Now, the life of an amateur journalist can be non-stop my friends; me and the Birthday gang are out and about as much as we can, reviewing shows so you don’t have to! So it’s always nice when a show comes along that ticks all the right boxes in terms of venue, billing and timing (and also impresses your wife that you’ve got list for it). Tonight we are at The Albert Hall, one of our favourite Manc venues, for a sold out show, as the inimitable Beth Gibbons graces us with her first ever solo tour in support of her first ever solo album, ‘Lives Outgrown’. What makes this a double whammy for me is that label mate and everyone’s favourite sad lad, Bill Ryder-Jones, is opening up!!
Me and the other half smugly walk into The Albert Hall, noticing that no one is in the corridors, naively thinking that we’ll find a nice cosy spot to watch Bill before there’s a rush of Beth fans into the venue. But this is not the case, as the place is absolutely fucking rammed as we squeeze in downstairs (we couldn’t even get a bloody seat, Ed). It makes sense for the room to be a buzz for Mr Ryder-Jones, as he has made arguably one of the best records of 2024 in ‘Iechyd Da’ and tonight he treats us to a stripped back duo set, as he’s backed by friend Evelyn from Pet Snake on cello and backing vocals.
The set is brief and is only made briefer by an unfortunate medical emergency down the front, but Bill and Evelyn calmly stop the set and wait for the all clear (my favourite moment is when Bill calls someone a shit-head for supposedly filming the emergency before realising they’re just taking a selfie). But brief as it is, it’s just beyond lovely hearing Bill’s raspy, bleary eyed vocal ooze through the PA amongst pin-drop silence from the polite crowd tonight. I’m particularly pleased to hear two tunes from 2018’s incredible ‘Yawn’ LP and ‘Don’t Be Scared, I Love You’ is particularly a damp eyed moment. What a beauty.
The only trick that I think might have been missed is playing only one tune off the new record (‘This Can’t Go On’) and this is only down to the response it gets from the crowd, both at its start and end. In the same breath, it seems like these songs were chosen to compliment its stripped back set up and together, Bill and Evelyn sound angelic. I was chuffed to finally see this guy live as it’s been years in the making for me and I am very much up for when he returns back to the venue with a full band in December, co-headlining with the one and only Gruff Rhys.
After we practically crowd surfed to the merch to grab a well priced copy of Bill’s new record, we set up shop in the corner of the venue, getting bashed by countless tote bags as we await Beth and band to take our minds off how packed in we are tonight. And to be fair, she does the trick, as from the minute she sings, it’s hard not to be hypnotised by her voice, which sounds as spellbinding as it did when she first came out in the 90’s fronting British pioneers Portishead. Though there is a rendition of ‘Roads’ from the classic ‘Dummy’ LP to close the set, that’s the only glimpse we get of her old band tonight. And to be honest, I’m ok with that as the whole point of this show is to promote Beth’s new brilliant record, which she plays in full, interspersed with two tracks from her Rustin Man collab from 2002.
The ‘Out Of Season’ tracks do work very well amidst the rest of the material, for Beth has produced a hauntingly beautiful set of gothic folk. The surroundings of The Albert Hall suit these songs so well and needless to say, the whole room is entranced by the eight strong band on stage tonight, every member putting in a big shift. We’ve got one guy flickering between percussion and flute and it’s hard not to watch as he is so engrossed in the songs, while two violists play in complete sync and make tracks like ‘Burden Of Life’ and ‘Floating On A Moment’ absolutely soar. The latter sounds spine-tinglingly gorgeous, having not left my ears since I first heard it a few months ago.
Gibbons is known for being a reclusive and shy character, often hiding behind the mic stand and tonight she walks onstage like she’s stumbled into the wrong room, but when she sings, it seems as if all of her inhibitions are released and she performs with so much poise and conviction. It’s a pretty hypnotic set all in all, with the crowd very much in the palm of her hands. As we skip through the city centre, me and our lass both agree that this is a show that was peaceful, atmospheric and engaging. Worth the squash in? I’d say so!
Like what you see? Why not stick around and check out the other articles and interviews!
Don’t forget to follow Birthday Cake For Breakfast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
Birthday Cake For Breakfast 