Lizotte’s, Kincumber
Friday July 12, 2013 :
Lizotte’s at Kincumber was full. Ben Ottewell had drawn out the Coast’s Gomez fans for a night of cool covers, Gomez classics, newer solo cuts, and one very special support act.
As I made myself comfortable with a Coopers Green and a bowl of wedges, tonight’s support stepped on stage. He was familiar. I lent forward and asked the waitress who this man was, but before she could reply, he was introduced – it as Matt Walker. Walker may not be an instantly recognisable name to most, but for myself, I had followed his early career and releases during the late ’90s. Matt Walker, Jeff Lang, Chris Wilson and Chris Whitley were essential blues/roots listening during this time, but unfortunately I had lost track of what Walker had been up to over the past decade.
Tonight’s support spot reminded me of why Walker was important to me during my early ’30s. His soulful, quite aching vocal delivery is unique though somewhat similar to the aforementioned Chris Whitley. The crying pedal steel of Shane Reilly only amplified the emotion within Walker’s voice. The cover of Harry Nilsson’s ‘Everybody’s Talking’ was well chosen, and the rollicking ‘Just Add Wine’ closed Walker’s somber set with a positive upbeat step. A wonderful entree to the night’s main course.
A bearded Ben Ottewell casually strode onstage, greeted the crowd with a smile, and his solo acoustic set began with Nick Drake’s ‘Black Eyed Dog’, a superb song in its own right and perfectly suited to the Ottewell’s baritone. This was the first of a number of covers to appear tonight – Jackson Browne’s ‘These Days’ and Neil Young’s ‘Unknown Legend’ both sat comfortably within the set, but Bill Wither’s ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ was sublime. Ottewell’s 2011 solo release, Shapes and Shadows, was represented by the title track, the tender ‘Blackbird’, and ‘All Brand New’ which was aided by the wash of Shane Reilly’s pedal steel. We were even given a taste of the new unreleased ‘Red Dress’.
“This is the song that got me the gig with Gomez”, said Ottewell as he introduced a driving and rollicking ‘Get Miles’, very different to the psychedelic tones of the studio version found on the band’s debut, Bring It On. If fact, it was this debut that was plundered – ‘Free To Run’ was sequinned into from the Nick Drake opener, ‘Love Is Better Than A Warm Trombone’ still carried its funky bounce, and an upbeat ’78 Stone Wobble’ flowed into a roaring version of The Crickets’ ‘Not Fade Away’.
‘Tijuana Lady’, “a song about a lady from Mexico” as Ottewell introduced the encore, is such a beautiful love song, and tonight the crowd hung on his every word. It was a gorgeous rendition of the song, and a fine way to close the night. This is why Lizotte’s is so special – where else can you see an international artist perform this close and intimate, and then shake their hand and get a CD signed afterwords.
Reviewer and Photographer: Kevin Bull
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