Grant-Lee Phillips’ twelfth solo album, the wonderful `In The Hour Of Dust` came out last month and the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has taken a short trip to the UK and Europe for a few dates with tonight`s sold out show at the intimate Kitchen Garden Café in Birmingham midway through.
The show opens with a couple of cuts from the latest release with `Little Men` a tender number with such a strong message and the reflective `She Knows Me` both of which really highlight the rich depth of this singer’s vocal range. In this first forty minute set GLP shared amongst many, `Mona Lisa` a song which he sang in the American comedy-drama television series Gilmore Girls where he popped up each series as the town troubadour. The track itself has an aching beauty about it. The heartbreaking `Cry Cry` which tells thestory of the artists Native American ancestors follows before this half closes with `Humankind` which ends with a brief snippet of The Cure`s `Just Like Heaven`.
After a short interval the second set opens with `Unruly Mobs` and `See America` which recalls an early trip to New York and the adventurous taxi ride back to where the singer was staying. We enjoy a number of songs from the singer`s time with Grant Lee Buffalo with `Mighty Joe Moon`, `Honey Don’t Think`, `Mockingbirds` a number written in the aftermath of the Northridge earthquake in 1994, during which Grant-Lee and his wife lost their home and `Jupiter & Teardrop` a song about star crossed lovers which brought me right back to the early nineties when I first saw Grant Lee Buffalo.
There`s an audience request for `Star n` Stripes` which throws the singer as it`s a deep reflection on American society and patriotism and a track that he hasn`t played for some time but regardless he acquiesces and pulls it off with aplomb. This seems to spur GLP and he plays the meditative `Fool`s Gold` along with the contemplative `The Hook`. We return to the latest release for the final numbers tonight with `Did You Make It Through the Night Okay` a morning greeting translated from the Muskogee (Creek) language “Estonkon cukhayvtikv.” and `Last Corner of The Earth` a peaceful meditation but with an underlying message of hope for a brighter future.
This enraptured audience persuade the singer to share a final number come encore before departing and he duly obliges with `Fuzzy` one of my favourite Grant Lee Buffalo classics. There`s a final show in London tonight but it appears that there may be more gigs in the UK in the new year. It`s been seven and a half years since I last caught Grant-Lee Phillips live and tonight was a reaffirmation of what I’d missed. This evenings show was a joy to behold and to me was enhanced by the unique atmosphere of this intimate venue.
