Gallery 47 live at Nottingham Contemporary - Photo by Daniel Whiston
As his recent Glashouse EP showcased, Jamie Moon is a writer and performer of sombre, brittle folk songs. Think Bon Iver, Eliot Smith, Love Is Hell-era Ryan Adams - grown men who are hurt and gently weep their feelings out through their music.
He’s also makes for the perfect opener for tonight’s show, which not only is celebrating the launch of Gallery 47’s latest and greatest album All Will Be Well, but is a handy showcase for some of Nottingham’s most talented acoustic musicians, of which Jamie Moon is certainly up there among them.
Cutting a lone figure on the stage, Jamie gently eases the audience into tonight’s gig, setting the tone for the evening. The early arrivers are clearly taken by him too, the room is nicely packed, but not rammed out, and the crowd stand around in transfixed silence. The kind of silence where you feel bad about going to the bar to order a beer.
Hearts regrettably inform us that this is their last show together, which is a huge shame as there is something truly uplifting in hearing them perform their three-part harmonies as they channel modern day folkies such as First Aid Kid (in fact, they cover First Aid Kit’s Emmylou) with hints of sixties/seventies hazy West Coast stuff like Fleetwood Mac and Crosby, Stills and Nash.
All three of them stand in a line across the stage, one guitar, one drum, three very talented singers who are clearly enjoying what they do and their enthusiasm is infectious. A mix of well written originals with a few wisely chosen covers thrown in for good measure, including a sublimely delivered take on Video Games. Hopefully the three of them will find time to write and perform together again in the future, because Hearts delivered a refreshing take on a well travelled genre.
Then it’s time for Jack Peachey, aka Gallery 47, to take to the stage. A hushed reverence descends over the by now very packed Cafe Bar, with much of the audience sitting on the floor area directly in front of him in anticipation for one of the city’s most gifted singer-songwriters.
Gallery 47 is a true folk musician, documenting his thoughts and life in his songs, often in minute detail, and it can feel a little awkward at times listening to him, because he’s brutally honest. Tonight there are songs about breaking up with his girlfriend, getting mugged during the 2011 riots, and speaking to his never-met-in-the-flesh American nephew. Although it does grate a little when he talks about having a first class degree but only managing to get a minimum wage job as he straps on his £2,000 guitar.
He’s not one to hold back on how he is feeling, creating beautiful songs, masterly crafted tales that have us well and truly enchanted and under his spell tonight. There’s a bite and attitude to his music too and this is evident in his performance, this isn’t bed-wetter acoustic troubadour stuff. Though clearly annoyed with some of the noisy chatterers in the audience, he doesn’t let it put him off delivering his set with genial grace.
Certain singer-songwriters from Nottingham have broken-out nationally, and Gallery 47 will surely do soon, but that doesn’t really matter. What does matter though, as tonight has shown, is that he is the real deal and a genuine talent, and fortunately for us, he will be writing and singing songs long after the pretenders have been dropped.
Gallery 47, Hearts and Jamie Moon played in the Cafe Bar at Nottingham Contemporary on Saturday 30 August 2014.
All Will Be Well the new album from Gallery 47 is released via I’m Not From London on Monday 15 September 2014. Order it here.
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