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Nick Morgan and crew
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Concert
Review by Nick Morgan |
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NANCI GRIFFITH
AND THE BLUE MOON ORCHESTRA
Shepherds
Bush Empire, London, August 1st 2006 |
| It’s
blisteringly hot in London. This is when, as the
tabloids would have it, temperatures ‘soar’
and records ‘tumble’. Luckily half of
the capital seems to have gone on holiday, so at
least there’s a little less traffic, and the
tubes and trains aren’t too congested. But
there are still enough people left to fill the Shepherds
Bush Empire to see Nanci Griffith and her Blue Moon
Orchestra ‘though I observe that she normally
plays much larger venues when she visits (the soulless
Albert Hall) so either Nanci’s star is somewhat
on the wane, or the promoters have downsized due
to the time of year. Let’s hope it’s
the latter. |
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| We’re
standing on the first floor of the Bush on the side
balcony with a fantastic view over the stage –
one of the best spots in the theatre. The guy next
to me is far too animated for such a sedate evening
– whoopin’ and a hollerin’ all
night long - and it turns out, is a fan of the Del
McCoury Band, who play a blinding set
before Ms Griffith takes the stage. Red hot bluegrass
with veteran Del leading with all that barely comprehensible
Grand Ole Opry smoozing, but singing with remarkable
clarity for a man of advanced years. Star of the
show was son Ronnie on mandolin – he’s
picked up five successive "Mandolin Player
of the Year" awards from the International
Bluegrass Association – who played like a
dervish. His brother Rob on banjo also had his moments,
as did fiddle player Jason Carter. True to Opry
style they made the stage shrink to the size of
a radio studio as they played in tight formation
around their Audio-Technica 4033 microphone. |
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Songs
included ‘Promised land’ (from their
most recent album of gospel tunes), ‘My love
will never change’, John Sebastian’s
‘Nashville cats’ (outstanding) ‘Body
and soul’, Hank William’s ‘You
win again’. Del was also keen to play requests
– “1952 Vincent Black Lightning”
shouted Mr Excited next to me. “Well”,
said Del, “this is a little bitty tune by
your very own Richard Thompson from Englandshire
which we recorded back there in Nashville, why it
must have been….” It wasn’t bad.
If you get a chance go and see them and you can
judge for yourself. |
| Nanci
Griffith is always a delight to watch.
She is charm personified, her between song anecdotes
and meanderings both engaging and unpredictable.
You could sometimes wish that some of weaker material
didn’t get in the way of the chat. She’s
slight and lithe, and shimmies around the stage
whenever she can, a bundle of energy and delight.
She’s a survivor too. Her voice is rich and
resonant, and not with the same high pitched nasal
twang that she speaks with (the Photographer told
me that this could be irritating, were it not for
the fact that Ms Griffith is so nice). |
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She
plays a pretty good guitar too. As does Clive Gregson,
who delivers a Fender Telecaster master class –
Gregson’s a long time collaborator and former
member of the Richard Thompson Band. Blue Moon Orchestra
leader James Hooker was characteristically impassive
and note perfect, whilst drummer Pat McInerney and
bass player Le Ann Etheridge also did their stuff
without any fuss or performance. They were all just
great, but somehow the gig didn’t quite add
up to the sum of all their parts. |
| It’s
not quite a greatest hits show as there’s
a lot of material from 2004’s Hearts in Minds,
‘Simple life’, ‘Love conquers
all’, Gregson’s ‘I love this town’,
‘You are beautiful’, ‘Last train
home’ and ‘Heart of Indochine’
(a moving anti-war song that linked into Griffith’s
work on behalf of the Mines
Advisory Group). And of course there’s
‘John Prine’s ‘Speed of the sound
of loneliness’, ‘The flyer’, ‘Gulf
Coast highway’, ‘From a distance’,
‘Late night grand hotel’, ‘Working
in corners’, ‘Love at the five and dime’,
‘Listen to the radio’ and ‘It’s
a hard life’. All very well sung and perfectly
played, but as I say it didn’t quite seem
to add up. Maybe some of the old material is a little
too old, a little over-sentimental (“gooey”
was the Photographer’s word), and maybe some
of the new material is a little over-sentimental
too (‘You are beautiful,’ about her
piano playing stepfather might fall into that category).
But I suppose there’s nothing wrong with wearing
your heart on your sleeve, particularly when it
can be done with such elegance. |
| Conclusion
– Ms Griffith is still a great act and worth
a look should you get the chance, but tread carefully
with your choice of albums. And British TV viewers
might like to know (as she confided in us) that
Ms Griffith would swap her whole career for a cameo
appearance in BBC’s soap opera EastEnders
– so next time a lady picks up the guitar
and sings in the Queen Vic just pay attention, it
might be Nanci. - Nick Morgan (gig photograph
by Kate) |
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Check
the index of all reviews:
Nick's Concert Reviews
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There's nothing more down there... |
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