Jack Francis
The room is already full when Jack Francis takes to the stage. I am a great admirer of support acts who open armed with only an acoustic guitar. With one album under his belt and his second album ‘Early Retirement’ out 22nd March 2024, Jack delivers an excellent opening acoustic set with a mix of upbeat, reflective, and melancholy tunes.
He is an accomplished singer/songwriter and his songs well crafted and he easily draws you into his stories and the sentiments they carry. He takes us through ‘Promised Land’, ‘Silver Lining’, ‘A Little Love’, ‘Tired Of Trying’ and ‘Lifeline’ . Mid set, Jack informs the crowd of his merch and the fact he has to become a salesman. He questions who might buy a support band tshirt but I would guess many of us have at some point.
Some of the more downbeat songs reminded me at times of the Counting Crows first album. ‘Holiday’ is sublime with sorrowful lyrics and could be a track Evan Dando could have written in his darker moments. ‘Wild Eyes’ and ‘Failure’ end this short but engaging set.
This was a cool opening set and it would also be good to hear him with a full band set up sometime. The first album is excellent and from tonight’s performance there will be no difficulty second album and he won’t be retiring any time soon.
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Ferris and Sylvester
Ferris and Sylvester already have an award-winning album to their name and the second album release is imminent and available to pre order which is probably why tonight is another sold out show. We are treated to a mix old and new stuff with a couple of covers thrown in for good measure.
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They begin with the funky blues groove of ‘Darkside which showcases the playing ability of the band from the off. ‘Imposter’ follows with a similar vibe and at times even borders on zeppelin. Their lyrics and harmonies are engaging and the packed audience are already hooked.
The band consists of Issy Ferris and Archie Sylvester (they are married). Archie introduces keyboard player Edu Bisogno and drummer Ross Gordon and informs us Ferris and Sylvester are a band. They have merch to prove it too.
‘Don’t Fall in Love With Me’ incites the first mass singalong before they take us back to ‘Better in Yellow’ which to me is a great pop song. In contrast ‘Mother’ is a catchy story with the blues and folk elements and some wonderful lead guitar with a Fleetwood Mac feel. Make no mistake they are no copyists and have their own fresh take on indie, blues and folk. ‘Flying Visit’ is haunting and for me is one of the best tunes of the night. ‘End of the World’ is in a similar style and equal to it.
Jack Francis joins them on stage for an excellent cover of Wichita Lineman. ’The Performer’ follows before Archie leads another mass singalong to ‘Breadwinner’ from their 2022 debut album ‘Superhuman’. Their cover version of ‘Can’t You See’ by the Marshall Tucker Band is cool and sits perfectly in the set.
The slow blues of ‘Rain’ is cooly delivered and the vocal harmonies are pretty amazing and ‘This is how my voice sounds’ is as ultra catchy and engaging. A mass finger clicking starts the melancholy tune that is the ‘Darkness I Feel’ which shows the breadth of their songwriting and repertoire. Issy also plays flute within the set, – nice touch.
The crowd are in no mood to leave so without leaving the stage they launch into the sorrowful and uplifting blues song that is ‘Sickness’ with maximum crowd participation, lead guitar, keys and drums. Early career upbeat track ‘London Blues’ with its country rockabilly feel brings a raucous end to this great show.
Ferris and Sylvester are a class act hence these sold-out shows. It is hard to compare them to any one artist or band which is a good thing. They have elements of folk, country, blues, soul, rock, southern rock, and indie. Like alternative meets Joni Mitchell and Imelda May meets Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin and the White Stripes which makes for a very interesting sound.
It was great to catch up with former work colleague Hannah who had travelled from Malvern to see the show. Her comment to me at the end probably sums up the show better than I could. ‘How good was that!!!’
