Review: St.Paul & the Broken Bones, Trinity

There’s a genuine sense that Yola Carter’s post Phantom Limb career is about to explode, her full band gig at the Thunderbolt showcased a collection of wonderful tunes and the stripped down three piece support with Sam Outlaw proved the songs worth when pared back to the bone. There are festival slots ahead and the States beckons for the Nashville Americana Festival; and those new tunes are recorded and awaiting release. Tonight was another full band gig (players poached from Sheelanagig and William the Conqueror) and the set soared – country soul grooves with their Americana vibe refreshingly twisted by the Celtic tones of the violin. The autobiographical Orphan Country is improving on every performance and Fly Away (an aural “middle finger” to persons unnamed) a stomper of the finest order. These tunes really come to life on stage, Carter’s vocals soaring from stadium heights to intimate club crooning and meshing beautifully with backing vocals for a West Coast feel – and the band complemented the tunes beautifully; tight, funky and loose but without even an ounce of bombast or ego.

An engaging presence on stage Carter prefaced each song with amusing anecdotes: reassuring us that Born Again was a song more about escaping douchebags than discovering Jebus, and with a considerable degree of self-deprecation introduced her drummer as being “…hidden by my…booty” to much laughter. If the recordings live up to the live versions, then the album deserves to be flying off the shelves and filling homes the length and breadth of the land. Free to Roam a lolloping tune that tips its hat to Pretty Woman concluded the set in fine style. Carter is due to be at Valleyfest and you need to be there to see for yourselves, failing that there will be more local gigs building up to the EP release in the autumn to whet the appetite for the debut album.

Those of us lucky to have seen St Paul & the Broken Bones steal the day at the 2016 Dot-to-Dot festival waited patiently for their return and were rewarded with a gut busting, sweat drenched passionate soul revue featuring a pair of winkle-pickers so bling even Beyoncé might consider them a tad outré. In true revue fashion the set opened with the instrumental Take the Ticket and Ride a Blaxploitation cut that brought the simmering crowd to the boil as singer Paul Janeway took to the stage whilst the band ripped in to the horn led Don’t Mean a Thing. The joint erupted. It was clear the band were taking no prisoners and it was equally clear that the crowd expected no less. The set was packed with prime cuts from their first LP Half the City – a driving Sugar Dyed getting the crowd moving Soul Train style; Half the City itself with lyrics modified to namecheck Bristol; and Like a Mighty River a weapons grade up tempo scorcher. New tunes were slotted in seamlessly – I’ll Be Your Woman a belter that apparently led to some awkward conversations between Janeway and his mother, who was reassured to hear the lyrics were in no way autobiographical or a hint of changes in Janeway’s, ahem, physical state. A cover of Van Morrison’s I’ve Been Working was delivered with an aggressive R ‘n’ B edge that was pleasingly way more Them than Celtic Soul Orchestra.

The pace slowed mid-set for Broken Bones and Pocket Change with Janeway suggesting anyone using this slow jam as an opportunity to “take a pee break” would be missing out and oh boy, was he right. The band built up the ballad in to a tour de force as Janeway acted out the heartbreak in a fashion that would have made James Brown proud: the stage was pounded, his vocals hit peak after peak; shoes were removed and hurled as the song climaxed with the distraught singer flattened by his loss. Janeway is the least likely looking soul man but he has every move down pat, shimmying and grooving in a way that would bring the Harlem Apollo to its feet and with pipes that would have graced any prime Stax, Atlantic or Motown recording back in the golden age of soul.

The band were super tight throughout the show; sure it’s a retro sound and not breaking new musical ground but so what? All of us enjoy hearing pop n rock twisted in to new startling directions but then again sometimes what’s needed is music delivered from the heart directly to the soul, and that’s exactly what this band delivered. This was a fabulous night, with the band palpably moved by the roars of approval before, during and after each song (it didn’t hurt that Janeway had assured us we were a better crowd than the show in that London mind). Choppy riffs and stinging leads; burbling bass grooves and mournful stabbing horns – underpinned by gorgeous keys and kept on track by a funky human metronome with the power of a Bonzo and the groove of a Benny Benjamin or Al Jackson Jr.

A three song encore blew the roof off: It’s Midnight a slow burning start leading in to the second cover of the night, and credit to the band selecting a lesser known Beatles tune (She’s So Heavy) rather than picking a crowd pleasing chartbuster. The band delivered an impeccably, well, heavy version of the song with some outstanding bass coupled with blistering guitar interplay. Call Me was the joyous finale with the band finding a final burst of energy to match the crowd, Janeway delightfully leading the band into Try a Little Tenderness as the song climaxed, leaving him once again flattened on the stage. Jesse Phillips (bass) attempted to provide succour but was rudely thrown in to the keys as Janeway burst back to life for yet another stomping romp through the chorus before finally drawing the set to a close. Pure old school showmanship of the finest kind – free from artifice and totally driven by the passion on stage and a hilariously engaging nod to fifty years of tradition. The band promised to return with the new LP in September, it’s gonna be a hot ticket so treat yerself to an early Chrimbo gift when they go on sale.

All pix by John Morgan