Dan Ward-Murphy @ The Bedford Tuesday 17th November 2009

Dan Ward-Murphy + Julia Johnson @ The Bedford Tuesday 17^th November 2009
mySpace | FaceBook | TheSixtyOne | Twitter | Sellaband
youTube | Bebo | LastFM | iLike | Stereofame

The Bill:-
Ellie Lawson (purchased album Lost Songs with 18 tracks on it!)
Maeve O’Boyle (purchased album All My Sins)
Dan Ward-Murphy
with special guest Julia Johnson

Dan’s Set List:-
She’s A Knockout
The Sun Is In Your Eyes (f Jen Delaney)
All In A Memory
My Beautiful Predicament
The Genius Of Myra (f Julia Johnson)
Under The Wire (f Julia Johnson)
The Queen Of Something New
So Simple
Act Of Defiance

So here we are again at The Bedford. It’s another Tuesday night and the traffic was awful but it still didn’t take long to schlep across Sarf London to the oh-so-convenient supermarket car park just over the road (arrive after 7pm and it’s free – FREE I TELL’S YA!). That’s what makes it so easy, and the venue itself cries out to be used – good food, good real ale, great ambiance and usually good music.
I say usually because tonight was an exception – it was EXCELLENT MUSIC! I’ve gotta tell ya that I’m usually happy about the music I hear there, but tonight it was such a class line up that even I was staggered by the quality!

Seriously, go check out Ellie Lawson and Maeve O’Boyle (who had to squeeze into a car with her band and drive back to Glasgow last night!. Suffice to say that I purchased an album of each of them – Maeve was especially good with an excellent vocal delivery of some cracking songs – stand out for me were Old Greenwich Mean Time and Facing Home – treat yourselves and track ‘em down!

Dan and his new line up were on last and I was prepared for some changes to the songs I wear like an old dressing gown, and mindful that this was the first public outing with Henry Gilbert in the line up, taking on the double bass and bass guitar, but the sound is really quite different. I remember when Pravin Mukhi (drums, percussion, looking cool) first joined and how odd all the tracks sounded with <I>drums</I>, so I’m perhaps more open to change now, but I’m not sure that all the tracks benefit from the changes, but c’est la vie, and as I said, I wasn’t sure about adding the drums way back when, and now I can’t imagine the songs without them! So what do I know eh!
She’s A Knockout opened the proceedings and I definitely liked the new arrangement for that one as that double bass kicks – though I’d noticed some “bass” vibrations from the venue through the previous two acts too and might have turned it down a tad to stop it had I been on the desk!

Jen takes us through The Sun Is In Your Eyes next and I never tire of hearing Jen in general, or this song in particular. The “All of your winters ...” verse never fails to raise the hair on the back of my neck. We’re then treated to one of Dan’s new songs, All In A Memory, and it’s a corker. I’ve heard it a few times now and it’s becoming an old friend. Not sure he has it recorded anywhere so you’ll have to try and catch it live at The Bedford sometime (in person or streamed) or just take my word for it. It’s another really strong song that I hope will make his second album when he gets around to it!
My Beautiful Predicament finishes off what could be called the first segment of the set and is still a strong song, leading us into the middle eight of the set where everyone but Dan leaves and Julia Johnson steps up. Those of you with Dan’s excellent album, Until The Morning Light, will doubtless be aware of Rosabella Gregory playing piano on The Genius Of Myra and those dainty shoes were amply filled by Julia who also shared the vocal. This is a beautiful song anyway but with the keys it really shines. Julia stays to join Dan singing Under The Wire which is often my favourite track on the album!
Julia leaves and the rest of the band return for The Queen Of Something New and the new(ish) song So Simple, which just leaves the crowd to roar for more and Act Of Defiance as the encore!

Utt