Tom Bellamy
Such a lovely night this one. Half an hour from Bristol in the rain in Sami’s van and one of those pubs you feel immediately happy to have walked into at the end of it. The Prince Albert is, as far as I know, the only committed ‘music venue’ in Stroud but it still feels mostly just like a cosy, warm, welcoming, British, village boozer, tiny lit stage at one end and crackling fireplace at the other. Had a nice chat with the sound-man of the day, professional busker, Tom McNair, after Sam and I had soundchecked with him, and heard his story. Tom’s living in his van with his girlfriend and their kids outside a mansion house, falling asleep under the moon, waking up to the birds and opening their doors to the lush green of the stately home’s lawn. He met someone a while ago who said they could stay in the grounds of the building, populated by many members of the community now it seems. And by day he makes up to £280 with a loop station, guitar, saxophone and voice in the streets of Stroud, singing songs of simple integrity with an angelic voice to off-set his dreaded and bearded travellery appearance – not bad I reckon! Made me think again that I must get myself camera-ed up and start posting some of these characters and their music-related tales up on-line. Another fascinating insight into what’s becoming of music now, returning to its roots, to many honest, hard-working & self-sustaining people like Tom.
So by the time Sam and I had finished talking to him it was pretty much time to go on and the room had significantly filled up. It had been pretty quiet, admittedly, when we’d sound-checked, barring the cheeky, faintly raffish presence of various members of the Tom Bellamy band, but there was a pleasing sense of anticipation amongst the locals who’d called in when we took to the stage. Those at the far end of the room warming themselves by the fire had swivelled their chairs round to face us and listen even before we started playing. We opened with a new Richard Hawley song we’d rehearsed during our blissful weekend musical retreat in Somerset, a song called ‘Just Like The Rain’, from his ‘Coles Corner’ album. Both of us have completely fallen in love with it and feel the spirits of Johnny Cash and June Carter when we’re singing it, taking verses each and harmonising the choruses. I remember seeing Richard Hawley play live a few years ago at The Empire in Shepherd’s Bush when he sang this song and he said he’d written it when he was 16. It’s staggering to imagine this level of song-writing sophistication at that age, and then all those years guitaring in Pulp with Jarvis Cocker before he ever got to really sing it!
The set from then on in comprised a mix of Marais/Dingle songs weighted slightly in my favour (!), starting with ‘I Woke Up’ which Sami’s really lending something to with her ‘wonder guitar’ and sweet, harmony vocals. Her guitar actually deserves a special mention at this early stage of our blogging, seeing as there’s barely a day goes by when we’re playing together and Sami doesn’t feel compelled to tell me how much she loves it! It’s a regular 6-string acoustic that was ‘given’ to her by a maverick, guitar-making admirer of hers, who’s strung it with the regular tuning but with the four bass strings tuned an octave up… It gives all of Sami’s guitar-playing this lovely, light, feminine twinkle, which we’re off-setting with my more rhythmic ‘strum and bass’. Anyway, the guitar is a gift, to both of us, lending great, natural inspiration and an musically exploratory starting point for this collaboration of ours.
Next up we played sami’s latest song, ‘All I know’, inspired lyrically by our time together getting to know the teachings of Great Freedom on various retreats in Porthtowan at the beginning of the Summer and in Totnes just recently. It’s such a beautiful and delicate song and arrangement, with Sam’s fragile, overlaying, harmonica soloing capable of stopping most beating heart in their tracks. As yet unrecorded, but coming soon, it’s the first song of either of ours that we’ve nurtured into existence together, one for the Sam&Henry debut ‘live’ CD for sure…
And then Don McLean’s ‘Empty Chairs’, a song which will always be special to both of us because it was the one we started playing in the top of my house where we really felt the beauty and potential of our two guitars and our two voices together. Thanks Don also for a song of simple but staggering beauty, an inspiration both lyrically and melodically, from the great American Pie album. The rest of the set took in ‘January’ & ‘Waiting For Your Love’ from my ‘boy who never learned’ album as well as ‘City Living’ which we tend to finish with and a new country/blues-influenced, down-and-out song I wrote in amongst my move to Bristol called, ‘Nowhere I Can Be’, which I played on my own (to devastating effect, of course!). From Sami’s side we treated them and ourselves to the swirling darkness of ‘The Sailor’ and the bubbling popiness of ‘A Little Of You’ , another closer of ours, soon to be aired on MTV (Sunday 10th October, 2.30pm) as part of a feature on small festivals. We were filmed playing un-amplified backstage in the castle at Castlepalooza Festival in Ireland in July, an unexpected and warmly satisfying experience. Anyway, tune in if you can, should be worth catching!
We both left the stage feeling fulfilled and well-liked by this lovely crowd. One girl said she’d ‘never felt so relaxed’ (!) and Matt. guitarist from Tom Bellamy’s band, singled out ‘I Woke Up’ and ‘All I Know’ for particular praise. They made him nervous enough to have to miss the rest of the set to go outside and practise! He needn’t have, or perhaps it paid off, because he tore into his fully supportive, knoppfler-esque, acoustic guitar soloing for Tom, whose set was customarily revelatory. With Oli Wells on double bass, Lizzie Keates on cello, Oli Denison on drums and Matt Pike guitaring, Tom Bellamy and his band are an inspiring collection of individuals working well with their considerable musical abilities to elevate Tom’s music to the level of love and attention it deserves. I’m not sure how to tell the world about Tom but I’m going to figure it out sooner or later (or maybe someone else will). I’ll start here. He’s one of the most strikingly natural, startlingly original, timelessly musical singer-songwriters I’ve ever had the pleasure of listening to. There’s a lot of Dylan in there, some Smiths too I’d say (heavy-hitting, lyrical content with bouncing underlying riffs) but mainly it’s just Tom being his very own version of the ‘genuine article’. He has long transcended imitation and fickle ambition in times when both are rife, seemingly committed only to the muse that flows up within him. Listen to his music now online and see him as soon as you can. Sam and I are happy to be planning a tour with him for March 2011.
So thank you, Prince Albert and Stroud. A glorious night of music that left everyone a little, or a lot, enriched. Thanks to Tom McNair for his great sound and hospitality and for inviting us back on the landlord’s behalf since he was away – we accept!
