Hold Steady The Wire: Howie Payne - St. Pancras Old Church Review

Howie Payne

Live at St Pancras Old Church, London.

05/06/2013

Setlist:

Dangling Threads

Some Believer, Sweet Dreamer

It's Only Everything

The Brightest Star

Hold Steady The Wire 

Forever In Blue 

Here She Comes Again 

Do Right By Me 

When This River Rolls Over You 

You Said 

Come Down Easy

Femme Fatale

Lay Down Your Tune For Me

(setlist roughly in order)

When I interviewed Howie back in April, he mentioned these gigs and I promised to try and make them all. Sadly, the Leeds gig on 25^th May gig coincided with my own band’s gig, so I sadly had to give it a miss. When the London one was announced it was a must see, and despite a tight money squeeze, we managed to make it down to the St. Pancras Old Church for a rather different gig, intimate to say the least.

Even the best efforts of our London cab driver taking us to the wrong venue and asking us out of towners for directions, we manage to find the ‘venue’. There’s a gathering of people outside basking in the last of the sunshine between acts.

The venue is essentially a small church, with bibles brushed to one side and a make shift bar on the other, the room adorned with candlelight and one or two spotlights on the altar acting as a make shift stage, a single chair and microphone waiting.

The chairs for mass are still out, and we grab a seat in the third row. Amongst the crowd are musical siblings Candie and Sean (Zutons) as well as Jeff Wooton (Gorillaz, Beady Eye) and there’s a certain buzz in the air.

Howie emerges from the ‘backstage area’ (probably after a spot of confession?) and takes a seat, guitar in hand. There’s no quick soundcheck or a hello to the crowd gathered and seated, and strums the beautiful intro to ‘Dangling Threads’ from his 2009 solo album Bright Light Ballads. Voice sounding fantastic in the acoustics of the small church, as was the rapturous applause it was greeted with.

Howie launches right into a brand new demo that he’d posted days earlier on his Soundcloud page, ‘Some Believer, Sweet Dreamer’ with a haunting sounding vocal. The first of a batch of new songs he’d perform tonight.

The first Stands song of the night comes tumbling in, the aggressive acoustic string hitting style of ‘It’s Only Everything’ and later on in the set we get a mellow we’re treated to the delightful acoustic pickings of ‘Here She Comes Again’ all of the heavier songs off of All Years Leaving stripped back of the 2^nd guitar, bass and drums, laid bare, re-worked and showcased in all of their beauty, with Howie’s expert guitar sound and his accompanying older and wiser sounding voice from The Stands days.

Howie’s most well received demo of late has been ‘The Brightest Star’, has the hairs on everyone’s necks and backs raised, and becomes almost like a hymn as the audience hum along to the addictive melody and guitar changes. I’m placing my bet it’ll be the next big hit for Payne.

For those who were beady eyed enough, will of seen Howie wrote a vast amount of Ren Harvieu’s album, released last year, and tonight we’re treated to the way they were intended to be played, the orchestra is missing, it’s one man and a guitar, ‘Do Right By Me’ and ‘Forever In Blue’ – in which Howie’s fellow Scouse mate has adopted as an Everton anthem.

But it’s the fragile ‘Hold Steady The Wire’ that steals the night away, with a stand out lyric of ‘you chase the rain from the skies, you are like lightning to me...’

In between songs, there’s chants for ‘I Need You’ and ‘All Years Leaving’ in which Payne remarks he needs his harmonica and is without one tonight, usual staples in his live set, though they are unmissed, and we’re treated to the heartbreaking ‘You Said’ from The Stands’ 2^nd album, Horse Fabulous, die hard Stands fans such as myself delighted it got an airing.

After a Richie Havens styled guitar intro, ‘Come Down Easy’ in all it’s swagger styled bluesy acoustic sounds is played, a song that really comes to life when played live, before Payne departs for a slight moment and heads back to the stage to tune up before a gentle rendition of The Velvet Underground’s ‘Femme Fatale’, giving the song a whole new meaning and sound, before playing his final song of the night, the album closer from his solo album, ‘Lay Down Your Tune For Me’, a song that has yet to lose its charm, beauty and wonder since I first heard it.

Howie explains mid-gig the reason for the absent harmonica, and says he chucked them all away in a house cleaning frenzy - when last year he decided he wasn’t going to play live shows any more. Luckily for us, he changed his mind and hopefully it isn’t too long before he has a new band and a new record out.

CP.

@rocknrollparksy

Part One: 'A Little Payne Never Hurt Anyone': The Musical Guide to Howard Eliott Payne http://rockndolestar.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/a-little-payne-never-hurt-anyone.html

Part Two: 'Coming Down Easy: In Converstaion with Howie Payne' http://rockndolestar.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/coming-down-easy-in-conversation-with.html

You can keep up with Howie online on sites below:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HowiePayneMusic
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/HowiePayneMusic 
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/howiepaynemusic
Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/howiepayne

Thanks for reading! 
@rocknrollparksy