There was an air of duality in the Hare and Hounds this
evening as circumstances led to the pairing of Chastity Brown and Otis Gibbs
for a co-headline gig. A raft of common ground splits the obvious sound and
vision differences between each artist, headed by an instinctive trait to be
able to spin an artistic web around the audience. This is also joined by the
underpinning of a very personal take on folk music, albeit Americana style.
However to take the contrasts at their most literal, this
was Chastity’s first visit to a Birmingham venue, while Otis has made the city
a regular stopping off point over the last decade of touring this country.
Carrying on with the literal theme, Otis is one of the great story telling
artists famed for punctuating highly informative songs with regular personal tales,
which never lose their shine. On the other hand, Chastity is driven more from
the heart and instinct. This leads to incredibly deep songs such as ‘My Stone’. Despite a general
observational approach to music, Otis proves to be a no mean architect of the
moving piece either with ‘Something More’
never failing to stir an smidgeon of emotion with each rendition.
For the gig annals, Otis adopted the role of show opener and
spent an hour on stage sharing an intoxicating batch of original songs for an
audience that comprised of both hardened fans and new acquisitions taking a
punt on an act that you don’t see every night in the bars of Kings Heath. A
busy merch table during the intermission was a testimony to his draw with the
new record MOUNT RENRAW being an obvious pull. This album was first made
available to Birmingham folks when Otis played the neighbouring Kitchen Garden
last October and since that last visit songs like ‘Sputnik Monroe’ and ‘Great
American Roadside’ have bedded in alongside old favourites such as ‘Small Town Saturday Night’ and ‘Joe Hill’s Ashes’.
The last couple of months are proving to be a significant
period in Chastity’s development as an international artist. The brand new
album SILHOUETTE OF SIRENS has met with widespread critical acclaim and her
current run of UK shows has garnered favourable reviews. This was in fact the
second time that she has been caught live on the tour and it was interesting to
compare this final show with one in nearby Bewdley which was one of the the
opening dates just over a week ago. On the surface, Chastity’s time on stage
was a little longer, this occasion running to an hour and twenty minutes with
maybe more focus on the inter song chat which is no bad thing when you wish to
get further insight into an artist’s make up. There was definitely an increased
spring in her step, a burning desire to get across more to the audience and a
tendency to generally rock to a greater extent. The sets were fairly similar,
although to the Bob Dylan and Nina Simone covers that she did, you can add an
upbeat version of Van Morrison’s ‘Sweet
Thing’ parading as the perfect encore closer.
Similarly to the Bewdley show, Chastity’s guitar playing
accomplice Luke Enyeart was in identical riveting form, showering the right
amount of twang, slide and pumped up electric on fine songs such as ‘Wake Up’, ‘Drive Slow’ and ‘Carried
Away’. To end the tour on a high note lends leverage to a return in the not
too distant future and further reports of super shows up and down the country
fuels this further. Her fascinating mix of predominately folk ‘n’ soul, with
more than a hint of country blues creates a warm aura of heartfelt music,
intentionally or not, deigned to be an outlet for a primal flow of feelings,
emotion and a little pent up anger. An ideal cocktail of purposeful intent and
style.
There is no need to choose between the gruff working roots
style of Otis Gibbs and the soulful tendencies of Chastity Brown. Merit exists
on a parallel scale and both artists encompass the wide wonderful world of
Americana music. The fact that artists originally from Union City Tennessee and
Wanamaker Indiana are prepared to share the gifts of their craft in the
equally exotic surroundings of Kings Heath Birmingham is a treasure not to be
taken lightly. Enthusiastic support for both these artists in multiple forms is
critical in ensuring nights like this can continue on a recurring basis.
www.otisgibbs.com
