LIVE REVIEW : GERAINT WATKINS THE UNDERBELLY HOXTON 29/11/2012

Geraint Watkins may not be a household name but his profile as a solo artist has increased considerably over the last 10 years. After releasing one solo album at the end of the 1970's, Watkins spent the best part of the two following decades being a highly sought after session man playing with the likes of Van Morrison, Paul Mccartney, Shakin Stevens, Dave Edmunds, Rory Gallagher. At the same time, he was the main driving force in the Balham Alligators, London's official source for cajun music, with whom he played in almost every pub in the city.

Since 1994 he has been playing in Nick Lowe's backing band. His second (Bold as Love) and third (Dial W For Watkins) albums were recorded at the same time and in the same stusios as Nick Lowe's "Dig my Mood" and "The Convincer". His latest CD "In a Bad Mood" was released in 2008. Thig gig at the Underbelly in Hoxton was a launch party for "The Mosquito EP vol1" that will be followed by a vol2 and a vol3 and the release of a full album. Watkins doesn't play many solo shows with a full band so it was a rare occasion to catch him live playing with a full band augmented by a 3-piece horn section.

The gig started at 8.30pm with just Watkins by himself playing "Only a Rose" and "Easy to Say (Bontemps Roulez)" from "In A Bad Mood". While the band was setting up, he thanked everybody in the audience for coming along and joked that as the EP is only coming out on vinyl, we could buy it but most of us wouldn't be able to play it. The setlist comsisted mainly of numbers off from "In a Bad Mood" and "The Mosquito EP vol1" intersped with a couple of numbers from the "Bols as Love" (I recall hearing "Happy Day" and "Wonderful life"). Watkins's fantastic piano playing was showcased on a several covers (including a fantastic rework of "Johnny Be goode" that has been a mainstay of his live shows for quite a few years now). I was hoping for more of my favourites to be played ("Don't Stop", "Unto You", "My Love") but the band probably didn't get much time to rehearse and they stuck to the set-list they have been playing with Watkins for the past few years. Nick Lowe was in the audience, eagerly grooving to his "ever-soulful" piano player.

Photo by Sonia Ballot