Hiss Golden Messenger at Independent, Sunderland

The Independent in Sunderland is a venue I have not attended before but a visit by the band that produced my second favourite album of last year, was not to be missed.

I attended with a pal who is writing a 'proper' review of Hiss Golden Messenger's show, so as usual I will confine myself to reporting on my own personal thoughts and feelings about the gig and will leave the hard work to him.

What struck me most about the evening was how we can have a band who not only featured in my 'best of' list for 2014, but also featured heavily in most other music critics lists, yet here they were performing before just over 100 people in this tiny venue. While I am not complaining at being able to see these guys in close proximity, I am left shaking my head in wonder at the fact that the likes of Mumford & Son can pack out stadiums these days. There just ain't no justice, but we all knew that anyway didn't we?

Anyhow, M. C. Taylor and pals (Scott Hirsch on bass, Phil Cook on guitar and piano and another guy I don't know on drums) delivered a mighty fine set taken largely from their most recent album, 'Lateness of Dancers'. They had also obviously done their homework as Taylor was able to make reference to the rivalry between Sunderland and Newcastle and he spoke of the famous horse punching incident of a couple of years ago. If you have no idea what I'm on about, you can get a report of that incident here.

Regarding the performance, I may have missed some of the subtle nuances of the album versions (such as the sublime female vocals on 'Southern Grammar' and the lush organ that weaves its way through songs like 'Mahogany Dread') but the band had clearly restructured these numbers for live performance giving some of them an added bite. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the set and it was all over far too soon.

Incidentally, Taylor made reference to bluegrass singer and banjo player Alice Gerrard who at 80 is still making fine music (backed most recently by Hiss Golden Messenger) and who has been nominated this year for a Grammy award.

Regarding the venue, I was suitably impressed and had hoped to return next month to see GoGo Penguin, only for me to discover that it is sold out. Shame!