It’s been yet another great weekend of live music in one of Belfast’s top new venues. The Sunflower Bar and all those playing tunes within may have been kicking around for quite a while but things all seem to be finally coming together for the backstreet venue and while some are stuck at home watching teenagers cry in front of Simon Cowell, there’s a whole plethora of talented songsmiths taking the stage.
We’ve made it along for the Saturday evening session where Nick Harper, son of folk singer Roy and sometimes touring member of Squeeze and The Levellers is taking the stage after a short and sweet set of masterful acoustic covers from North Belfast’s David Browne Murray.
Murray is by his own admission playing a little below par. He’s recently had a run in with an old fashioned razor which is never a good idea for a finger-picking guitarist. While the set itself may be a little more mellow than we’d like there are some beautiful moments. Sure, there are a few cliched riffs at times but also a few contemporary classics to keep the eager listener on their toes. Where else will you get to enjoy the theme from ‘Toy Story’, Foster The People’s ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ and watch a bunch of serious muso’s not earnestly along to Daft Punk and Nile Rodgers’ feel good hit of the summer ‘Get Lucky’.
Highlight: A George Harrison medley featuring ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ AND ‘Here Comes The Sun’.
Photos by Gerry McNally
Harper wastes no time at all, kicking off with his 2007 debut single ‘Blue Sky Thinking’. Personally it’s a phrase I hate but a song just about crammed with enough wit and acoustic guitar magic to overcome that. It showcases Harper’s storytelling at its best. He’s clearly inherited the lyrical skill of his father Roy and on stage his undoubted skill on the six string lends a real edge to tracks that already sounded good on record.
He’s not afraid to tackle the darker side of the songwriter’s spectrum with ‘Evo’ a rallying call for us all to be a little more like Bolivian President Evo Morales and ‘Stones’ written specially to mark the end of a hospice fundraiser at the Avebury Stone Circle.
It’s not all doom and gloom as proved by ‘Juicy Fruit Girl’ with its pseudo R’n’B riffing and dare I say, almost Ed Sheeran like vocal delivery. Yes, Ed Sheeran. I was fortunate enough to see him live when he rapped like a little ginger boy possessed and strung together little runs of lyrical brilliance that make ‘The A-Team’ look like primary school poetry. In ‘Reality Check’ he sings “I got voted off today, and I’ve never felt so free” and that is the joy of a Nick Harper show in itself.
No judgement, no tear-stained histrionics, no votes, no pandering to the crowd. He’ll swig back shots of tequila. He’ll speak truth when the guitar isn’t doing the daughter. He’ll stick the boot into Thatcherism and David “the incredible melting man” Cameron. He’ll rebel against reality TV while people we all know are sitting in their houses, stuffing junk food in their faces and lining the pockets of Cowell and co. and then he’ll wrap it up with a Pink Floyd cover. He was there as a kid when Page and Plant were in the studio and he’s going to be around for some time to come.
We’ll not be voting him off just yet…