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Willy Mason
Sheffield Leadmill
9 May 2007Willy Mason took to the stage at the Leadmill looking every part the unassuming guitar tech. There were those who, whilst familiar with his music, had no clue what he actually looked like, and so were taken a little by surprise as he strolled on stage at 8.30 pm.
Accompanied by two guitarists, a viola player and two drummers, one behind the conventional drum kit, the other strutting around banging his big bass drum on those songs that called for it.
Immediately the crowd started shouting for ‘Save Yourself’ but had to be patient as this came a little later in the set accompanied by the crowd echoing the title words at full volume. Whilst I don't think 'Save Yourself' will be quite as popular as 'Oxygen' it is certainly favourite contender for second place.
He played a good balance of songs from both ‘Where The Humans Eat’ (including the title track, ‘Our Town’, and ‘Hard Hand to Hold’) and his latest album ‘If the Ocean Gets Rough’. ‘We Can Be Strong’ was particularly enchanting with Nina Violet accompanying vocally whilst playing the viola. 'I Can't Sleep' is an oxymoron in that its lullaby and dreamlike quality would surely ease your mind should you find yourself awake in the early hours counting sheep.
Midway through the set he handed the crowd over to Nina whilst he and the rest of the band exited the stage. We were treated to a self-penned song which complimented the music of the evening completely. A nice touch from the unassuming guitar tech!
My favourite track of the night was ‘When The River Moves On’ which echoes back to early American music. Willie manages to combine yankee doodle drumming with a touch of country and a hell of a lot of soul which makes for quite a unique sound. His deep voice belies his age and has obviously been honed in a former life as there is too much depth and experience in both his vocal style and lyrics for such a young man!
Whilst I love ‘Oxygen’ and it is surely responsible for getting a lot of people into Willie’s music, it is certainly not typical of the rest of his songs, but still went down a storm during the encore, being voted for almost unanimously when asked what the crowd would like to hear next.
Pauline
Upcoming Dates:
Nottingham - Rescue Rooms - 12 May (Sold Out)
Leeds Jumbo Records - 14 May - 4.30 pm - Free Show
Leeds Cockpit - 14 May (Sold Out)
Manchester Piccadily Records - 15 May - 5.30 pm - Free Show
Manchester Academy 2 - 15 May - (Sold Out)
Shepherds Bush Empire - 16 May - (Sold Out)
Brighton - Resident -18 May - 1.00 pm - Free Show
Brighton Pavilion Theatre - 18 May
Birmingham Academy 2 -19 May - (Sold Out)
Edinburgh Liquid Rooms - 21 May - (Sold Out)
University of Northumbria - 22 May - (Sold Out)
OMU Glasgow - 23 May - (Sold Out)
Abderdeen Moshulu - 24 May
Belfast Speakeasy - 25 May
Dublin Temple Bar Music Centre - 26 May