Wildwood Kin + Charlie Harris live @ the Brook Inn, Plympton
– 16/11/2017
I’m a blogger and, as a result, a
blagger. I don’t get paid for my writing so if I can get the odd free gig
ticket or CD (or T-shirt, hint hint) then I’ll take it as recompense for my
time, I’ve no problem with that. However, as soon as this gig was announced I
knew I had to buy tickets for what is surely one of the biggest gigs to ever
hit my home-town of Plympton. My hunch was right and as I arrived at the Brook
Inn (a shining beacon of a venue in a world where live music venues are closing
quicker than you can say ‘Simon Cowell killed songwriting’) the sold out nature
of the night soon became apparent.
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| Charlie Harris |
Next up are three musicians from
the Exeter scene who have banded together under the guise of Club Brothers – presumably because of
their mutual love of the McVitie’s biscuit. Now, one of them I’ve seen fronting
one of the best wedding bands I’ve ever seen, another I’ve seen all over the
internet and the other shares a name with a host of good people so,
collectively, the trio of singers gave me high hopes. In terms of the quality
of their vocals, there’s no denying that these three have talent and they
complement each other nicely as they mix covers and original compositions
effortlessly. What was a slight let down, however, was their choice of songs
which all felt a little to Sunday afternoon chill-out soul vibes which seemed
to dampen the mood slightly. Covers of Sugababes and Kodaline worked but didn’t
really inspire any swell of emotion or dancing so it felt like these three
talented entertainers were holding something back a little. Then again, as one
of my gig companions said, the job of a support act is to make the headliner
look good so maybe there were some generous tactics at play here.
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| Wildwood Kin (Pic: The Lazy Photographer) |
As the iPad toting compere left
the stage to huge applause, three demure and unassuming women take to the stage
with hunched body language and the flicker of a smile on their faces. This is
not a band prone to rock star posing or over the top displays but then they
don’t need any of that, they’ve got something very, very special. This is
Exeter familial trio Wildwood Kin
and regular LWM readers will know I’ve been championing these ladies for a
while now so it was particularly gratifying to see them playing to a sold out
venue on a Thursday night. Opening with former single ‘Warrior Daughter’, the
trademark three part harmonies brought an awed hush to proceedings (apart from
the three guys at the back who decided to talk and laugh through the whole
performance – tools) and their magic started to spread.
In between songs like ‘Dove’,
Hold On’ and ‘Circumstance’, it is singer and percussionist (and avid hat
wearer) Meghann Loney who assumes the role of frontwoman, quietly drawing the
audience in with tour stories, an unerring ability to stare in to the audience’s
soul through a camera lens and the encouragement of one of her cousins (Bethany
Key) to sneeze on stage for the first time (no dice this time) which all serves
to endear the band to the audience all to more. It is on songs like ‘Steady My Heart’, however,
that my impress-o-meter (patent pending) goes up to new levels as the trio
explore a new, darker side to their songwriting that adds depth and breadth to
an already impressive set. A superbly emotional cover of the Stereophonics’
‘Dakota’ brings a tear to the eye while the constant switching between
acoustic, electric guitar, keys, bouzouki and a variety percussion keeps you
guessing without the need for a large stage rig.
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| Wildwood Kin (Pic: The Lazy Photography) |
More information:
The Brook Inn – https://www.facebook.com/BrookInnPlympton/
Wildwood Kin – https://www.facebook.com/wildwoodkin/
Club Brothers - https://www.facebook.com/clubbrothersmusic/
Club Brothers - https://www.facebook.com/clubbrothersmusic/
Charlie Harris – https://www.facebook.com/charliehofficial/