Last evening saw the tenth in the series of ‘Hot Music Live Presents' fundraisers for The Tin, but the first for 2026 and the first to be all seated.
Thanks to Sophie Hadlum for suggesting such a format: there are of course artists whose music is best enjoyed in this way, but this by no means results in any less diversity than the broad range HMLP events aim for: there were four utterly different styles of music played at four different volumes, (hat off to Mike Price for the sound engineering) and I think this dispels the idea of homogeneity within the more intimate approaches.
It was also an evening of both a unique lineup (the quartet had never played on the same bill before & I am pretty sure no-one present either as performer nor audience member had experienced all four previously) and some rarity: none of the artists is currently a regular on the local scene at least in the configurations they presented on this occasion. This may well account for the high proportion of other musicians attending.
Sophie's set epitomised this: very well known as the ebullient singer/keyboardist in the magnificent Shanghai Hostage (look out for their new album and launch at FarGo on March 21st), this was completely different: the same voice & instrument but what she described accurately as classical pieces: of her own composition. An exquisite start to the evening, she had the room's rapt attention with what ended up as effectively a single piece as she ran her entire set into one via clever sequencing: had we not been told of her intention, then we might easily have assumed it to be a symphonic work of multiple movements. This included midway some vocals but was mainly instrumental, demonstrating a depth of technique which the band's repertoire doesn't need to engage with as much (how she played such extended complexity from memory is also remarkable) but with characteristic touches of humour & nods to genres such as jazz & ragtime amidst the more obviously classical sections.
Brass Hip Flask have been around for a long while (Izzie remarked that it had been around a decade since she last shared a stage with them) but have not, for various personal reasons, played locally terribly often recently and are also not likely to be playing in the immediate future, so their set was another rare treat for us. It's correct to cite the obvious love Emmy, Stuart & Alycia have for music from what they play, how well they play it & the rapport with an audience. However it's so in their DNA that Brass Hip Flask seem capable of manifesting in almost infinite formats. This time, to suit the gig, they played the more laid back end of their blues repertoire & from a sedentary position with two guitars and bass: however you have probably seen them play completely different songs standing up as guitar, bass & drums. Until mid day yesterday, I was expecting a twin guitar duo…. You just can't beat music played from the heart (and it's worth saying that both Sophie & Izzie adapt their repertoires to involved various other players too) and those present loved it.
While there was a slight Venn diagram overlapping between three acts, Croissant (last night this was Ethan Heaselden leading a bass, drum & multiple keyboards quartet) was probably the artist who'd played least with the others (or never before) and so his fans probably picked up on new music & those there for the others got to sample his.
It's probably rare that an indie/dream pop artist ends up as the loudest on the bill at an intimate gig but so was the case: they added yet more variety to the overall offering and helped further demonstrate the vivid variety of original music we are currently enjoying locally: I'd like to think that the health of so many different styles is a key factor in aiding sustainability of current levels of diversity & quality in a way massive success by a single genre might find it more difficult to achieve.
I think Croissant has a deal of danceability potential (there is a clue in a single title) which a seated gig could not really unlock fully so hopefully he/they will play again soon for you to find out.
I've been lucky enough to catch most of Izzie Derry's local gigs of late, including only a couple of months ago her special Christmas show at the Priory Visitor Centre. That, in the case of many artists might limit my capacity to find anything new to say: but not here of course.
Last time out she had Ian Todd & Ross McAusland accompanying her so as you'd imagine the songs needed a little arrangement tweak from that occasion, but the pair which really struck me then were those she played alone with the help of a looper pedal: firstly the pair is now a trio as she has incorporated the "toy" (as she put it) into her rendition of new single "Follow" but since there was surprisingly little audience crossover between the events, her performances of these songs in particular had huge impact: there is without question a major paradigm shift occurring in Izzie's music & it's fantastic.
Part of this is a bluesward motion as mentioned in other articles (and this was appreciated by Brass Hip Flask who can identify the real thing) but I detect changes in her voice (the power levels and use of lower registers are increasing compared with her earlier career) and in playing: even old favourites have dramatic pauses inserted to rack tension up.
It works but it also fits as this rawer sound suits the lyrical direction she has been going in for the last few years: I think that if she keeps on going like this, remarkable things lie ahead of her. And "Oh Mama" in my opinion is crying out to be a single.
Our next event in this series is on Friday March 20th and features Banoffee, Permanent Daylight, Reiss Pinder and The Illusion.
Tickets for this are available now via this link:
https://www.universe.com/events/hot-music-live-banoffee-permanent-daylight-reiss-pinder-the-illusion-tickets-GMTBLH
