In 2015, Talia SImone got through the somewhat arduous process to perform at that years C2C festival, it took us at least five years or so to eventually catch up with her to find out what all the fuss had been about. Five years further on and a chance date at Ram Jam Records with up and coming Florence Sommerville in tow as support, was the ideal opportunity to reaquaint ourselves with Talia. The venue itself with it's entrance buried away at the back of a restaurant was something of a revelation, some walls covered in album sleeves, a mural of black artists playing on another.
The stage was placed in one corner with a red neon Ram Jam Records logo above it, the bar against the back wall. There was space for a number of small round tables with a few people bravely standing, Given that patrons had paid their entrance fee it was not quite the noise free atmosphere that you might have expected, and so each act would need to work to gain the audiences attention.
For some reason, the name the Wild Thorns had conjured up an image, of some young hipsters ready to tear the place apart. As Talia took to the stage in her tassled jacket and boots, they would reveal themselves to be more seasoned professionals, who would prove themselves to be most adept at dealing with whatever Talia would challenge them with from country swing to surf. They may have seen the earth rotate around the sun quite a few times between them, however more importantly they still played with the enthusiasm of a rocking young combo.
As the set opened with "Dirty Water", the Wild Thorns, with 2 electric guitars, bass and drums joining Talia's acoustic guitar, would provide a rootsy rocking sound that was easy to embrace. An unlikely drum roll, then took us into the strange world where "Surf meets Country" - it was a curious mix that somehow worked, the prominent guitar line was part Ventures, part Tex Mex, so the leap to Country was not as great as it might first have seemed. Talia's delivery on "The Fire In Me" was full of drama had a definte Spanish feel at times.
For the next tune "Burn It" from Talia's excellent "Beauty Queen" EP, the pace slowed, it would open to just Talia and one electric guitar, for the opening minute or so until 4 clicks of the drumsticks took us off in a completely new direction. An unusual guitar line would on the chorus, rise then fall in the strangest of ways - mid way through, the same guitarist would then throw in a sumptuous guitar solo, that Talia could not help but watch and admire, smiling as she soaked it all in.
Keeping us on our toes, the next song took in a bit of Western swing, it would prove the band to be adept at whatever style they chose to play. Talia could not have sounded more traditionally country on "Last Last Time". Another change in sound came with "Break Through The Bottom" saw Talia become a true country Queen with a sassy soaring delivery - also replete with a suitably country solo. Varying the pace it was a great little set piece.
A return to the second song she ever wrote took Talia to "Oh My Gosh, a glorious bit of rockabilly, fast paced fabulous traditional country. Introduced as a sad ballad "that makes it sound like I want to kill my husband". "Lost and Found" was in fact a fictional ballad, that Talia powerfully sold, the band showing they could be as subtle as at other times they were rawkus. Another powerful drum intro took us into one of Talia's newest songs, "We Start Again" - Midway through the band would stop entirely and the room would fall totally silent listening to just Talia, when the band did kick back in they set up a rocking finale that a group half their age would be proud of.
There's no denying that "Forget It" had a touch of Chuck Berry about it, but it is all by Talia's own hand. It was a lovely little rocker that would see her firing out lyrics like a machine gun. From rock 'n' roll, it was over to slow blues country for Talia's newest song - "Hurting Way More Than You" - a beautifully understated performance from the band really shone the llght on Talia. There was a definite Johnny Cash twang to "Asphodel", with a chorus that would see Talia's voice rise as she namechecked the flower in the chorus. You'll need to go see her to find out why it is called"The Harry Potter Song"
The main set of quite wonderful yet versatile country setwould end with Talia's favourite song "Nothing If I Ain't Got You", a mid paced rocker, with almost Rolling Stones riffs appearing at times - it was a perfect way to bring things to a close.
Naturally there was room for an encore - and it came in a Claire Lynch bluegrass cover "When I Look Up Rock Bottom Is All I See" - complte with drums!.
The main support of the evening was Florence Sommerville, hot off an impressive debut show at The Green Note. She is gaining a reputation at a rapid rate and it's easy to see why, comfortable on stage and not phased by a crowd not initially giving 100% immediate attention. She would put in a set that would gradually win over the room. This would be a true test of her mettle, lovely as The Green Note is, the toughest thing there can be keeping the audience occupied while you tune in total silence, tonight would be slightly more adverserial but Florence was well up for the challenge and her already rising stock appreciated further during this set.
From the moment Florence took to the stage, she was nothing other than confident, "Broken Pieces" displayed a strident guitar style and her voice filled the room with some volume. At times she would let her guitar playing fade and put her voice up front even further to great effect. A song that is undoubtedly going to take Florence well down the road to fame is "Fearless", a combination of country guitar, homespun lyrics and most importantly an irresistible chorus that you'll remember a week down the line. It's almost a statement of intent and one that she certainly delivers on.
The small gripe we had from her Green Note show, was Florence's habit of introducing songs telling audiences that she hoped that they'd like it - tonight that was trimmed considerably to just two occurences. It's another great indication of an artist ready to take on board well meant criticism and maybe hopefully drawing strength that her songs are good enough not to need to crave the audience to enjoy them. Things would slow a little with "California", with its marvelously wordy verses and a strong country chorus - it would end with a strum and almost a stop motion pause as she waited for the applause to start which it duly did - a small but noticeably excellent piece of stagecraft.
The feelings of loss of a relationship was explored in "Silly Little things" channelled though anothers experiences while her cover of "Sweet Child Of Mine" is original, truly making it her own while once again revealing the lyrics to be the least rocking of all. During "Boots In The Rain", Florence seemed to pull off the great trick of playing 2 guitar parts simultaneously, the distnct recurring 3 note riff was joined by a more supportive strum, it also found time to namecheck Kingston!. The recent single "(I'll Be) Your Best Broken Heart" again eemed more intense in it's solo incarnation.
Florence's most overtly country sounding song, the gently picked "Love Me Then", seems set to form part of her set for a long time, It was the song that truly grabbed the attention of the whole room and silenced the venue to a state of pin drop quietness. Florence's closing song "Cut & Run", was another intense delivery supported by a clipped strum on the verses leading to a chorus that gave Florence a chance to give free reign to her vocals in a super soarway style. It's another of her songs that has the ability to stay in the memory long after the show and seems certain to be topping the country charts whenever it eventually gets to be released.
Sadly a misfiring Satnav combined wth the Kingston roadworks and general evening traffic combined to ensure that #TEAMw21 missed the evening's openers Blacklock & Brown. Fortunately our super snapper on the night Andy Webb did catch them and was impressed by their sheer style. Special mention was made of their work with the Cigar Box guitar and their combination of banjos and guitar.
All pictures courtesy of Andy Webb