Howe Gelb and a Band of Gypsies

Date:  Wednesday 8th June 2011

Venue:  Union Chapel

Tonight was the third time we'd seen Howe Gelb.  The first time (at the Luminaire) he didn't really endear himself to me, as he appeared so ridiculously late and engaged in such ponderous banter we only heard a few songs before having to head off to avoid spending the night on the streets of Kilburn.  He has been known to call his solo shows "a discussion with a collection of tunes attached", and I do remember a rather redundant comment about people needing to get trains home which suggested he rather enjoys this sort of audience-frustrating schtick.  The second time was before Willard Grant Conspiracy at the Bloomsbury Theatre, where he played at an excellent set, the support slot presumably affording fewer opportunities for waywardness.

Amor de Dias

The support tonight was provided by Amor de Dias (Clientele frontman Alasdair MacLean and Lupe Nunez-Fernandez of indiepop duo Pipas), whose debut record Street of the Love of Days has just been released.  MacLean mentioned they were 'half English, half Spanish, and just come in from San Diego' and so were feeling a bit confused.   Their quiet, unassuming but accomplished set of Spanish-influenced folk certainly didn't suggest confusion, but perhaps struggled to fully capture the attention of the audience.



Howe in storytelling mode

The Union Chapel had advertised a rather specific 8.55 start for Howe and the Band of Gypsies, though when ten past nine came and went I started to fear the worst.  However, soon after Howe took the stage alone and regaled us with the last time he'd played this venue, when he'd talked for an hour to a disgruntled crowd and then only played the Vic Chesnutt song "Expiration Day" ('I'm a machinist at the Springfield Armory...'). Sounds like we were let off lightly in Kilburn, but his self awareness and wry sense of humour carried the day here, and this moving rendition of the same song, accompanied only by guitar and double bass, got the evening off to a great start.

Then, the 'Band of Gypsies' (basically the group of Spanish guitarist and flamenco superstar Raimundo Amador, on fine form here tonight) came on. Gelb recorded his latest album Alegrias with them in Spain.  It consists mainly of Giant Sand songs reworked in laid-back flamenco influenced folk forms well suited to Gelb's relaxed vocals and style of song writing.  The first song they played was also the first off the album, "4 Door Maverick", a great rendition which perfectly illustrated how the rhythmic skill of these musicians really brings the songs alive.  Impressive versions of "Blood Orange" (a song which apparently influenced Guy Garvey, who confessed to stealing the lyric) and "Cowboy Boots on Cobble Stone" followed.  As Howe quipped, "This is not a bad way to get old".  Whilst Raimundo treated us to a solo slice of flamenco guitar, Howe took his beer and went for a wander to the back of the stage and had a quick look under the pulpit.  This quite amused me, as I've often wondered if musicians are tempted to check out the rather unusual stage set-up here, though I haven't seen anyone else do so.

Robyn Hitchcock

As befits a serial collaborator, a number of guests featured tonight.  Producer John Parish played the drums, and a female singer (Sarah, didn't quite catch the last name) was invited from the audience onto the stage for an unrehearsed number which worked out well in the end.  Robyn Hitchcock was also a welcome surprise, playing his song "Ole! Tarantula" from the 2006 album of the same name, made with the Venus 3.  As an encore all the guests come back on for an enjoyable, if slightly shambolic, version of "Light My Fire".

The Band of Gypsies

Fire Records have recently re-released many of the old Giant Sand albums as 25th anniversary editions, and they looked might fine displayed on the merch stand tonight.  As his inspired collaborations show, Howe is master at bringing out the vitality of his substantial back catalogue. His clear respect for the flamenco musicians (and presumably the language barrier) ensured that things were kept right on track tonight, which was all about the music. All in all, it was an enjoyable alt-country gypsy-flamenco master class, which, as that definition suggests, rather defies categorisation.  It was all the better for that.