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| The band in full tour rehearsal |
His background may be rooted in the folk tradition but the
unveiling of the new Blair Dunlop live persona, coupled with full band, revealed
a sound as good as any UK act exploring the world of country rock Americana on
the circuit. Switching between electric and acoustic, Blair focussed heavily on
his new album during this near-90 minute set and received stellar support from
Jacob Stoney on keys, Fred Claridge on percussion and the usual quality fiddle
and mandolin playing we have come to expect from Kat Gilmore.
Over the last twelve months, Blair has been seen live in
several developing roles as he tied the loose ends in promoting BLIGHT AND
BLOSSOM including a Birmingham date supporting the Carrivick Sisters and another
in a similar role with Larkin Poe. However the support element was well and
truly dropped from this gig which was held in the Hare and Hounds’ larger music
room and attracted a respectable sized audience. For this evening the opening
slot was awarded to local artist Michael King who is the front person for up
and coming Birmingham folk outfit Boat to Row. It was felt that the sound didn’t
do justice to Michael’s acoustic slot with his violin accomplice Anna Bennett
but there was no such concern once Blair launched his set with ‘Something’s Gonna Give Way’, the opening
track from the newly released HOUSE OF JACKS.
Over the next hour and a half we were treated to almost the
entirety of this album, of which most as originated from the pen of the
talented Blair. Although this was the first serious listen to the album, a handful
of the tracks had a feel of being long time favourites and I’m sure ‘House and Jacks’, ‘Fifty Shades of Blue’ and ‘Chain
By Design’ will assume this status. The musical connection between Rebecca
Lovell of Larkin Poe and Blair has been well documented and as well as plugging
her Hare and Hounds gig next month, we learnt that she provided backing vocals
on ‘Different Schools’, which tonight
featured the delightful Kat.
As earlier mentioned, the band development is a major surge
forward for Blair and Kat was no stranger to a Birmingham audience having
played a sold out gig recently as one half of the Gilmore Roberts duo. The keys
of Jacob Stoney gave many of the tracks a soulful feel and he played a
beautiful accompaniment to an acoustic Blair on ‘Song of Two Bridges’, a number co-written by his father Ashley
Hutchings. This was part of a three song segment which saw Blair also perform
solo, the title track from BLIGHT AND BLOSSOM and his usual stunning version of
Richard Thompson’s ‘Vincent Black
Lightning 1952’. We also shouldn’t underestimate the contribution on
percussion from Fred Claridge who drove the band along all evening, being especially
valuable on faster numbers like ‘45s (c.’14)’
and a ramped up version of ‘Less The Pawn’.
To complete the contribution from his debut album, Blair turned to the reliable
‘Secret Theatre’ and started the
two-song encore with ‘Fallout’.
The evening ended with Blair reminding the audience that he
is no mean guitarist with a blistering acoustic version of the instrumental ‘Si Bheagh Si Mhor’. Yet this new
incarnation of Blair is very much about the band sound which as indicated in
the opening paragraph possessed a significant folk tinged country rock feel, and will be enjoyed by many who may hold a primary allegiance to music from the
Americana movement. However the most important aspect is that Blair Dunlop continues to
widen his appeal and is well on the way to fulfilling his prodigious potential.
www.blairdunlop.com
www.blairdunlop.com
Set List – Something’s Gonna Give Way: 45s (c.’69): The
Station: Secret Theatre: Fifty Shades of Blue: Different Schools: House of
Jacks: The Ballad of Enzo Laviano: Blight and Blossom: Song of Two Bridges:
Vincent Black Lightning 1952: Chain by Design: Less the Pawn: 45 (c.’14) Encore
– Fallout: Si Beagh Si Mhor
