I was never great with directions and so it proved to be when I walked into the kitchen of Bangor’s Rabbit Rooms looking for the John Smith gig… it definitely wasn’t there!
All I knew was that the gig was ‘upstairs’ and I need specifics. I found it eventually and took my seat regretting not making myself a sandwich or something while I was on my kitchen odyssey.
Anyway, I took my seat in the three-quarters full venue and immediately loved the venue and its red curtains, tea candles, fairy lights and artwork on the wall. I had to remind myself that this was a Saturday afternoon gig in summer and not the basement of a Parisian jazz café.
Soon John Smith stepped on to the stage with no pomp and great applause. By now the room had filled completely and opening number ‘Freezing Winds of Change’ from this year’s album ‘Great Lakes’ was a great way to open demonstrating all of Smith’s virtuosity. Sticking to the same album he followed up with ‘Town to Town’ a song about life on the road and what it can do to relationships. Already you get the sense you’re in the room with a special talent. His mastery of the guitar is matched by his mastery of his voice and tied in with these beautiful songs you’re left reeling.
Smith’s set matches his albums for the range of styles he has explored. There’s the English folksy numbers, the open-tuned guitar flair of ‘Hands’ and the sprightly Americana of ‘Great Lakes’ all on display here and he brings these genres together with that warm, husky voice that can sound like the loudest whisper you’ve ever heard.
I’m not usually one for caring about on-stage #bantz either but the Smith that talks to us between songs is a different Smith that exposes his frailties in his songs. It’s an interesting contrast and I do feel the need to tell you dear reader that he had the audience in stitches for a lot of this gig. And if he didn’t have the room already won over he certainly did when he compared this Bangor audience more favourably than his last Northern Ireland audience in Newtownards.
For an hour or so we were given a wonderful set where you were left dazzled in turn by Smith’s guitar playing and then his voice. Songs filled with coastal imagery and the harshness of the sea reflected in the harshness of the heart was the matter of the day – the geography of life and love and Smith feels like an expert in both.
After taking a bow and exiting stage left he was back on for an much-sought encore and treated us to a few of his favourite cover songs: his version of Jackson Browne’s ‘These Days’ was sublime and it felt like his own song. A touch of Woody Guthrie, a mind-blowing version of QOTSA’s ‘No One Knows’ and he was done.
It was an excellent gig and he possesses all the skills to entertain any audience; a likeable onstage persona, he’s emotionally engaging, he’s as funny as any comedian and he has a voice that can be as powerful as a tidal wave and as gentle as the deepest seas. He’s back for a short tour in Ireland and it would be prudent to check him out.