Another fabulour TALENTBANQ / Black Deer event had #TEAMw21 queuing some time prior to doors opening and it must be said that this was a quite substantial line snaking it's way down Parkway. What was equally impressive was the fact that it was made up of a number of people who had either seen the previous nights performance in Chelmsford, or those coming because they had been unable to get to that gig and along with regular London fans who would all go to make this a sold out EP Launch.
The evening began with a short set from Robbie Cavanagh, someone who's following never quite seems to match the exceptional quality of his output. It's been a few years since we've covered him live so it was great to see that he retains the musicality of previous years however he now seems more relaxed and in great humour from the stage. He would arrive as if he had just finished a shift at Quik Fit, but sartorial inelegance aside, he would go on to set the high musical bar that the whole evening would enjoy,
He would open with a "Hi friends" before heading into to the slow acoustic intro of "Thinking Of Leaving", the format and Robbie's delivery really bringing the words to the fore
"There's a sad and silent atmosphere at home
On the days you bother coming home at all"
It gave the whole song a bluesier feel as opposed to the slightly faster recorded version The
"What are you waiting for?" lines showed Robbie to be in exceptional voice on the extended notes.
There would be more smiles as Robbie would ask "How's your year been?" before following up with a smile and a "Mine's been good to". as well as a plug for the Green Note's "excellent Vegetarian pastries!". Musically things would move on with "Drive", packed with lots of tiny lyrical details, which would see him effortlessly move from a raspy delivery at volume to a faint falsetto - all matched with intricate or strident guitar playing as required at the time. Showing how chilled he is as a performer now, even someone making a toilet trip during his intro to "Love Comes Quickly" didn't phase him in the slightest - this track from the excellent "To Leave / To Be Left" album displayed Robbie in classic singer songwriter mode, shaking his guitar to extract each available decibel.
An already excellent set would go to another level with the arrival of Claire and Keith from The Jackson Line to provide harmonies on"Hungover". Delivered with his eyes closed, this ensemble version worked excellently - it would end with Robbie looking to his left and smiling and big hugs all round. There was a lovely moment during "Fare Thee Well Letter" where the beautiful guitar lines were counterbalanced with the stark sadness of the words, delivered in the most perfect way. A final tune "Helpless" was a soulful , bluesy way to close, showing once again that Robbie was not afraid to enter those higher registers to great effect.
Despite having seen The Jackson Line, quite a few times over the years, this would be the first #TEAMw21 had seen them as a full ensemble, and what a time to do it, with this being the launch of "California" their rather wonderful value for money EP, clocking in at a mighty seven tracks. It was a must be said that the atmosphere was vibrant, a real buzz was in the air, expectant of what might be coming. There was even a Doctor in the house, in the shape of Neil Fox fortunately only there for introduction duties rather than any medical requirements.
The Jackson Line would find themselves quite compressed by the limitations of the Green Note stage, Jamie Cook on guitar and vocals, would be at times inches from being thwacked by bassist Jason who equally would come close to receiving a yellow card for his instinctive leg kicks that seemed likely to take an audience member if not your humble reporter at some point. As a group they would be impressive, with Keith Porter looking assured in his role as front man and importantly being at ease talking with the microphone as much as when singing. The twin guitars worked to great effect and the subtle combinations between drum and bass worked ideally in this venue where drummers can occasionally overwhelm the overall sound.
There was an undoubted party atmosphere from the start,this was a crowd that had packed the Green Note to the gills and they were determined to have a good time. To start with a couple of familiar tunes, "You Are Mine" and "Don't Wait", the former introduced those twin guitars, and would see Keith firing out his vocals while holding the mic in one hand and being expressive with the other. It was a wonderfully clear uncluttered sound and the clapping section only cemented that good vibe feeling more. The latter song would see Jamie take over on vocals and would see the wonderful harmonies of three voices on the chorus and the emergence of sympathetic percussion that would be a highlight of the evening. This soulful ballad would see the audience move into captivated pin drop silent mode until the final notes saw them once more roar into life..
The opening track of the evening from the EP was the title track "California", from the opening 1-2-3-4 intro, the volume upped a degree or three!. A heady mixture of guitars and harmonies,The Jackson Line have an inate ability to make a song you have heard a couple of towns sound like an all time classic you've lived with all your life.
Barely had the applause started to subside and another rallying "1-2-3-4" saw the band burst into clapping and start "Shade Of The Pines" a capellla. Rockier than the recorded version and obviously minus the keyboards, it still packs a tidy punch. A Sue McMillan co write from the EP, "Get Over You" saw the band move to a more funky verse before hitting a deep soul multi vocal chorus.
There are moments in most bands lifetimes where they click and produce something that they possibly thought was beyond them. The next song "Brave" #TEAMw21 first heard from a 3 piece acoustic Jackson Line many moons ago - the recorded version is sublime and we'll cover that elsewhere, this live version, it used to come with a slightly comic intro - this time it came with a humble tale of appreciation. It is a tour de force from Jamie on vocals who carries the first verse almost solo, the second verse would see the arrival of extra harmonies and the band playing at their absolute peak. Leaving a little pause of only a second or two between the final verse and chorus added such additional drama to a blockbuster that the audience were already heavily invested in. If the night had ended there no-one could have complained it was so magical, however we were not even halfway through!!
To release some tension we then hit the perfect country rock like "Gonna Get To You", which would see one of those infamous bass player kick outs! In a change of overall sound "The Day I Held You" let both bass player and drummer have a song off. It was as much sung as it was mimed such was the expression work going on. A mix of delicate guitars and harmonies on the chorus showed a band able to adapt as required and still deliver.
A couple of new songs then followed, "If You're Doing It For Me" would give Claire Williams her moment in the sun, which she duly took. In a night blessed with harmonies this was perhaps the sweetest incarnation ofthe night. After a fairly genteel few versions the band would build in volume before falling away once more - one to definitely look out for in 2025. Another new song would follow called "Mandy" (no relation to the one you're thinking of ), which was the bands first "obsessive" song.
A return to the early days came with "Way Down To The Bottom", with it's play on peoples names. Tonight it would come with an almost ZZ Top style guitar. The main set would then close with "The Feeling's Gone", sending The Green Note, into a dancing clapping frenzy with it's Stones like riffing and included a fair bit of audience participation. The encore would see The Jackson Line squeeze in two more songs, Claire would lead off on Luke Comb's "Growing Up Getting Old" before a storming cover of Don William's "Tulsa Time" finally brought a spectacular evening to a close in southern roots rocking style though not before slipping in a little bit of "Achy Breaky Heart!"
Photos by Colin Jones Photography