LIVE REVIEW : NICK LOWE AT UNION CHAPEL 09/05/2014

What a change from my previous Nick Lowe gigs, just being able to board the tube and 40 mins later I'm in front of the venue. The gig was was the first of a series of 3 shows that Mr Lowe was playing at The Union Chapel (described by our host of the night as "The Ryman auditorium of North London". It was a rare occasion to catch Mr Lowe in solo mode as when he tours the UK he usually performs with his wonderful backing band.

We managed to find nice seats at the balcony top of the venue after I had purchased the limited edition poster made especially for that run of 3 shows (100, all signed by Mr Lowe himself). Opening act was american country singer John Doe who's signed to same record label as Nick Lowe in the US Yep Roc Records. I had watched a couple of videos on YouTube and was expecting to like him a lot but I was left a bit disappointed in the end. Maybe it was a combination of an early start (7.30pm), a set list relying quite heavily on ballads and a guitar sound that was a bit too quiet (in comparison to Nick Lowe's one later on). I must investigate his records to make a definite opinion.

Lowe came on stage at 8.45 and launched straight away into "Where's my Everything" followed by "Heart", a song first released on Rockpile's Seconds of Pleasure album. The song selection didn't stray too much from the one Lowe has been playing for the last few years but he kept it fresh with a few new additions. We were treated to "I'm a Mess" from The Convincer and a really good cover of "Travelin' Light" originally played by Cliff Richard and The Shadows. There was quite a few instruments set up on stage and even if the red Nord keyboard on left gave a clue that Geraint Watkins would be joining the proceedings at some point, I was wondering who would be playing the guitars on the left. The question was answered mid-gig when Lowe invited John Paul Jones to join him on bass for "Stop Light Roses". Jones stayed till the end playing bass, mandolin and guitar on all the songs (adding a really good mandolin solo to "Checkout Time"). Geraint Watkins joined on "House for Sale". The main set finished with a rousing version of a "I Knew The Bride When She Used to Rock'n'Roll". Watkins and Lowe came back on stage to play "Only A Rose" from Watkins's excellent "Dial W for Watkins" album which was followed by a surprisingly good cover of "Everybody's Talkin" (which Lowe introduced by saying "no safety net on this one") were Lowe and John Doe shared the lead singing. Last song of the night was Lowe's most famous tune "What's So Funny About Peace , Love and Understanding"