Narc. Magazine Online
Reliably informed
Simon Lunt enjoys a spellbinding night of musical storytelling
Image: Tiny Vipers by Simon Lunt
The deliberate choice of a venue such as Toc H Coach House in Saltburn sets the tone for a truly unique night ahead. Entering the cosy community hall that even many locals struggled to find without Google Maps, a capacity 60 strong crowd are treated to a cup of tea, ambient lighting, floral tapestries and a chance to pet the bull mastiff on the front row.
Teessider Anna Karila kicks things off without ceremony and treats us all to a confident and beautifully arranged set of indie folk and Americana with some exquisite finger picking moments. Her songs take us on a pleasant journey with the highlights being firstly her song People of Clay where she wishes she was the lightening but she’s the gentle thud of rain and secondly a truly beautiful version of Who Knows Where the Time Goes by Fairport Convention.
Belgian resident Chantal Acda joins the fray and charms the room with her witty Dutch banter and ingratiating tales of braving the sea in Redcar and trying to tune in to the local North East dialect. This light is delivered alongside the shade of a poignant song written at the bedside of her dying father. She finishes with an encore – a song she wrote for her Icelandic-named son to help with the healing after his own father’s passing, subtly utilising her guitar to symbolise a fading heartbeat.
Tiny Vipers (aka Jesy Fortino) has been quietly enjoying proceedings from the back of the room and the Seattleite begins her set with humble gratitude and an invitation for all to take a lyric book as a helpful guide.
It would be remiss to review this event without using the word ‘intimate’ and the foundations laid by Karila and Acda are used by Fortino to build an equally intricate and delicate sonic structure to rubber-stamp the phrase ‘less is more’.
Beginning with Simulate from her latest album, the room is transfixed. How can something so quiet and stripped back seem so loud? With the genius and spirituality of a Rothko I found myself accepting the invitation to join the dots and the rapturous applause after each song suggested everyone else was equally hypnotised.
American Prayer was a disenfranchised slice of life from someone working at an all you can eat restaurant, smoking cigarettes to facilitate more breaks whilst longing to be rescued or simply to go missing. That all said – the tone and bewitching craft of Fortino meant that hope was the evident thread.
Mary Pilgrim Inn was a bizarre but simple tale of a fleeing man who kicks the control panel of a lift and then everyone has to take the stairs. I may have missed the metaphor but the layers in the stripped back guitar work weren’t lost on me. A truly wonderful and beautiful live folk moment.
The Saltburn crowd were spellbound and the title LP track Tormentor challenged the listener with uncompromising, defiant lyrics including “I want you to use me because when I am empty I’ll be ready to receive so much more than I ever had to give”.
“You’re mesmerising me dog!” was the most Teesside-like compliment you’re likely to hear this year at the end of a set. But he wasn’t the only one. This was a very special night of music from three wonderful artists and 60 lucky locals (+1) were thankful to have been there.
