour and their recent collaboration with Eve and Marc led to two songs which
made this evening’s set cut ‘Just Don’t’
and ‘Nothing But a Burning Light’.
Both are available on the evolutionary Band Camp platform and sounded really
good.
We really are spoilt by the annual early summer appearance
of Eve Selis and long may this continue. She holds a special place in the
hearts of her fans over here and has established a niche on the UK Americana
circuit. If you haven’t been caught by the bug of the effervescent Eve yet,
then seeking her out must be made a priority.