Why this gig?
Earlier this year, my friend Antonio told me that he was playing at the Bedford and that I should really make an effort to be there as Annie Eve was on the same bill and she was really rather special. I trust Ant’s musical taste, so I made sure I was there. As always, Ant was right. I was completely blown away by Annie Eve. The following day, I wrote this:
So last night I saw @AnnieEveMusic at @BedfordLive. Probably the best new act I've seen since @stealingsheep 18 months ago.
— Dave Cross (@davorg) March 1, 2013
And some of you might remember just how excited I got about Stealing Sheep.
Anyway, it was clear that I had to see Annie Eve again. And this was my first real chance.
Support
Normally I like to get to a gig in time to give the support acts the attention that they deserve. But events conspired against me and I arrived in the middle of Harry Keyworth’s set. I only saw two and a half songs. Which was a shame as he was really good. He reminded me a lot of John Martyn. I’ll be looking out for a chance to see him again.
Headline
And then there was Annie Eve. Who was just as wonderful as I remembered her. Her music is a bit folky and a bit poppy but with a dreamlike quality to it. That’s a rubbish description though. I could use the same description for Stealing Sheep and they sound nothing like her.
It’s a relatively short set, but a really enjoyable one. There are a couple of pauses as the bass player has problems with his “new toys” (as Eve describes them) but they barely disturb the flow. The band is great and includes Nizlopi’s John Parker (who is fast becoming this generation’s answer to Danny Thompson).
Eve’s first EP was released recently so the set isn’t full of songs that the audience know well, but everyone is clearly enjoying hearing them. The audience is silent as each one is played and there’s massive applause as it ends.
There were about a hundred or so people in the audience (St Pancras Old Church really isn’t very big) and I strongly suspect that a lot of them were from the music industry. There’s certainly a buzz growing about her and I hope that she is able to make the most of that and get her music out to as many people as possible.
Really glad that I was able to be at this show. If there’s any justice in the world then Annie Eve is going to be a huge star.
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