Matt Watson
When Matt Watson's second solo album was released towards the end of 2016 plans were already well advanced to celebrate with an official launch event. Rave reviews (Outline itself awarded The Endless Shipwreck a whopping 9 out of 10) and radio plays quickly followed. However, the Christmas log-jam conspired against Matt, and the celebratory gig was subsequently pushed forward into the new year.
In this month's Liveline column I proposed a New Year's Resolution to visit more of our city's music venues and to seek out and support more local musicians. The decision to launch The Endless Shipwreck at The Sewell Barn Theatre therefore provided me with the perfect excuse to pop my own Catton cherry with a voyage of discovery along Constitution Hill.
The Sewell Barn is a delightfully intimate theatre with seating on three sides that overlooks the stage area, and with wonderful lighting and acoustics. The barn itself once provided stabling to Clare House, owned by Victorian benefactor Philip Sewell and yes, his sister was Anna Sewell, the author of Black Beauty, who also lived nearby. The house was demolished in 1970, and the barn, for a time, became a bicycle shed for the old Blyth Jex School, now known as Sewell Park Academy. Fortunately the barn was rescued and restored to become what we see today, an independent theatre with its own in-house drama company, and run as a registered charity. Tonight's Music at The Barn event was an opportunity for me to make my first acquaintance with this lovely venue.
Yve Mary B starts the evening with her acoustic set that include the title track from her new album, High On A Mountain as well as Buddy from the earlier Gypsy & The Candlesticks. Already known to many of us as lead singer with alternative country band Morganway, tonight demonstrates just what a versatile voice she possesses. Away from the Hurricane of Morganway, this gentler side of Yve provides the perfect opener to tonight's show.
Falling From Trees are an acoustic three piece from Norwich consisting of lead singer Rebecca White alongside brothers Leo and Adam on guitars and vocals. Tonight bassist Joey Scampion augments the live sound as flame-haired Rebecca provides smoulderingly velvet vocals that add a soulful R'nB edge to a folk-inspired performance. The set includes tracks from all three EP releases, including a sing-along version of Wouldn't Have It Any Other Way (which has one entire section of the audience swaying in their seats), and concludes with a smoking and distinctively blues interpretation of Percy Mayfield's Hit The Road Jack.
After an interval, the audience re-convenes to the sound of the sea, a shipping forecast and Hope, a poem read by Mark Nash, before 'Captain' Matt Watson steers us into the first tracks from The Endless Shipwreck. Whilst this might sound a little stage-managed, or even pretentious, anyone who knows Matt will realise that is by no means the case, and he is at pains to welcome us all into the intimacy of his nautical world, and navigate us through the set. Accordingly, we are only four songs in before we are being press-ganged into joining in with the choruses and refrains.
Later, Giles Wakely from Matt's former band Huck, is welcomed onto stage and we are treated to Memories of Ghosts and Too Many I Love You's from Huck's 2010 Bruised Hearts and Grazed Knees album. Tracks from Matt's first solo album Grounded are incorporated into the latter half of the set, and his admiration for Billy Bragg is recognised in a deep-felt cover of Waiting For The Great Leap Forward. The atmosphere throughout is relaxed and engaging, the venue providing the perfect platform for what has rapidly become an 'evening with', rather than formal concert.
The 'final' track of the night is A Brighter Day from Grounded, but we all know that one song still remains unsung, a song that recently seems to have developed a life of its own, and has even acquired its own dance moves. Quite rightly, Yves Mary B, Falling From Trees and Giles are all welcomed back to join Matt in a rousing finale of Let's Jump Ship, the song that not only closes The Endless Shipwreck album, but also concludes tonight's launch.
There has been a lot of love in the room tonight for Matt, and deservedly so. I end up buying albums and EP's from all three acts, spending more money on CD's in one night than I have probably parted with in the last six months at HMV, but surely this is what we should all be doing to support our local artists?
Thanks to Angela Rowe and the team at Sewell Barn Theatre for making this whole evening possible, and for baptising me into yet another fine Norwich venue.
