Gig Review: Bonny Light Horseman - XOYO Club, Birmingham. Thursday 21st November 2024

 

"I played a folk club at the Hare and Hounds in Birmingham. Is it still there?"

Yes it is, Anais. Not quite a folk club, but we get the drift. That Birmingham appearance can't be recalled as opposed to the Glee Club in 2014 and Moseley Folk Festival in 2022. There may be others, but clearly we don't see enough Anais Mitchell in the West Midlands.

"It's the Birmingham debut for these songs tonight."

Eric D Johnson didn't really need to remind an eagerly awaited gathering at the XOYO Club that Bonny Light Horseman were playing Birmingham for the first time. Connections making it happen deserve to take a bow and these debut songs purred with blissful elegance from start to finish.

"I've got a different setlist to everybody else."

Josh Kauffman hurriedly changed guitars to play the right song. Whatever guitar he played had a luscious tone and the key to putting the 'rock' into 'folk rock'. 

Bonny Light Horseman are a band of few words. These three quips formed the bulk of the chat. The chosen route of letting your music speak for itself is a testimony to the quality of the songs and a magical slant on collaborative performance. This evening saw the supergroup hype spilling from a smitten roots press turn into reality.

Everything was in place for a special show. The third and latest Bonny Light Horseman album was out and getting compulsive repeat plays to raise the pre-gig anticipation. The XOYO Club had an exceptional sound system and subtle stage lighting adding to a simple aura. A sizeable yet comfortable crowd was respectful, appreciative and responsive. Exactly what you would expect from an erudite assembly. Support artist Bridget Kearney of Lake Street Dive possessed sufficient craft and experience to enhance the opening slot, whatever your take was on a solo singer-songwriter set played on bass. The dynamics radically changed when Kauffman and drummer JT Bates joined her on stage for the final two numbers. 

It was an incredibly tight headline performance with over twenty songs cramming the statutory ninety minute segment including the obligatory encore couple. Within a few songs you could clearly see the vocals being driven by the chemistry between Johnson and Mitchell. They occasionally lent in a three-way direction, but Kauffman was primarily the architect of wonderful electric guitar that melded into the heartbeat of each song. Evidence spawned that the entity of a five-piece band was the key ingredient with bassist Cameron Ralston completing line up.

When seeing a band live for the first time, you seek the moment when the code is cracked inducing the chills. This may not happen at every gig. Around twenty minutes into the set, 'The Roving' did it for Bonny Light Horseman in Birmingham.

While the axis of Kauffman-Johnson-Mitchell spices an alluring cocktail of elevated folk rock, there is a magnetic charm to the poise, movement and distinct voice of Anais Mitchell. Awareness of the enormity and eminence of her solo work including the Haddestown project prove a signage to what she brings to Bonny Light Horseman. Eric D Johnson holds the stature of your archetypal rock band front man. A role he orchestrates for acclaimed US band The Fruit Bats. The playing of Josh Kauffman would illuminate any setting. Checking out his associations and connections confirm this.

The Birmingham performance of Bonny Light Horseman gently evolved over its duration. The chosen route of minimal inter song interaction etched a studio feel into the first half. Immaculate, impeccable and impressive, but do you want some break that deviates from studio to stage; a little more unscripted and off the cuff - the beauty of in-person imperfection. That came in the second half where the shackles came off and you felt more connection. An important criteria of the perfect live show whatever the quality on stage. At the end the feeling of being at one with the band was sealed. 

To get some further facts about the content check out this link - Set List - if Birmingham isn't updated, it was pretty similar to London from memory.

Gig of the Year? A candidate definitely, although it depends on a personal criteria. Flawless, engrossing and optimal on-stage band collaboration gives this show a huge leg up to the podium. Bonny Light Horseman framed why we go to live music. It inched a step forward to perfection, though leaving a space for development thus keeping the search for utopia fresh and alive. 

Album Review: Ags Connolly - Your Pal Slim: Songs of James Hand

www.agsconnolly.com

Ask a range of casual country music observers to name an elder statesman of recent times and few would come up with the name of James Hand. With the help of one of his greatest advocates, the chance of this recently passed Texan being recognised will be greatly increased on the back of this carefully curated tribute album. Fans of Ags Connolly will be aware of his locked-in appreciation via the 2014 track 'I Saw James Hand', which became a staple of his live performances. Now that awareness and reach for the UK's premier purveyor of traditional country music is considerably growing, the same will occur for Hand via a neatly curated twelve-song collection on the merch table at shows. YOUR PAL SLIM: SONGS OF JAMES HAND is a labour of love; a feeling overflowing in mutual appreciation upon sampling the fruits of this project. 

There is a dusty timeless feel to the production. Oodles of fiddle and steel are a given, but you can never have too much of these blissful sounds. The process began in the UK with bass and drums laid down on a personal selection of Hand's numerous cuts. A Stateside search then began to get some players close to the real thing to add the most authentic of touches. The magic of the aforementioned country beacon sounds appeared alongside guitar and mandolin to create a worthy reconstruction ready to shine a fresh light. The most familiar recruit to UK fans would be Brennen Leigh, who has a significant profile over here alongside a legendary Texas status. 

The upshot of this record is the unmistakeable stamp of Ags Connolly's vocals. It's highly likely that Hand, who passed away in 2020, would approve. They are pleasingly absent of pretence possessing an authenticity doing justice to the compositions. The finished product is heaven sent for country fans seeking a conduit from the past to the future. A role, by intent or not, Ags Connolly perfectly fulfils.

The twist is the dozen concludes with an Age Connolly original 'Corner of My Street' that was intended to be a James Hand co-write. Sadly, an event curtailed by his passing. The eleven other tracks reflect a near-thirty year recording career amounting to half a dozen studio albums suggesting content wasn't rushed. The songs have the double edged appeal of working whether you want to listen intently to the lyrics or just wish to idly wallow in a sound feeding a craving for moments of dreamy nostalgia. Great country music satisfies both.

It probably won't be long before Ags Connolly gets back on the original recording train. His four acclaimed albums are a testament to this. For now, space created to expand his recording repertoire has been fruitfully filled. God rest James Hand and may his music power on. God bless Ags Connolly for sharing an inner passion so effectively. YOUR PAL SLIM: SONGS OF JAMES HAND is not getting filed away for a long time and may well just be the tonic when you want a fix of Texas country music created from both outsiders and insiders who care.