Lizotte’s, Newcastle
Sunday June 29, 2014 :
It was quite a cold winter’s night at Lizotte’s in Lambton, Newcastle. Entering the venue it was hard not to miss the hum of voices waiting for Jeff Lang to take the stage. The crowd was loud and responsive, and where the room was just under capacity it certainly felt full with the strong atmosphere that was building.
Spreading a combination of his past records with new release, I Live In My Head A Lot These Days, we were privy to a great combination of slower melodic tracks to the more upbeat where we could rock out to.
Lang’s technical diversity across his guitars and vocal diversity within each song create a unique show from a very talented artist. Throughout all his songs I noticed how relevant each story is, lyrically people could understand and relate to them.
The use of reverb over Lang’s voice adds a charm to the sound of the song and highlights his vocal strength, particularly in ‘Through The Blinds’ a song written about an office worker, he described.
I thoroughly enjoyed ‘I Still See You’ which featured a lengthy instrumental piece, this showcased the strength of the band behind Lang with each strong and talented in their own craft. ‘I Wanna Run But My Legs Won’t Lift Me’ was a fun song, very upbeat and had the audience moving in their seats. ‘This City Is Not Your Hometown Anymore’ had a very bluesy twist, which highlighted the diversity in Lang’s vocals and music.
The technical detail of Lang’s guitar playing is enchanting and had me captivated throughout the set, as much as I wanted to dance I was hypnotized and completely focused on watching his hands dance around his guitar. ‘Running By The Rock’ was a stand out song of the set highlighting the technicality.
An artist that can perform a live show that matches their recordings is a key feature to a show that I listen out for, and Lang does not disappoint.
Reviewer and Photographer: Courtney Laura
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