Live Review: Hattie Briggs' Trio at Nailsworth Festival 2015

Live Review: Hattie Briggs’ Trio, Nailsworth Subscription Rooms, 17^th May 2015

Tonight’s concert forms part of the Nailsworth Festival: a week of art, crafts and music events situated in and around the small picturesque Gloucestershire town. On arrival there is already a small crowd gathered around the entrance; Hattie and her band are still sound checking, the emerging sounds indicating the audience are in for a treat. Soon the crowd pour into the room, the gig appears to be a sell-out; festival staff put out more chairs at the back of the hall. The chairs themselves are more familiar sight in school classrooms; the audience are about to have a masterclass from a star pupil.

Hattie opens with Tilly’s Song, taken from 2013’s EP My Shepherd’s Hut, written for her friend’s twenty-first birthday. It is a delightfully sweet song, the eponymous Tilly must be proud of her friend. A Beautiful Mind, a tribute to late folk singer Pete Seeger, is sung with meaning and sincerity. It is not hard to see (and hear) why the song has received air play on Radio 2 and become album Red & Gold’s lead single. The high ceiling of the Subscription Rooms allow Hattie’s voice, though quiet in volume, to have maximum impact and is acoustically stunning.

On Your Way, the first of four new songs performed during the evening, indicates a more positive state of mind for the theme of the next album. The next song Autumn Leaves, previously covered by artists such as Eva Cassidy and Edith Piaf, is mesmerising. As the song finishes a member of the audience behind me sums up the feeling in the whole room by exclaiming, “Oh wow”. Wow indeed.

Hattie switches to the keyboard and a brief moment of panic crosses her face when no audible sound emerges; thankfully it is sorted out within seconds and Hattie maintains her composure with good humour. Share Your Heart, one of the stand-out tracks from Red & Gold, is next. The song, about learning to love yourself in order to share your heart with others, seems to tell the tale of a Hattie from long ago, still present but gradually fading into the past. After it finishes Hattie ironically remarks, “You can tell I was feeling really good when I wrote that one, I wonder what changed”. A sharp contrast to new song Lift Me Up, a complete step change; a Hattie now looking towards the future.

Without A Smile, the first song Hattie wrote aged 17, shows that even at a young age there was potential and talent waiting to be discovered. Hattie likens the song to an old jacket, ready to be taken out and worn again. With just piano and voice on this song the cellos which have hitherto been provided by Asha McCarthy and Barney Morse-Brown, are notable in their absence; this is the Hattie Briggs’ Trio after all. Hattie says that the motto when recording the album was if in doubt add more cello; Asha and Barney certainly do this in spades. The songs throughout the evening are enhanced from those of the album versions; further deepening the richness and emotional core of the originals. This is no more evident on the final song of the first half, All About Love, which Hattie dedicates to a couple celebrating their second wedding anniversary. Considering the song’s optimism and romanticism it is a seemingly appropriate gesture.

The second half continues to show Hattie, Asha and Barney’s incredible talents. Sacred Heart, a Civil Wars cover, is sung entirely in French. Hattie admits to being the most nervous about this song; her former French teacher is in the audience. However, Hattie delivers an A* performance.

Despite the more positive vibe to her new material, the lyrics to Happy In Your Arms, “…poison in your lips and in your fingertips…” show, that at times, dark undertones are ever present. Nevertheless, new song You Only Live Once suggests living in the moment seems to be Hattie’s goal. She says that she resisted calling the song “YOLO”; it is easy to forget that she is only 22; lyrically, vocally and in person she is already wise beyond her years.

Fields Of Gold receives the biggest applause of the night, plus an extra well-deserved appreciation for Asha and Barney’s cello playing. The spirit of Eva Cassidy is surely looking down on Hattie with a smile. The version is a testament to the significant influence which the late singer had on Hattie, so much so Eva’s brother Dan produced and played violin on the track for the album.

Hattie finishes with Pull Me Down, a slow-burning song about resisting the perils of the music industry’s way of changing artists into something they are not. Hattie is true to her words; her songs and performance speak nothing but honesty. Called back for an encore the trio perform Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. The audience needs no encouragement to join in; they openly rejoice at an evening of a 19-song spectacular. Indeed Hattie, Asha and Barney’s performance must be credited with high praise.

The most wondrous element is Hattie herself. Both her performance and persona seems a world away from that at the Stroud Fringe Festival in August 2014. The transformation in a mere nine months is astounding. Sharing anecdotes about her older brother, vintage suitcases, and her beloved fifteen-year-old dog Panda, her confidence with audiences has expanded ten-fold. She seems to be gradually unlocking the shackles of her past, her heart set free from the uncertainty which, in her own words, “…have haunted her for years…” The experience of her recent five week tour supporting duo Kathryn Roberts & Sean Lakeman has paid off handsomely and has given the exposure her music richly deserves. The new songs have set a president for greater things to come. If this is what nine months can do, it is most certainly Still With Hope I See an ever brighter future for Hattie Briggs.

