Ron & Amy

On the last two Sundays just past I have been to see two of my favourite songwriters in two very different venues. 

The Sunday before last found me and Mr F heading up west to the la de da London Palladium to enjoy an evening in the company of the great Ron Sexsmith. Ron has been over recording his latest album at Abbey Road and fixed up a few gigs as part of an extended 60th birthday tour.

The Palladium being a proper theatre we were treated to two sets, which gave Ron more time to play and the chance to look beyond the normal repertoire. The result was a truly career-spanning selection, from a song he wrote when he and the drummer met while working in a courier company 40 years ago that they first played at the office Xmas party right up to a song that is lined up to be on the new album.

With the added bonus of a brief guest appearance by Nick Lowe - as you can see in this photo if you peer hard enough - an excellent evening was had by all.

It was another excellent evening last Sunday. This time it was a small basement under a pub in Stoke Newington that in a previous life had been The Drop of Andrew Weatherall fame. In an even earlier life was one I used to visit regularly in the late 1980s and early 1990s when I lived round the corner. In those days they put on the occasional gig upstairs, the basement still being used to store proper beer then.

The star of the show on this occasion was the magnificent Amy Rigby who brought along her own Live Stiffs Tour alumni in the form of bass player and husband Wreckless Eric (not pictured so you'll have to take my word for it this time).

Amy has recently released a new album called "Hang In There With Me" so the set featured quite a few tracks from that mixed in with some old favourites, a version of "The Visitors" by ABBA which really needs to be recorded for posterity and a lovely tribute to her father who died last year. 

Ron is now back home in Canada but Amy has gigs in Swansea, Bristol, Hastings and Nottingham between now and the end of the month. If you are in the area go along if you can, you'll enjoy yourselves.

Among the many highlights of their respective sets were songs about going back to their home town so we will leave you for now with them and a tune that Ron that played to remind us to try to stay optimistic despite all the nonsense at the moment.

"Galbraith Street" - Ron Sexsmith

"Playing Pittsburgh" - Amy Rigby