Foy Vance + Gareth Dunlop + The Late Heavy - Eventim Apollo, London 03/09/22
The Eventim Apollo in London will always have a special place in my heart. As a (very) naïve teen it was the location of my first, big London gig. In those, pre-sponsorship days, it was simply the Hammersmith Odeon and for many of us of a certain age, it always will be. The art deco Grade II listed building with its 3600 capacity seemed impossibly huge to me at the time as Status Quo rocked out on their Never Too Late tour. I’d been bitten by the live music bug and, I’m pleased to report, never recovered.
Returning to the venue for the first time in a few years, it seemed much more compact and inviting than I remembered. Interactions with security, the ticket office, the bar and the ticket check staff went smoothly, and they all seemed happy to be there. This isn’t always the case, so well done to all at the venue. From our vantage point in the stalls, the stage seemed remarkably unadorned as two raised platforms enclosed a space that contained nothing more than a battered-looking upright piano, seemingly transported from a small backstreet pub in Ireland to West London.
The Late Heavy by Laura Maria Photography
First up this evening is a new name to me. The Late Heavy revolves around the combined talents of Colm McClean (guitar) and Conor McCreanor. The duo performed a blink-and-you-’ll-miss-it three-song set that highlighted strong songwriting enhanced by America (the band)/CSN style harmonies delivered with an Irish lilt. Their album entitled ‘Vista’ is available to stream via Spotify. I urge you to check it out. Their dreamy, soulful take on Americana/folk/pop is pleasingly difficult to pigeonhole. ‘Under The Sun' is reminiscent of Deacon Blue/Prefab Sprout, while ‘From A Rooftop On Patrick St’ wouldn’t be totally out of place on a Mark Knopfler record if you allow for The Late Heavy’s more modern take on keyboard and percussion textures. This is good stuff.
Gareth Dunlop by Laura Maria Photography
I noticed Gareth Dunlop was playing guitar and adding backing vocals as part of The Late Heavy band. Now the time was right for the Irish singer/producer and multi-instrumentalist to step into the spotlight. Gareth favoured acoustic guitar for opener ‘My Kind Of Paradise’ as his gorgeously soulful voice floated around an appreciative, dead-quiet auditorium. Gareth switched to that upright piano I mentioned earlier for a selection of tracks that form the central core of his ‘Animal’ album. ‘Old Friends’, with its subtle percussion and keys sounded fantastic, while ‘Sorrow’ could well be the best song you have never heard (the way the chorus gently swells is a thing of such beauty). ‘Humans’ just oozes class as synth pads are complimented by McClean’s tasteful guitar figures before Gareth closed out his short set with the anthemic, richly deserving of some sort of "hit" status, ‘Look Back Smiling’. You might not know the name, but Gareth Dunlop is a seriously talented guy (he produced Foy’s Signs of Life album) and you’ve probably heard his songs on such shows as Nashville. ‘Animal’ is a terrific record that hasn’t been far from my player for some time now, despite stiff competition. The only slight disappointment was Gareth didn’t perform the title track from ‘Animal’ but more on that later, and as I said to him after the show, another fifteen minutes or so would have been most welcome. I guess we will just have to wait impatiently for next time.
Foy Vance by Laura Maria Photography
Foy Vance cuts an impressive figure with his flat cap and carefully manicured handlebar moustache before he even sings a note, and he can certainly do that with the best of them. Commencing in a fairly gentle manner, with just an acoustic guitar for company, Foy quickly switches things up. For his second song of the evening, ‘Hope, Peace & Love’ he takes to his guitar effects and builds a guitar loop, which he leaves to run, allowing him to retreat to the drum kit to perform the song. It’s an impressively theatrical way to kick off proceedings. Foy is in town on his ‘Signs of Life tour, which coincides with the fifteenth anniversary of his debut album ‘Hope’. Both records featured predominately in the set, highlighting an evolution in Foy’s sound that feels very natural. Foy is equally adept at keeping it simple (‘Janey’ complete with a round of happy birthday to Janey who was in the house) or getting much more expansive with the rhythmically driven material on ‘Signs of Life. In a set littered with highlights (to be honest, the whole bloody thing was a highlight) a wonderful ‘She Burns’ featured impressive slide guitar and the first example of surprisingly tuneful, yet understated, audience participation. This would be a feature of the evening as the audience was also called upon to add lovely codas to ‘It Ain’t Over and ‘Guiding Light. Elsewhere the ‘Signs of Life’ material sounded tremendous. From the wonderfully heartfelt ‘We Can’t Be Tamed‘ to the pounding, strident strains of ‘Roman Attack’ via a crowd-pleasing ‘Sapling’, with Rag ‘n’ Bone man ambling on stage to add his massive voice to proceedings, to the title track, Foy and his six-piece band could do little wrong. There seems to be a genuine camaraderie in the camp as Foy has surrounded himself with talented individuals. Two cases in point are Gareth Dunlop, who returned for a rousing ‘Animal’ (the "missing" song from his solo set) with Foy content to add backing vocals and acoustic guitar. Equally impressive was keys/percussion man Peter J McCauley venturing down to the piano (Foy returning to drum duties) to perform ‘Until The Lights Dim’ a terrific song which reminded me of Bruce Hornsby (never a bad thing).
It was my first time seeing Foy Vance, and I must say, I was very impressed. The way the show flowed with all the artists involved and working together was an object lesson in staging. Factor in good sound, a cool, surprise guest appearance and lighting that was both surprising in its simplicity and effectiveness added to the ambience. All things considered, I’ll be telling people about this show for a long time to come.
Review by David Vousden
The Foy Vance tour continues in Europe.
Gareth Dunlop/Lee Rogers
Nick Lowe seemed genuinely surprised that so many folks had come out on a Tuesday night for the first show of his UK tour at the London Palladium. It was standing room only at the 2200+ capacity venue. This says much about the high esteem in which Nick Lowe is held as an artist and songwriter. From his early days in Brinsley Schwartz and late 70s solo chart success, Rockpile with Dave Edmunds and on through the critically acclaimed Brentford Trilogy of albums to his latest work with Los Straightjackets, Lowe has been a mainstay of British music for fifty years. Lowe is also well known for his production work in the 80s with the Stiff record label that included ‘New Rose’ for The Damned and a run of classic albums for Elvis Costello. I’m pleased to report that, even at 75, Lowe shows no signs of slowing down, and he looks to be enjoying keeping things fresh with Los Straitjackets.