On Saturday 29th March at Scarborough’s Crescent Lounge, Jack Robertson launched his debut album, Danube Blues. Support sets came from Sam McKie, Beth Pilling and Nils Arnold.
Gigs where even the support acts sound checks get a round of applause usually shape up to be pleasing experiences, and Jack Robertson’s ‘Danube Blues’ album launch was no exception. The brief was for all performers to give an acoustic and, most importantly, completely original set to showcase some of our great regional talent, before Jack and his backing band played his debut album in full.
First up was Nils Arnold, accompanied by Northern Riots bandmate Mally Jackson; Mother’s Temper being the soundcheck evoking applause. Nils gave a heartfelt opening statement about the event in support of Jack, before continuing with Shadow Dancer, a haunting track with a vintage 60’s feel. Acknowledging his sober journey in a reflective song about reputation, Little Smile is laced with chagrin, melancholy and grit. Other tracks are threaded with declarative, shouty goodness and uplift, and there is a good variety to themes and tones. With the Northern Riots recently back in the saddle and potential recordings in the offing, here is something to keep your eyes and ears open for.
Beth Pilling is nothing if not a safe pair of hands for a consummately smooth and stunning performance. Running through a litany of her tracks such as Wait and Messed Up Night, Spinning and Lion, her relatable narratives on love, friendship and life’s troubles race through with assured and practiced ease. Finale track The Cure has an almost Americana-style tint to it as a change of pace, and is set to be part of a larger project for release in the coming year. Many of Beth’s songs are currently available on streaming platforms and are well worth a listen.
Sam Mackie has a mastery of delicate finger picking and a vocal quality that gently demands attention, a depth of tone and emotion that belies his years. Engaging bluesy folk is the mainstay, beginning with Long Old River, before a ‘folk rap’ (Rust) is thrown in for good measure. Imagery and mythology abound, and when Sam sings ‘The Devil takes us all and the Lord lets them be” in The Whale, it feels like a real ‘wow’ moment. Joined for the latter part of his set by Lewis Ward (they gig together as Sam & the Lewgrass) there are references to Greek myths and the beautiful lyrics ‘All dreams need sleep’ in Nightjar round out a hauntingly good set.
Having showcased some of his favourite performers ahead of his own appearance, there is much anticipation for Jack’s arrival on stage and he begins without pomp, briefly introducing the album before launching in. As per our recent interview with Jack, he explained that this is a concept album, and the order of play is important because it charts a story through its course. Some of the songs are solo performances, others have the band joining up on stage, and this continues throughout the set. Starting with End of the World, we are immediately introduced to beautiful melodic vocals and fingerpicked guitar. When the band join for Uptight, which was the first song conceived for this body of work, there is great rhythm, continuing into Demise, before Jack is solo again for Purgatory. The pattern continues and the pace undulates, with the addition of the ‘Darth Vader’ harmonica head set as he takes on Landmark, the first single released from the album.
Throughout, Jack gives little anecdotes or information about the way the album came together, such as the co-writing credit for Charles Kirby who helped him put track Lucidity into more effective order, and Jacks’ trip to Bratislava for a self-curated writing retreat where almost half of the album fell into place. He gives some insights into the particular period of time and underlying narrative from his life that this album, in essence, portrays. It’s an album that underlines some tough times, but ultimately takes us to a place of levelled optimism, the upbeat tracks towards the end bringing us a sense of recalibration; new beginnings. And every good rule must have an exception: Jack reminds us that each artist tonight was instructed to only play their own original music, then ends by admitting he is breaking the edict, which he does in style with a superb cover of one of his favourite artists and confirmed influence; Bob Dylan’s All Along the Watchtower.
Warmly supported by friends, family and fans from afar, this event proved to be not just a celebration of one album’s launch, but a celebration of original local music, of friendship and collaboration, and, without wanting to over-egg the sentiment, of life’s triumph over adversity. It was also, quite simply, a cracking gig.
[Photos of Jack and his band by Mica J Photography. Support act photos: Kath Dunn-Mines]
Catch Jack at The Queens, Bridlington on Saturday 12th April with his band and support from Sam & The Lewgrass and Charlie Askew.
Danube Blues is available now.
Links:
Jack Robertson: Spotify : Instagram
