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I had seen Meghan Parnell and Dave Barnes, the driving force behind Bywater Call, supporting Robert Jon and The Wreck back in February. I was mightily impressed, and particularly bowled over by Meghan’s voice. So this tour with the full, seven-piece band had been on my radar for a while. I was not disappointed.
To warm us up, blues singer-songwriter Sunjay fitted the brief perfectly with an entertaining, acoustic set of covers and original material. The room began to fill up as Sunjay plied his varied trade, including the tracks ‘Mississippi Blues’ and ‘Built For Comfort’. Sunjay is a very engaging performer, with humorous chat between songs. And sometimes within them… the set up and delivery of the brilliant and funny payoff in ‘Bob Dylan?’ was sublime. If the music career hits the buffers, there’s always stand up. Good stuff.
The Canadian band Bywater Call emerged low-key from backstage and somehow squeezed on to The Grace’s tiny platform of a stage. Lead singer, guitar, drums, keyboard, bass, trumpet and sax. Yet at no point did anything look cluttered, claustrophobic or clunky. And that’s how it sounded too. Bywater Call, in a very short two-album career, have already melded blues, rock, roots, soul and country (at least) into an infectious, powerful, enveloping sound. Live, they take these sweet vibes to an electrifying, intoxicating level.
First up was a brace of tracks from 2022’s ‘Remain’ in the shape of ‘Bring It Back’ and the snap- rhythm powered ‘Ties That Bind’. Immediately, the structures and arrangements of those studio cuts were played with and pushed about to create new, harmonious instrumental passages. A riveting, off-piste trumpet and sax jam set the tone early. But this wasn’t some chaotic free-for-all. Everything had its place. And Meghan had already nipped off stage during the first track’s solos to have a quick word with the sound-man to get the mix just right. (It already sounded amazing to me.)
The slow-burning ‘Silver Lining’ was the moment where Meghan’s voice rose high above the busy sound of the industrious band. She is winning all sorts of plaudits as one of the best new vocalists in roots and blues and I can do no more than add to the appreciation of her rich tone, raspy power and that fragile catch in her voice on the dramatic bits. She’s got it all.
But this is far from a story just about Meghan’s vocals, or Dave’s guitar for that matter. The Stephen Still’s track ‘Love The One You’re With’ became only a rough template that the rest of the band used to stretch out on a soulful highway with jazz pit-stops. That line-up is completed by Bruce McCarthy (drums), Mike Meusel (bass), John Kervin (keyboards), Stephen Dyte (trumpet) and Julian Nalli (tenor sax). Six instruments on stage but it never felt like a competition.
New number ‘Sweet Maria’ ploughed a southern rock groove that built into some frenetic musical interplay before a pause where the band harmonised with Meghan and the audience in a soaring chorus sing-along.
‘Falls Away’ is one of the best on ‘Remain’ and live, picked up a harder-edged dirty groove and came with a stunning extended solo from Dave.
The musical mash up continued with more new tracks. ‘Sign of Peace’ starred John on keyboards, firstly with a tinkling piano intro and later a long break in this New Orleans-infused airy song which had the crowd waving peace gestures back at the band. The brooding, organ-driven ‘Your Colours’ was a stronger offering and brought another vocal tour-de-force.
Meghan was a magnetic visual presence all night out front, chatting to the crowd here and there, but the banter was not overdone. The music was left space to bring the eloquent communication instead. The songs often segued into each other during the set.
A couple of tunes from their debut album followed: the fizzy ‘Forgive’ and then one of their best compositions, the excellent blues and soul stacked ‘Arizona’ with Dave on screaming guitar break.
Another new track, an up-beat blues rock work out called ‘As if’ bodes well for the next album when it arrives, and here featured a thrilling brass segment spinning off Dave’s choppy guitar lines. Well received by the audience.
Live staple ‘The Weight’, a cover of The Band’s original brought more multi-layered musicality and passionate vocals. But this time it was Mike on bass that took a starring role with a funky intro and an ear-catching bubbling bottom-end throughout.
More blues/rock/soul to finish the set with the powerful ‘Left Behind’, where Dave again found a beautiful slide guitar tone. An apt song title for this gig: a small venue on Bywater Call’s debut European tour, but absolutely nothing was left behind tonight. The band play with confidence, professionalism and an unshakeable enjoyment in the sheer exuberance of their performance. We’ve had Total Football, heck we’ve had Total War. This was Total Music. One of my gigs of the year. A privilege to be here.
Review and photos by Dave Atkinson
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12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023
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