Bristol beheld a gracious sound experience on August 28th when Wayne Hussey, accompanied by Evi Vine, hosted his musical homecoming for his “Salad Daze” tour at the Hen & Chicken in Southville.
Wayne Hussey and Evi Vine performed in a cozy live space on the second floor of the pub and one is immediately relaxed by the intimate feeling of venue. No hustle and bustle of crowds or deafening murmuring, just a real sense of peace. The atmosphere was an almost perfect overture for the tone of the evening’s performers.
Evi’s set was a gorgeous exploration into feelings of disconsolate. The performance consisted of a handful of songs from previous discography, but excerpts of her new album, “Black//Light//White//Dark” were the point of convergence for the evening. Evi possesses a misleadingly shy, retreating voice, which would then completely defy expectations into powerful soulful cries, accompanied by melancholic tones and subtle variations. All of this accumulated into, what could be best described as, a beautiful sadness. When performing songs like, “My Only Son” and “Sad Song No.9”, the pain expressed in these songs were well and truly shared by the audience. To Pidgeon hole her style would be unfair as she crosses so many genres, and unlike certain bands (*cough* *cough* oasis) takes inspiration and reminds one of so many musical greats.
The subtleness of the instrumental orchestration allows the listener to concentrate their attention on the thought-provoking lyricism and the gracefulness in which they are performed. Her vocals are reminiscing of the hypnotic and dreamy fluctuations of the Trailer Trash Tracey’s, lyrics that Ian Curtis would be proud to sing, a persona like the mellow and coolness of Jim Morrison and an aesthetic that reminds one of the likes of Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick. She is an agent that allows fans of classic psychedelic rock, post punk, folk and indie to unite in enjoyment, and the captivated crowd seemed to savour every note, breaking into sensational applause after each song. It was a wonderful, yet heart-breaking performance that was well received by the audience, and that certainly left a lasting impression on me.
Hussey’s set felt like one was sat in his living room next to a cozy fire as he performed a repertoire of songs that the audience in interactions with Evi all proclaimed that had enjoyed and been inspired by for years. He swaggered onto the stage with a guitar in one hand and a bottle of something cheerful in the other. He allowed for some flirting with the audience before smoothly transitioning into the beloved songs the crowd had come to see. His rugged Rockstar look betrays a surprisingly youthful, albeit gritty voice which assisted by his acoustic guitar, gave his performance a very comforting feel.
Those who may have been unfamiliar with Evi Vine’s work before seeing her support set would now completely understand why she was selected to join the tour, as we see Mr Hussey without his “The Mission” counterparts perform an emotional set. He certainly did his home city proud as he reflected the south west’s most famous attribute, the sense of community.
The audience was made to feel like they were his friend and it was a relaxing change to the style of gigs we see today – the band distant and far away on a high up stage, instead, Wayne is sat down with you as though he stood up from a front row seat and just decided to dawn a guitar. To summarize with a phrase of my and Wayne’s local roots, Gurt Lush!
PS: Special thx to Andrew Jungelson.
Evi’s set was a gorgeous exploration into feelings of disconsolate. The performance consisted of a handful of songs from previous discography, but excerpts of her new album, “Black//Light//White//Dark” were the point of convergence for the evening. Evi possesses a misleadingly shy, retreating voice, which would then completely defy expectations into powerful soulful cries, accompanied by melancholic tones and subtle variations. All of this accumulated into, what could be best described as, a beautiful sadness. When performing songs like, “My Only Son” and “Sad Song No.9”, the pain expressed in these songs were well and truly shared by the audience. To Pidgeon hole her style would be unfair as she crosses so many genres, and unlike certain bands (*cough* *cough* oasis) takes inspiration and reminds one of so many musical greats.
The subtleness of the instrumental orchestration allows the listener to concentrate their attention on the thought-provoking lyricism and the gracefulness in which they are performed. Her vocals are reminiscing of the hypnotic and dreamy fluctuations of the Trailer Trash Tracey’s, lyrics that Ian Curtis would be proud to sing, a persona like the mellow and coolness of Jim Morrison and an aesthetic that reminds one of the likes of Jefferson Airplane’s Grace Slick. She is an agent that allows fans of classic psychedelic rock, post punk, folk and indie to unite in enjoyment, and the captivated crowd seemed to savour every note, breaking into sensational applause after each song. It was a wonderful, yet heart-breaking performance that was well received by the audience, and that certainly left a lasting impression on me.
Hussey’s set felt like one was sat in his living room next to a cozy fire as he performed a repertoire of songs that the audience in interactions with Evi all proclaimed that had enjoyed and been inspired by for years. He swaggered onto the stage with a guitar in one hand and a bottle of something cheerful in the other. He allowed for some flirting with the audience before smoothly transitioning into the beloved songs the crowd had come to see. His rugged Rockstar look betrays a surprisingly youthful, albeit gritty voice which assisted by his acoustic guitar, gave his performance a very comforting feel.
Those who may have been unfamiliar with Evi Vine’s work before seeing her support set would now completely understand why she was selected to join the tour, as we see Mr Hussey without his “The Mission” counterparts perform an emotional set. He certainly did his home city proud as he reflected the south west’s most famous attribute, the sense of community.
The audience was made to feel like they were his friend and it was a relaxing change to the style of gigs we see today – the band distant and far away on a high up stage, instead, Wayne is sat down with you as though he stood up from a front row seat and just decided to dawn a guitar. To summarize with a phrase of my and Wayne’s local roots, Gurt Lush!
PS: Special thx to Andrew Jungelson.
