James Yorkston / Lisa Knapp

During this August the Roundhouse has transformed itself into a cabaret style lounge area for a series of concerts under the name of “Colour Your Summer”. It goes for an intimate atmosphere and succeeds wholeheartedly with this aim. I have to admit that I'm a big fan of the refurbished Roundhouse as it really is a tremendous venue which can accommodate brash rock n roll through to a more sedate folky feel, which is what we're going for tonight. The sound is excellent with a clearness that allows you to hear that pin drop but luckily all pin like implements are kept from a collision course with the ground here.



To start things off we have Lisa Knapp. There's a nice mix of brush drums, double bass, fiddles and, at one point, spoons but the real star is Lisa's pristine voice, which is so pure that you feel the goodness in the air. By her own admission Lisa doesn't really do songs per se but creates a kind of aural soundscape that draws you in and gives you a bit of a cuddle and then puts you down for a nap. I see this as a good thing and she's more than capable of steering the band towards a more energetic crescendo when the need arises. There's a respectful appreciation of Lisa's set and no one naps.

James Yorkston has been around for a while now with the venerable John Peel playing his demo 'Moving Up Country, Roaring The Gospel' way back in 2002 and then supporting people like John Martyn, David Gray, Beth Orton and Tindersticks. His 5th album 'When the Haar Rolls In' is due to be released on the 1st September and we get a smattering of songs from it this evening. "Haar" is a Scots word for fog or sea mist but there's no blurring of James Yorkston's vision tonight. He leads his 6 musicians (accordion, drums, double bass, violin, clarinet, acoustic guitar and keyboards) through a selection of songs from the past few years through to his latest offerings. And yes I know I've just listed 7 instruments but Rueben Taylor doubles up on accordion and keyboards.



James announces that this is the first gig in about 2 years that he has enlisted a drummer and slowly eased himself into the set but shifts gear for the memorable 'Tortoise Regrets Hare' and '5am' which features a sublime solo by violinist Emma Smith. The band have to re-start the latter but that's of no concern to the crowd who are won over by Yorkston's dry wit and humour. It's like your best mate has come round to play you a few songs and you can relax and enjoy the performance like it's in your front room.

Yorkston threatens to do a version of 'Ace of Spades' a couple of times, which would have been fun but sensibly sticks to his own material for the set. The slow burn of 'Wooden Eyes' merges into 'Brussels Rambler' and you can feel how easy it is to get drawn into this world of introspection. It's a comforting feeling and the banter is welcome and entertaining. There's talk of seeing the Doors in 1968 (Yorkston was born in 1971), Russ Abbott and the unrelenting rain at the Green Man festival.



Back to the songs: a jaunty 'Cheating the Game' features evocative accordion and clarinet solos and the closing 'Midnight Feast' develops into a stirring climax of battling instruments (see above) which gives all the musicians a chance to flex their metaphorical muscles.

The band decide to stay on stage rather than go off and back on again for the usual encore routine, which is fine by the crowd. 'The Year of the Leopard' is a classy way to finish up the evening and hearty applause greets James and the band.

The setting here is an excellent way to view music of this type and accentuates Yorkston's demure strengths. He comes across as older than his 37 years but I don't mean that disrespectfully. It's just that he seems to have a canny understanding of the world around him and could effortlessly write the soundtrack to a feel good arty black and white movie (you know the type). His show is a master class of a kind of downbeat exuberance that just about stays the right side of sombre.

After the gig I pop into the Enterprise (the pub opposite not Captain Kirk's spaceship) for a post match drink. Within a couple of minutes James Yorkston calls in looking for his friends and we have a quick banter about the gig. He comes across as a genuinely good guy, which sums it all up quite appropriately. You could do a lot worse than to seek him out one day. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.