It’s a cold dark mid-October evening and we find ourselves glad of the welcoming warmth of Belfast’s Fitzroy Presbyterian Church. Tonight the Real Music Club has swapped its spiritual home of The Errigle Inn for the the spiritual home of another and the event marks the long overdue return of Gretchen Peters.
Opening the set with ‘When All You Got Is A Hammer’ from her recent record ‘Blackbirds’ we quickly realise that tonight’s show isn’t going to pull any punches. An acknowledgement of Co. Antrim’s Ben Glover leads straight into the murder balled ‘Blackbirds’ a song that they wrote together that also appears on Ben’s latest record ‘Atlantic’.
We can’t help smile to ourselves as the subject matter of both songs are somewhat questionable for the hallowed ground on which we stand. At one point during her set Peters even acknowledges this, although we note a devilish twinkle in her eye that suggest she’s getting a kick out it herself.
The first half of the set focuses mostly on the recent material from ‘Blackbirds’ and again while discussing the darker side of the record Peters admits that one of her friends actually enquired after her own well being as they found the songs so disturbing.
Tonight’s audience however have no such concerns. ‘Pretty Things’, ‘The House On Auburn Street’ and ‘Black Ribbons’ all sound great live as Peters spins and weaves her stories for the gathered flock. It seems these days at the Real Music Club you can’t go too far with some mention of Tom Russell and tonight is no exception. Another co-write ‘Guadalupe’ eases itself into the set.
At this point we are amazed to learn that the band was only put together the night before the show. Peters and husband Barry Walsh have teamed up with bassist Conor McCreanor and guitarist Colm McClean for four Irish dates and while McCreanor has played with Peters before, McClean only met her two hours before the previous night’s show and yet tonight they are playing as tight as any band that’s been on the road together for a year.
An impromptu change to the set list sees Peters opening the second half of the show solo on piano with ‘Northern Lights’. A choice inspired by the recent spell of settled weather that has enabled sightings of this miraculous wonder of nature all along the East Coast of Northern Ireland in recent weeks. She tells the audience that she’s never seen them and hopes to catch them on the last night of the tour in Letterkenny. She also tells us how jealous she is of anyone who witnessed them recently. No one admits to having witnessed any sightings when asked. We reckon the murder ballads may have inspired any non-admissions.
Featuring heavily with material from ‘Hello Cruel World’ the second half of the set is a real crowd pleaser. ‘Woman At The Wheel’, ‘Hello Cruel World’ and BBC Radio 2 favourite ‘Five Minutes’ all receive thunderous applause before the sombre and hard hitting ‘Idlewild’ delivers it’s message about gun control and ends the set.
We aren’t left on a downer though. The first encore features a cover of the Rodney Crowell classic ‘I Ain’t Living Long Like This’ which almost blows the roof of the venue. Walsh has been playing some very intricate piano all night on the old black church upright and now he finally gets to unleash his devilish talent as he embarks of a lengthy battle with McClean’s guitar. Both trade fiery licks with each other and the sound reverberates about the vaulted ceiling creating haunting echoes that could wake the souls destined to rise on All Hallow’s Eve early. As the almost apocalyptic duel reaches it’s climax, Walsh goes all Jerry Lee Lewis and sinks his feet into the now battered and bruised piano. Fortunately, the only rapture that follows is a raucous standing ovation.
The final encore of the night is given over to Peters and Walsh and they end the night with a light tongue and cheek cover version of John Prine’s ‘In Spite of Ourselves’.
This was one of the most anticipated shows on the Real Music Club calender this year and it was an incredible night of music.