8.5/10

Set List

• Tilly’s Song (from My Shepherd’s Hut EP)
• A Beautiful Mind
• On Your Way (new song)
• Autumn Leaves (Jo Stafford/Eva Cassidy cover)
• Godspeed
• Share Your Heart
• Lift Me Up (new song)
• Without A Smile
• All About Love

Interval

 

• Old Eyes
• Sacred Heart (The Civil Wars cover)
• Happy In Your Arms
• Your Song (Elton John cover)
• You Only Live Once (new song)
• Fields Of Gold (Sting/Eva Cassidy cover)
• Still With Hope I See
• Castle On The Sand (new song)
• Pull Me Down

Encore

• Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen cover)

Live Review: Coco And The Butterfields at Prema Arts Centre, Uley, Gloucestershire

Live Review: Coco And The Butterfields at Prema Arts Centre, Uley, Gloucestershire 25^th April 2015

 

Prema, an Arts Centre situated in rural Gloucestershire, is the setting for Canterbury five-piece Coco And The Butterfields’ second date of their Say Hello Tour. The venue, a formal Baptist Chapel, is currently undergoing renovation. Despite the scaffolding on the outside encasing its Cotswold Stone beauty, the inside has the right mix of quirkiness and warmth. On the top floor wooden beams stretch over the high ceiling, artwork adorns the walls, and the low hum of voices from the popular Prema Arts Café drifts up the stairs.

The age range of tonight’s audience is as diverse as the band's sound: an indicator that Coco And The Butterfields appeal to both the age-old folkie and the younger listener wanting a more contemporary sound.  

The band approach the stage from the back of the room to moderate applause, perhaps the audience is not entirely sure what they are in for. Singer and guitarist Tom Twyman immediately answers that question by simply saying, “this is what we’re all about”, before launching into a cover of Gym Class Heroes’ Cupid’s Chokehold. It is a rousing performance and certainly warms up the crowd.  At the end of the song Tom admits they have played the whole song without the mic on the guitar being turned on; the band plays the chorus once again, this time with the guitar.

They go on to play a selection of covers and original songs selected from four EPs, not bad for a group which have only been together since 2011. The first original song of the evening, Walls, begins by the band saying that “we aren’t really used to seated venues, so for the next one we need to sway in your seats”. No instruction was really needed because the song alone is enough to get the audience moving to the irresistible beat.

If the audience aren’t won over already, an incredible version of Nina Simone’s Feeling Good  which is familiar to both old and young; showcases Dulcima Showan’s soulful, powerful vocals and proving that any genre of music holds no bounds.

An anecdote about the nursery rhyme Jack & Jill segways into the closing performance of the first half, a mash-up of Flo Rida’s Low and Jay Z’s Encore, with band members shimmying down on stage as they play: a band not afraid to really let go and let their fun-loving personalities come through. However, as with all of the evening’s hip hop covers, older members of the audience may not be familiar with the original songs and therefore not fully appreciative of the re-working.

Two songs into the second half Tom makes the announcement that Dulcima is recovering from bronchitis. If this is how she is when she is ill it is astonishing to think what she is like with full vocal power. The next song, a relatively new addition to the set, is Britney Spears’ Toxic. Once again vocally and instrumentally, particularly the violin’s glissando, not only recreate but enhance the original version.

New song Hello is a beam of sunshine: a loop pedal replicates Dulcima’s voice; it echoes around the room, radiating in its beauty and creating an undeniably joyous reaction.

Three songs before the end the audience members who have been dancing at the side of the room are invited to dance in front of the band. Warriors seems to be the most well known song; the audience instantly joins in with its anthemic sing-along chorus. With the dancing now at the front the atmosphere changes to reflect the vibrancy which the band has been emitting all along: an indication of what the band could be capable of at a larger, outdoor venue. Hip Hop Song maintains this energy. The theme from The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air follows before the Hip Hop Song is reprised to rapturous applause.

As the band draw the night to a close each has a chance to perform individually to show off what they can do. BeatBoxer Jamie showcases his incredible talent with his voice-box-of-tricks, a highlight of this section. The audience cries out for more and the band happily agree with House of Pain’s Jump Around, encouraging everyone to get to their feet for the last thirty seconds, most are happy to oblige.

All in all Coco And The Butterfields are a fascinating spectacle. Their style, attitude and music was well matched to Prema but their extrovertiveness is probably best suited to an outdoor or festival stage. Their set is slightly reliant on covers; although innovatively inspired, it is their original songs that are of an equally, if not better standard and should have more pride of place in what they do. The diverse equation of Banjo and BeatBox shouldn’t work, but it does: it is a winning formula. Future audiences will want more than to just Say Hello; they will greet Coco And The Butterfields with wide smiles and open arms, time after time.

8/10  

Set List

• Cupid’s Chokehold (Gym Class Heroes Cover)
• Walls
• Astronauts
• Feeling Good (Nina Simone Cover)
• Five Bells
• Low/Encore (Flo Rida/Jay Z Cover)

Interval

• Instrumental
• Shadows
• Toxic (Britney Spears Cover)
• Hello
• Hard Knock Life (Jay Z Cover)
• Mother
• Warriors
• Hip Hop Song
• Fresh Prince Of Bel Air (Will Smith Cover)
• Hip Hop Song Reprise

Encore

• Jump Around (House of Pain Cover)