Saw Thea Gilmore and Erin McKeown in the Sage, hall 2 on Friday. We were sitting in the seats which seats behind the stage — strange, but I quite like it there, because you are very close and can hear the sound outside of the amps. Apparently these seats are renowned amoung performers, for giving the audience a good view of their backsides; it’s not actually true, as the angle is too acute.

The evening was truely excellent. I’ve never seen Erin McKeown before, but she is well worth seeing. She’s a much better guitarist than I had gathered from her recordings, and has a fine pair of lungs also.

Thea Gilmore, on the other hand, I have seen before. The last gig, I remember, was wonderfully well but together, with strong, lyrical songs. All this was still present but, I think, she has been practicing her voice, which was richer, warmer and stronger than I remember. She closed the gig with an acapella song, which I don’t think she would have pulled off before.

The gig seemed to have sold out. It’s nice to see talented people do well, but it’s also has an unfortunate side: next time, she may well be in hall 1. All of the intimacy and warmth will be lost.

Originally published on my old blog site.