SEÁN MCGOWAN | LIVE REVIEW
Tiny Rebel, Cardiff, Sun 3 June
Having sat through two similar single-male support acts, Heartwork and Anna’s Anchor, and not understood a word on account of Tiny Rebel’s acoustics, I was hoping that Seán McGowan’s headline performance would be an improvement. Unfortunately, it wasn’t. McGowan is essentially a poet whose lyrics are the mainstay of his songs; he doesn’t need a guitar and it was in the moments without musical accompaniment that the boy from Southampton really shone.
Unfortunately, these moments were few, and everything else was downed by overloud strumming. the venue’s upstairs room is a soulless square with great reverberation. The artists needed to take it down a notch. The audience needed to be seated. We all needed to hear what was being sung but there was no need to shout – louder doesn’t mean more coherent. And there was too much talking between songs; too much thanking promoters and fans and asking for rounds of applause. But these are young guys who don’t have the confidence yet to deliver a polished set or the experience to interact appropriately with an audience.
McGowan’s songs are all a bit bleak and he did promise a heckler the mood would pick up later. For my part, I left just after the presumed curfew was lifted (having previously been under the impression there was a specific cut-off point, the green light was then given to play for as long as people wanted) and it was still pretty depressing then. Having said all this, most of the 30-strong crowd appeared to enjoy the event.
He seems like a nice lad, McGowan: he’s been hailed as the new Billy Bragg, and both have their poignant and melodic moments. The trick to being an angry folk singer is not to let that anger become the sole focus, let it come through in specifically chosen language rather than the thrashing of a guitar, and don’t send your audience home depressed.
But it’s not all bad. McGowan’s debut album Son Of The Smith is receiving good reviews and indeed is well worth a listen. If he can hone his live performances and tone down the angst, I’d certainly give his gigs another chance. Until then I’ll stick with the CD.
words LYNDA NASH