The night featured three diverse acoustic guitar acts, all with very different styles and all deserving of praise, especially headliner StringerBessant, aka Gary Stringer and Jack Bessant, aka those two blokes from Reef.
First up was Street based singer songwriter Nick Parker, whose excellent debut album King of False Alarms we reviewed over the summer.
Parker commands the stage, giving a passionate performance of songs about subjects ranging from internet romance to a dire Saturday night out in a small rural town.
StringerBessant
Second act Ryan Inglis may not command the stage as well as Parker, but his mastery of his guitar is not in dispute. Finger picking and using the guitar frame for added percussion, there was not a bum note in his set.
Although his songs are not to my taste, a little too mainstream, that should in no way be taken as a criticism. Inglis was in a particularly good mood as well as he has just secured $15,000 through US website SliceThePie to produce a new album?
Headliner tonight was local indie-rock celebrities StringerBessant. The pair are part of Reef, which reformed for a string of dates this year, but in their spare time they perform as an acoustic guitar duo. My knowledge of Reef, like most people’s I imagine, is limited to their big 1997 hit ‘Place Your Hands’. What was on display tonight was a world away.
Stringer still has one of the best rock voices around, but tonight rather than use it to carry a band it was there as contrast to the heavily bearded Bessant’s softer, more US indie sounding voice, which occasionally drifted into one of the deepest bass vocals I’ve heard for some time. It helped create a really likeable and honest performance of Neil Young-esque folk songs. Highlights included ‘Hey Girl’ from their summer released album Yard.
Stringer, who hasn’t aged a bit since Reef’s 90s heyday, was clearly pleased to be there and to see a pretty sizeable turnout. “Look at you all. I’m stoked,” he said, beaming at the 150-or-so strong crowd.
8/10
by Joe Lepper
for more information about StringerBessant visit here.
Related Posts
you got it spot on, best £7 spent since the last time i saw them. there is so much more to be got with an intimate gig so close up the the artists, and they’ve aways got time to chat later, quality