On an evening when Smethwick was temporarily twinned with Southend-on-Sea, Thimblemill Library maintained its winning run of inviting very literary-focussed singer-songwriters to the most literary of settings. Stories, anecdotes and intuitive song influences spilled out of M G Boulter to such an extent they could well have created a section on the heaving shelves to house an alternative work of word art. The theme was a celebration of an album that has proved more than durable in its eighteen month existence in spheres of those hooking up on its contents at various points of a seminal journey. CLIFFTOWN may well be nearing the end of its cycle as an artist's focal point, well at least until it re-emerges for the customary anniversaries. However there has been room for a swan song as this Essex-based singer-songwriter refreshed the presentation for a final tilt in this phase.
This was the third time seeing M G Boulter live since CLIFFTOWN entered its commercial status as the gig world started to re-awaken. Barely weeks after its April 2021 release, live shows started to emerge and the Kitchen Garden in Birmingham hosted Boulter in its makeshift socially distanced courtyard. The performance tentatively started out in a solo format, but the flavour of an album hailed as a conceptual take on living in Southend was fully absorbed from those quick to rejoin the gig bandwagon.
By the end of the summer the M G Boulter Trio had been born and the Maverick Festival was next in line to share some of the songs from an album fast becoming the most significant part of a lengthy music career successfully striking out in so many different directions. The downsize of a festival set is the brevity to really own the show, a fact of life put to the sword on this third occasion of absorbing the songs of CLIFFTOWN. Not only was the Trio finely tuned in an enticing direction with the additions of Harriet Bradshaw (Cello/mini keys) and Lucy Farrell (violin/guitar), the whole show was boosted by a visual aspect commissioned as part of the project to inject a different slant on the stories told in song. Add these to a lengthy two-set stint and an album had a fabulous send off, with the extra zest that there is so much more to access elsewhere for anybody's unsatisfied hunger.
M G Boulter only just starts with the stories he breathes. A stylish guitarist heads an in-demand musician and incisive crisp vocals ensure the belly of a song lands on a listener's sweet spot. A innate warm and friendly persona fans the flames of smartly secured songs and fuels the inter-song chat that adds bundles of extra knowledgable spice to a singer-songwriter evening.
There were moments during the show where things diverted from the growing girth of Essex's prime seaside resort. The newest addition to a M G Boulter show is the the handful of songs forming 2022's EP A SHADOW FALLS OVER NEW BRIGHTON, although we were informed that this digital only release was basically some extra cuts left off CLIFFTOWN. We did get a brief glimpse of the future with a new song, and those with a keen eye noticed the results of a songwriting collaboration with Scottish artist Jenny Sturgeon has surfaced in the form of a digital single. Maybe a sign of things to come as both artists are active on the Hudson Records label, an operation providing a platform for musicians to prosper in tandem.
Catching a CLIFFTOWN show before it fades in the distance as a live entity is highly desirable. Any practical challenges can be alleviated by accessing https://hudsonrecords.co.uk/s/clifftown-sounds as a one stop library for all things relevant including the associated podcast series. Trying to convey the experience via a third party is a submissive task falling short of the inevitable. Signposting the work of M G Boulter is a sufficient and laudable aim. The live show will only truly shine in the eyes of the beholder.
This M G Boulter show was the latest in a long line of insightful bookings by the team behind these community library shows. The support on the evening came from Harry Thorpe who admirably stepped in to play solo when the highly touted Thorpe and Morrison instrumental folk duo was curtailed in the run up to the show. He paraded virtuosic guitar skills among makeshift songs to warm up the audience suitably for the main course.
It has been a pleasure to be part of the CLIFFTOWN experience since first casting ears on the record in the promotional phase. If this proves to be focal point finale, that pleasure was gratified and sealed. M G Boulter found his spiritual home this evening. Maybe there is more in common between Smethwick and Southend than meets the eye.