Amidst a buzz of excitement at Cardiff’s Tramshed, Newton Faulkner takes to the stage: smiling, comfortable and relaxed, being just halfway through his long-delayed tour. The UK folk-rocker seems thrilled to leave the past 18 months behind him – excited to be back on the road, entertaining an eager crowd of fans, both young and old.
Opening the show with Smoked Ice Cream, a track from his 2017 album Hit The Ground Running, there soon follows new material from Newton’s latest full-length release, Interference (Of Light). A healthy mixture of old and new material fleshes out the evening show, with requests gamely shouted out from the crowd – notably, early favourites like Full Fat and UFO from Newton’s 2007 debut album Hand Built By Robots. With crowd participation throughout the evening – singalongs for each song – the atmosphere in the room is amazing, everyone feeling the love and enjoying every moment.
The use of new technology enhances the performance, too: despite being one man, Newton Faulkner is the ultimate one-man-band. Meanwhile, he’s constantly interacting with his audience, sharing stories of his life and career with the fans and even informing the crowd that today is the sixth anniversary of The Tramshed opening its doors. Electing to sing Happy Birthday to the venue, Newton duly plucks out a few people in the audience who claim to be celebrating their birthday today too.
The last song of the night, Interference (Of Light) number It’s Getting Late, is a lullaby, wrapping up the audience in a comfortable blanket of sound. With the stage lighting resembling a rainbow palette of colour, Newton Faulkner is the pot of gold at the end of it.
Tramshed, Cardiff, Sat 23 Oct
words and photos ANTHONY CONWAY
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