Festivals can be great samplers, but it is the stand alone show that exposes the true spirit of an artist. Perhaps it is all about owning the space or maybe the attention of those choosing to spend an evening of sole focus. The Weeping Willows are now firmly in the process of building upon their festival base. However much kudos is derived from wooing audiences in this format, peel away the cover and an act of immense depth and enhanced quality emerges.
The wait to attend a show totally owned by The Weeping Willows had been regretfully extended to four years. Not one to dwell too much on the extenuating circumstances, this Melbourne-based duo of Andy Wrigglesworth and Laura Coates are grasping the opportunity to put flesh on the bones of a glowing blurb.
The Kitchen Garden is heaven sent for a band like The Weeping Willows who thrive on the intimacy, connectivity and friendliness of a small venue. Being without pretence and thousands of miles from home, a warm welcome means a lot, and a mutual air of appreciation is something never undervalued.
If the sample of Andy’s guitar playing is impressive, the extended version is jaw dropping. Multiple styles are applied and you can fully grasp why peers rate him so highly. Likewise the contrasting blend of two voices bring a raft of sumptuous songs to life, whether the duo wander down the lanes of southern gothic, Texas country, interpretative blues or just good old plain Americana folk. By their own admission they don’t drink from a single well of influence and this adds to the show's dynamism.
For this evening’s Birmingham debut, the two sets were roughly spread across defined lines with newer material leading off before the older closing out. Sprinkled within the majority of originals were a few choice covers which help define who The Weeping Willows are. They tend to wrap their influence around songs rather than artists, and numbers like ‘CC Rider’, ‘Long Black Veil’, ‘Hangman (Gallows Tree)’ and ‘One Kind Favour’ formed not only part of this show, but also a lockdown EP titled SOUTHERN GOTHIC. A couple of songs that fell more in the contemporary cover category were ‘I Can’t Wait’ off the Fats Caplan, Kevin Welch, Kieran Kane album and ‘Ain’t No Ash Will Burn’ by Walt Aldridge. A further link to the latter is the duo’s association with Walt’s daughter Hannah.
Part of tonight’s show was billed as an album launch for YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW, which saw the light of day in March. Songs from a record with the most striking of artistic covers settled in an almost entirely new crowd really well. In fact, apart from the instrumental prelude, the whole album was played. ‘Singin’ the Blues’, ‘Wheels Won’t Roll’ and ‘Fall Out of Time’ were personal highlights. Andy and Laura were particularly pleased to bring ‘Bells are Ringing in the Churchyard’ to the stage as it doesn't feature much due to trying to replicate four-part harmonies.
After the break, 2016’s BEFORE DARKNESS COMES A - CALIN' supplied a couple of tracks including ‘River of Gold’, ‘Pale Rider’ and ‘Travellin' Man’. We went back even further to The Weeping Willows debut album with another track in addition to ‘North Wind’ appearing on both this and the new record. In fact this last song was sung immaculately a-Capella style.
Throughout the show the enthusiasm, gratitude and radiant vibes lift The Weeping Willows on the same lofty plateau as their recorded material. A refreshing persona coupled with exceptional musicianship and finely crafted vocals made this evening a resounding success. A handful of Maverick Festival sets spread across four years was merely the aperitif. The lavish main course of The Weeping Willows from the plate of their own show was truly splendid. Hopefully this is a renewal set on repeat.
