Richard Hawley & Ferraby Lionheart @ The Horseshoe

The Legendary Horseshoe was the perfect setting for the sweet baritone croon of Richard Hawley. There's something about the stage setup and the general ambiance of the place that makes it an ideal background for any band sporting semi-pompadour's, classy guitars and a stand-up bass. This was his first time in Toronto as a solo performer, and the attendance certainly reflected the audience's enthusiasm for his venture into our fair city. His English sense of humor was in full force as he quipped that the the last time he was in town with his former band, the audience was basically a bar and "him!" as he pointed to a random audience member. Like his music, his stage presence is very endearing and during certain songs, you could sense the audience's total and rapt engrossment. At one point in the show, the lights dimmed and the orchestral sounds of "Coles Corner" began. I personally think that this is an entirely captivating song, but to see it live is a true experience. Richard's velvety voice is pitch perfect all the time; I did not notice one bum note. During the encore, he took over lead guitar and demonstrated his chops during "The Ocean", where his closing solo lifted his song to stratospheric heights. Some may feel that his music is not really conducive to the music of this era, but, as his performance demonstrated on Wednesday night, some music is absolutely timeless.

Photos: Richard Hawley @ The Horseshoe on flickr.
Myspace: Richard Hawley
Videos: Serious youtube / Tonight The Street's Are Ours youtube

I wasn't really familiar with Ferraby Lionheart prior to this performance, but when I told people about this show, there seemed to be more enthusiasm directed towards him than Mr. Hawley. So, needless to say, I was intrigued. He has a very good sound that reminds me a bit of Elliott Smith. His style (at least in a live setting) is mainly acoustic with songs that sound personal yet easy to digest. It was a very mellow performance and although it was enjoyable, I have to admit that about 4 or 5 songs in, I was ready to move on. Let's not forget however, that I was just at a show the night before that ended really really late (or early depending on your perspective) and I should mention that I felt a cold coming on, which is now in full form this weekend. So perhaps under different circumstances, his set would have met me with more optimism. Anyways, I think I should get some rest.

Photos: Ferraby Lionheart @ The Horseshoe on flickr.
Myspace: Ferraby Lionheart
Videos: A Crack In Time youtube / Small Planet youtube

Richard Hawley - Lady's Bridge

There is no other artist out there that makes me want to hold my wife more than Richard Hawley. That pitch perfect croon, that unabashed romanticism, that ringing echoed guitar. I realize that my description makes it sound like I wouldn't mind giving him a hug as well, but the fact is, that in an indie world, you're more likely to find influences like Bowie or the Velvet Underground as opposed to say, Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley. However, even legendary 60's crooner Scott Walker has lumped Mr. Hawley in with the all-time greats. This is interesting when you consider the fact that Hawley got his start as a backup guitarist in mainstream Britpop bands like Longpigs and Pulp. Thankfully, his band members encouraged him to go out on his own, and since then he has recorded some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard. Coles Corner, for example, from his 3rd album of the same name, has a timelessness that makes it sound like the type of song that would've gone down in history if it had been recorded about 40 years earlier. Needless to say, I'm a fan. So how does his 4th album, Lady's Bridge, stand up in comparison?

I have to admit, as a whole the album tends to lag a little bit more than its predecessor. It feels like he's spinning his wheels a little bit. But his voice is so powerful and majestic that even a lesser Hawley song comes across to me as a refreshing change from everything else that I listen to. And there are some great songs here. "Roll River Roll" has a slight shuffle to its sound with country-ish piano accompaniment that is sparse and controlled, meaning that it only chimes in when necessary. The stand up bass in "Serious" is awesome and the song is an all-out rockabilly assault that Brian Setzer could only dream of pulling off. The first single is "Tonight The Streets Are Ours" and the sound is unique from a male standpoint since the only artist doing this sound today are artists like Camera Obscura. However, Hawley does it here and still manages to sound manly. My other favorite is "I'm Looking For Someone To Find Me" which makes me laugh because it sort of reminds me of some of the goofy songs that you'd hear in one of Elvis' many B-movies. Perhaps I'm reverting to my childhood when I hear the song. Although it also reminds me of Morrissey a little bit too. Either way, this is an enjoyable album that may not quite stand up to his previous material, but still has enough quality songs to keep it interesting.

Richard Hawley will be at The Horseshoe on Wednesday December 5th.

Myspace: Richard Hawley
Video: Serious youtube / Tonight The Streets Are Ours youtube