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Tuesday 21 September 2021

Gig Review: Jacob and Drinkwater - Kitchen Garden, Kings Heath, Birmingham. Monday 20th September 2021



Artists may rent a festival space but they wholly own the floor when their names are solely above the door. Following a successful early summer slot at nearby Beardy Folk and a more prestigious appearance of even nearer Moseley Folk just a few weeks ago, talented duo Tobias Ben Jacob and Lukas Drinkwater are now ruling the roost on a headline tour in advance of a brand new album. The Kitchen Garden is familiar turf for the pair of them, more so Lukas who trod the floors of the patio set up a a couple of months ago alongside wife Emily Barker.  A quick memory glance realised the stage had been discarded for this show, but the evening was pleasant enough with the aid of the visually impressive heaters to give the patio perhaps a final farewell for shows this year.

Not surprisingly the upcoming new album MORE NOTES FROM THE FIELD flew proudly in the set list for this mid-September show, with the added bonus of a gig-exclusive physical CD gracing the merch table a full month or so before official release date. As we approached the break of this two-set presentation, it appeared that the new songs were going to reign supreme. However the guys kept a few treats up their sleeve to live up to the notion of keeping them waiting for the soaring finale.

The two high spots of the first half came in the shape of the first single lifted from the new album 'The Nameless' and a special song dedicated to those seaside towns afflicted as a casualty of neglect. 'Nowhere on Sea' lodged in the brain for two moments - some stunning acoustic guitar playing from Lukas in a brief moment of dropping the bass and naming a pub The Rod and Line. A lyric that just stuck regardless of whether fiction or fact. 

A raft of newish tracks to feature included the long dormant 'Higher than the Moon', the nostalgic 'For Old Times' Sake' - a recurring theme on the night - and the soon to be released second single 'To Call You Friend'. This heralded the one moment when the joviality was dropped as the duo paid tribute to a passing friend. Outside of this, the jokes and sparring freely flowed as the good vibes from two trusted friends spread among an audience forever attentive and grateful.

It's been a little Lukas Drinkwater heavy so far, so let's turn to Tobias Ben Jacob for balance. On the surface the apparent origin of most of the songs, and a vocalist with a turn of tone to give oomph and clarity to lyrics cleverly created to spin a yarn, fondly reflect or just celebrate the beauty of words. Some of these songs have solo credited recordings as the duo Jacob and Drinkwater are the architect of just one previous studio album, while the pair's activity on the folk scene stretches back a lot further. 'The Devil and Tobias Ben Jacob' was the most profound example of a change in tone, while 'It's still a Beautiful World' patiently waits for that stadium moment. 


As momentum gained towards the finale, we had the 'international dance smash' 'Burning Low' and more Tobias Ben Jacob north western nostalgia in the bus themed 'Girl from the 109'. At this point it was time to unplug and take music to its utter roots. 'Loaded Gun' saw Tobias' vocals soar to new heights and if you want to close a show casually strolling around the Kitchen strumming along to 'Bird on a Wire', then why not, the floor is yours.

Lukas Drinkwater tweeted 'good audience vibes' the morning after. The answer to that is we were only replicating what was on show from two highly engaging and stellar artists in the spotlight. The chemistry is locked in, the bond is secure and the music is supremely crafted-duo-spun-fare that links the folk fraternity with the wide expanses of the singer-songwriter hinterland. Still a few dates before the duo split for different continents, but the album is on the way and a springtime reunion is a strong possibility. BandCamp pre-orders below.