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Jon Byrne

Venue: Nolias 11
Town: London
Date: 26th June
Website: http://www.jonbyrne.co.uk

Having been sent of a copy of the album Built By Angels, which captured my interest with its tales of Northern woe. I felt motivated to venture down to the most unusual of music venues near London's Waterloo. Descending the stairs to a scene reminiscent of some Mike Leigh movie, there was the artist Jon Byrne, a Dickensian looking character that had the audience in the palm of his hand with his take on life in a Northern town.

Early on in the set the track 'Living the Dream' showed off a vocal style that I felt forced a Tom Waits style vocal croak a little too much - but after watching the thinnest of people kicking the hell out of a stomp box, and dressed to the nines with black & white winkle-pickers for a few tunes, I was soon won over.

Apparently discovered by none other than Mick Jones from The Clash, this English eccentric had the patter down to a fine art; introducing each tune with an enthralling take on its lyrical birth, and holding the audience's full attention for an hour and a half set. After a few songs performed solo, Jon was joined onstage by his fellow musicians who introduced bass, piano, banjo and some very tastefully understated lead guitar work on various numbers.

Key moments of the night for me were the Dylan-esque styled 'Lighthouse' with it's harmonica intro - a song for Jon's wife apparently, which he wished he'd written for on their wedding day, but didn't come about till after the event. Then there was the delicate 'Hollywood Calling' in which he recounts a recent visit to LA and the atmosphere of desperation found there as people get lost in their quest for fame and celebrity. Other tracks that stood out were the melodic 'Positively State of the Art' with its cautionary tale of dealing life's difficult people and the Cigarette Song - a tune about Chinese whispers during a night out in a Barrow-in-Furness nightclub.

I expected to see a singer-songwriter with his acoustic guitar albeit with intriguing storytelling aplomb. I somehow left the venue with the impression of something bigger, more engrossing and wondered just how long it will be before the rest of the world catches on. . . Not too long I think.

Joe Mahone