April 26, 2009
A rich sense of Irish bonhomie filled Saturday night at the Jericho tavern, which played host to two talented artists, both Northern Irish compatriots, and in their own words, ‘good mates’. First to the stage was Iain Archer, who, though seasoned in the music industry, is still a little-known and rising artist. Archer made few introductions, opening his set with ‘The Acrobat’, a delicately beautiful song from his most recent album To the Pine Roots, displaying a florid finger-picking style and distinctive, captivatingly fragile vocals - sometimes cawed-out, sometimes near-croaking.
In between the songs, Archer related the story of their birth, where in Germany’s Black Forest he holed himself away to write the record. Songs like ‘Frozen Lake’ were inspired by, and reflect, the elusive, hushed landscape of its setting, while on ‘Streamer on a Kite’ he surprised the audience by momentarily switching off electrics. Vocals raw and guitar unplugged, he stepped to perch on the edge of the crowd, bringing a sense of intimacy and humility to the performance.
Having heard of Foy Vance only through words and music, seeing him live in person added a whole new dimension. Once on stage, he commanded it with a swaggering grace reminiscent of an Irish pirate, beginning his set with the swaying work-song ‘Dry Wells’ that showed off his immediately soulful vocals, ranging from dry whispers to tearing roars. Unconstrained by a lack of band members, Vance did magical things with loop samplers on several songs, creating layers of organic sounds and beats to build up orchestral timbres and topping it off with searing vocals of effortless volume, exemplifying his personal brand of soul-folk.
In pastiche of his already gospel-flavoured style, a dedicated audience willingly played supporting artist, joining in with gusto on ‘Shed a Little Light’ and nearly every song thereafter. Vance’s energy and charisma on stage were infectious, and his easy, witty rapport with the audience, overlayed in the charming irish-brogue, were part of what made his live perfomance so easy to enjoy. A highlight for many that evening was the encore song of his set, a gut-wrenching rendition of ‘Indiscriminate Act of Kindness’ that sent chills with its uncomplicated yet evocative message.
The evening was finally closed with a re-emergence of Iain Archer from the crowd, picking up his Telecaster to accompany Foy with a final musical homage to Belfast, ending thus a spectacular night of two impressive artists, who, though both following an acoustic-folk arc, have taken it to divergent and separately gorgeous musical corners.
In between the songs, Archer related the story of their birth, where in Germany’s Black Forest he holed himself away to write the record. Songs like ‘Frozen Lake’ were inspired by, and reflect, the elusive, hushed landscape of its setting, while on ‘Streamer on a Kite’ he surprised the audience by momentarily switching off electrics. Vocals raw and guitar unplugged, he stepped to perch on the edge of the crowd, bringing a sense of intimacy and humility to the performance.
Having heard of Foy Vance only through words and music, seeing him live in person added a whole new dimension. Once on stage, he commanded it with a swaggering grace reminiscent of an Irish pirate, beginning his set with the swaying work-song ‘Dry Wells’ that showed off his immediately soulful vocals, ranging from dry whispers to tearing roars. Unconstrained by a lack of band members, Vance did magical things with loop samplers on several songs, creating layers of organic sounds and beats to build up orchestral timbres and topping it off with searing vocals of effortless volume, exemplifying his personal brand of soul-folk.
In pastiche of his already gospel-flavoured style, a dedicated audience willingly played supporting artist, joining in with gusto on ‘Shed a Little Light’ and nearly every song thereafter. Vance’s energy and charisma on stage were infectious, and his easy, witty rapport with the audience, overlayed in the charming irish-brogue, were part of what made his live perfomance so easy to enjoy. A highlight for many that evening was the encore song of his set, a gut-wrenching rendition of ‘Indiscriminate Act of Kindness’ that sent chills with its uncomplicated yet evocative message.
The evening was finally closed with a re-emergence of Iain Archer from the crowd, picking up his Telecaster to accompany Foy with a final musical homage to Belfast, ending thus a spectacular night of two impressive artists, who, though both following an acoustic-folk arc, have taken it to divergent and separately gorgeous musical corners.