This evening was not only a Nick Harper gig in the leafy suburbs of Kings Heath in Birmingham but also a celebration of a local music lover and local promoter Andy Swann moving from his quinquagenarian years into his sexagenarian decade. Andy has followed Nick from Nick`s early years playing with his dad, Roy Harper, to the Glastonbury Festival, The Hibernian in Selly Park and the legendary De Barras in Clonakilty so who better to head up this celebratory evening.
Tonight was gonna be two sets and a kind of greatest hits trawl and with Nick having at least sixteen albums it was going to be a night with something for everyone.
The first forty odd minutes took us on an emotional rollercoaster with numbers that included the reflective `Blood Song`, and the heartbreaking `Imaginary Friend` written for his mom Monica Weston on the day of her passing. A song which Nick refers to as Seven Ages of Man in four and a half minutes called `By My Rocket Comes Fire` closes out the first section. The one thing that always hits home when you witness this fella live is his acoustic guitar playing which The Times, no less have stated that he “does things to his [guitar] that would have had Segovia weeping into his Rioja. He picked up the guitar and has been playing since the age of ten but nevertheless it’s a joy to see him attack and hit the frets at one hundred miles an hour.
After a break for refreshments the second half kicks off with the ironic `Simple` from the `Miracles For Beginners` album with its strap line of “no drums, no bass, no style, nice easy pace, Simple,” introspective `Passing Chord` and `The Story of My Heart` a song of seduction, obsession, and infatuation with the interestingly worrying line “A kiss is never just a kiss.”
We enjoy a couple of favourites of mine with `Juicy Fruit Girl` a number that refers to seemingly fairly innocent adolescent recollections and reminisces of a first love and the contemplative `Love is Music`.
The politicised `Lies! Lies! Lies!` wakes us up before the dreamy `Echoes of Love` has me drifting into thoughts of my own. `A Real Diamond` is a sweet eulogy while `My Little Masterpiece` is a delightfully sentimental song about the artist`s daughter.
`No One Works Alone` is wonderfully frantic and closes this hour plus set but the singer is encouraged to play one more to which he exceeds and leaves us with `For You`. No matter how many times I see Nick Harper i`m always blown away by, first his guitar playing but then by his philosophical sense of humour which has shades of light and dark and his songs with lyrics that are at time quite profound and surreal.
He`s a wonderful troubadour and tonight was not only a great evening out but a fitting way to celebrate Andy Swann`s farewell to his fifties.
