Reviews
Artists: Sean Taylor
Venue: Platform Tavern
Town: Southampton
Date: 25th March
Website:
http://seantaylorsongs.com
As many of you will know, we've championed the cause of Sean Taylor for a number of years. 2010 looks like being a pivotal year for him, with a new album just finished recording, a new manager and a new agent, his hard graft and three impressive albums look like producing dividends. When I heard that he was playing in nearby Southampton, it was time to head up the M27 and catch up with the man and his guitar.
I've never been to the Platform Tavern before, it's down near the docks. The performance area is a flat floor at one end, but with it's own built in PA, sound desk etc. Initially I feared the worst, but a glance at some of the names that have graced the Thursday and Friday blues night showed me that this was a venue that takes it's music seriously. It also has links with one of Southampton's bigger venues, The Brook, so there's plenty of scope for stepping things up a level.
Talking to a couple of the regulars, it soon became apparent that the audience knew their music. There was a bit of background noise as Sean started his set, but this died away quickly and within a couple of songs attention was firmly focused on the performer, to the extent that Taylor felt comfortable slipping in a couple of quieter numbers.
Sean was playing two sets, choosing to use the first to play material from his two most recent albums, "Angels" and "Calcutta Grove", it was a strategy that seemed to pay off, judging by the number of album sales and mailing list signings he made during the interval. Sean has an unusual approach to his guitar work, occasionally even using the internal pick up as a vocal mic, but it's his occasional use of twin capos and over the neck fingering that was drawing the audience attention. Judging back the reception to one of the few covers Sean did, it would also appear Dylan is a popular figure amongst the Platform Tavern crowd, though noticeably it was the songs from "Calcutta Grove" that were getting the most reaction.
There were a couple of cover's in Sean's second set as well, most notably his take on Ritchie Haven's "Freedom" a song that Sean is very much making his own.
The second set, performed to a notably bigger audience, was where Sean began to showcase the new material from his forthcoming album, "Walk With Me" hopefully out in the summer.
You could sense a real pride in the new songs, you also noticed less background noise. Even those that will insist on trying to hold a conversation when those around them are listening to the performer decided to shut up and hear what was going on. It gave Sean the opportunity to really show the full range of his songs, the gentler, more delicate songs as well as the more full on numbers.
It was both mine and Sean's first visit to the venue and a really good night out. Like a lot of pubs the layout isn't the best for the music, but that's compensated for by an audience that seems to know their stuff. I'll keep my eye on the website and may well be back, hopefully the next time Sean Taylor is in Southampton, it'll be at the Brook.