| Kirsty McGee at the No Name |  Anyone listening to Honeysuckle, Kirsty McGee’s re-released album (available as a free download on her website) might be tempted to think that a live performance would consist mainly of delicate girly-pop songs (albeit of a superior variety) lamenting love not gone quite according to plan.
The opening number at Bolton’s House Without a Name puts paid to that idea from the off. Lamb has a distinctly Appalachian feel to it - the girl packs a fair old rhythm.
What follows are songs about cars, war, dust and greed, amongst other things. Not that this is some sort of wacky novelty act. These are finely constructed compositions, executed flawlessly. The volume’s set a little on the low side, but the sound is impressively full for a duo, thanks in the main to Mat Martin’s refined musicianship, on both banjo and guitar.
There are no big look-at-me solos here, just intelligent fills, both on the bass and treble notes, that add texture to the melody and compliment McGee’s voice, which is gentle and expressive much of the time, acquiring a harder edge when necessary.
The one whinge comes not from what’s on the stage, but from the individuals in front of it. The nobbers on the table next to this writer seem determined to talk over the music. Oddly, they’re more or less silent, during the tune ups between songs.
There’s an argument to be made for tolerance. After all this is a local pub, where the punters have come for a pint and a natter, rather than a dedicated concert venue. But you can’t help wondering if a swift punch between the eyes would be an appropriate response.
As the first half comes to an end, the rest of the clientele have cottoned on to the fact that they’re listening to an act that’s considerably more than a cut above the norm and No Way to Treat a Friend is greeted with warm applause - no mean achievement as most of them won’t be familiar with what is almost all self-penned material. It helps that the occupants of the nobber table have gone home by then.
One of many pleasing things, is the variation both in tone and tempo in the set. Too often it seems that artists meander self-indulgently through a performance, oblivious that those listening would like them to mix it up a bit.
If you’re wedded to the idea that folk music should be only traditional, then this may not be your bag. But if you’re open to a contemporary artist, who draws from a variety of influences, whilst presenting something that’s all her own, then give this a try.
Kirsty McGee’s latest album No5 has received considerably more media attention than her previous offerings. That’s as it should be. She’s too good at what she does to be filed under the category marked hidden treasure.
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Kirsty McGee
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