Live: Beth Jeans Houghton
Posted on January 26th, 2012 by folkandtumble
Venue: Black Box, Belfast
Date: 25 January 2011
I really didn’t know too much about Beth Jeans Houghton and her band The Hooves of Destiny before this week but when doing my research and found out the name of their EP was called ‘Hot Toast Vol 1′ I knew I was gonna like them.
The gig was in the Black Box in Belfast as part of the Out to Lunch Festival and was opened by Katie and the Carnival. It had been a while since I had seen them and they were excellent – I had forgotten how good they were.
Houghton was on stage shortly after and whoever was standing at the bar throughout the support act were soon grabbing a more suitable standpoint as her and the band threw themselves into a very energetic set.
The second track, ‘Atlas’ gave a fair indication of how the night was going to pan out. It had an interesting mix of rolling, unsubtle drums and guitars, almost like an American rock and roll song, contrasted with Houghton’s pretty fascinating voice. She sounds almost operatic and English-folk at the same time and with an edge that could leave you unsure of where she’s taking a melody and she made it work for her.
The band itself was a pretty stripped down and basic affair – guitar, bass and drums and the guitarist adding flourishes of trumpet in various songs which made it feel a bit more rock and roll than I had expected. She’s been lumped in a under the ‘nu-folk’ umbrella but I don’t think she sits there very comfortably – at least not the live show.
There was plenty of banter with the crowd with a few jokes, some tourist advice and even a banana giveaway which endeared her and the band to the crowd and that always helps. But being endearing doesn’t always make for a good gig – the very impressive four-part harmonies on single ‘Dodecahedrons’ do.
Throw in a cover of ‘Devil in Disguise’, a super-sweet love song called ‘Honeycomb’, the stand-out track from her EP, ‘I Will Return, I Promise’ and there was a very happy crowd outside afterwards exchanging cigarettes and compliments with Ms Houghton and the Hooves.
Her album is out very soon after being held up for two years and she’ll sell a few copies in Belfast after tonight.