The Bill:-
Dan Ward-Murphy
Faith of Merchants (though their mySpace profile is more use!)

Dan’s Set List:-
So Simple
The Prettiest Girl At The Dance
Who’s Sorry Now?
The Queen Of Something New
Make A Woman Cry
The Sun Is In Your Eyes (f Jen)
She’s A Knockout
Act Of Defiance

I love this part of town ‘cos one of my favourite pubs is right there … did I ever mention The Chandos on the corner of St Martin’s Lane? No? I was having a Swift Half™ of Old Brewery when in walks Dan and the team. Sound checks completed they’d come to join me for a pre-match friendly at pub prices before we head for the hotel bar, as that’s what Bungalow 8 is. It’s a subterranean bar under St Martin’s Hotel and it’s a private club, which is why everyone had to contact Dan beforehand to be put on the guest list. It’s an interesting venue with a somewhat sub-optimal stage arrangement at the end of a long room. A pillar breaks the stage in two and ended up blocking the view of our Henry on bass/double bass (and also blocked the bass player for Faith of Merchants too). Some might describe it as quirky but I’m not so sure. Let’s just say it’s not my favourite venue and leave it at that!

I’m liking the new stuff more and more, and Dan and crew kick off with So Simple, which I love, and The Prettiest Girl At The Dance which is also a cracking new track and then we get Who’s Sorry Now? which is one I’d not heard before (and yet another keeper!). The set is split in half and Dan finishes his first half with an old favourite The Queen Of Something New from his Sellaband funded album.

A short break allows Dan and the crew to schmooze and get a drink before the second half kicks off with more tracks from his excellent album Until The Morning Light and yet more new ones as Make A woman Cry comes first completing the set of new tracks for the evening. Dan has so many wonderful new songs that it must be time for him to get back in the studio and produce another album soon! We finish the set with Jen tacking the lead for The Sun Is In Your Eyes before handing back to Dan for She’s A Knockout and finally closing out with Act Of Defiance.

Another great gig from Dan and his band of consummate professionals and I can’t wait until the next gig …

This gig was a bit of a surprise, as I had thought that the next gig was at the Troubadour on the 1^st April, with Julia Johnson playing too. Of course now I can be more confident that the next gig is indeed back at the Troubadour on the 1^st April!

Photo by Nick Deaves

Read latest live gig review by Utterly B Groovy “Daniel at The Troubadour” here.

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Dan Ward-Murphy @ The Troubadour Thursday 18^th February 2010
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The Bill:-

Jake Hall (picked up a copy of his EP)
Anoushka Lucas (Another EP … a good night!)
Dan Ward-Murphy
The Keitels

Dan’s Set List:-
The Queen Of Something New
So Simple
The Prettiest Girl At The Dance
Make A Woman Cry
The Sun Is In Your Eyes (f Jen)
She’s A Knockout
Act Of Defiance

The first of Dan’s appearances at The Troubadour as part of his bi-monthly residency (ie playing every two months) and introducing the new drummer James Titshall (replacing the excellent Prav who’s moved on to concentrate on other projects), along with recent-ish addition Henry Gilbert on bass and double bass, and of course the old hand Jen Delaney helping Dan out with the singing duties.

Had a nice meal upstairs before the gig, and a couple of happy hour cocktails before wandering downstairs to catch the end of the sound check and grab a table. Great to see the place so full and definitely impressed by Jake Hall and Anoushka Lucas, and bought both their EPs. The Keitels, on last, were pretty competent, the girl singer had a great voice, but they didn’t seem to be enjoying it much (and had apparently thought it was OK to talk loudly through everyone else’s set too!) so I thought that whilst musically it was good, the ‘show’ lacked a bit of sparkle!

Dan, on third, opened with the Queen Of Something New which got everyone’s toes tapping. Interestingly, I didn’t have the same reaction as last time I saw them, when my mind would fill in for the missing Helen on violin and Milo on cello. It seems really tight and ‘complete’ again now the re-organisation has had some time to bed in properly. This has perhaps shifted the sound a little from nu-folk to nu-country but it is definitely a comfortable fit now and sounding great!

First of three new songs, So Simple is (still) a beautiful song with all the DWM hall marks of harmonies as it lets the crowd settle into the set. Next up is the newest song, indeed the first outing for The Prettiest Girl At The Dance, followed by Make A Woman Cry, both of which are finely crafted songs with geat tunes and involving lyrics and are definitely keepers!

Jen takes the reins for The Sun Is In Your Eyes and it’s as wonderful as ever, and Dan closes the set with She’s A Knockout and Act Of Defiance, both of which sound fabulous in the new arrangements.

The crowd were at times a bit rowdy (but often are at The Troubadour) but most appreciative as shown by the leCDs they purchased, and the no. of names added to the email list.

Excellent Dan … 10 out of 10!

Next playing at the Troubadour on the 1^st April, which is also going to be when Julia Johnson is playing as part of her residency, so that should be a good night!

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

I asked him about his experiences, the new band line-up and his plans for the future.

Q: It’s almost one year since you released “Until the Morning Light” … how time flies. What happened till now – could you tell us something about your experiences and impressions during the last 12 months?
A: Well after the release I concentrated on getting as much internet, press and radio coverage as I could and I played as many live gigs as possible to get the material heard and my name known. It was a ‘soft launch’ in the purest sense of the word as aside from some agency work there was no coordinated campaign behind it and new audiences are still getting to hear it as I promote it – so I genuinely still feel like it is in its release stage.

It has been a very good journey with many challenges and frustrations along the way. The highlight for me is always when people take the time to contact me and let me know that the album is special to them, as at the end of the day that is my modus operandi. I never planned to write music, it was kind of an accident, but once it happened I have worked hard to give these songs a life outside of my living room.

Q: I’ve read your blog post announcing that Milo has left the band in August this year. How do you cope without him?
A: Well Milo was an extremely rare talent. There are many people who can play their instrument excellently but when you add to that the ability to give a song what it needs, an egoless personality that can take direction and an almost virtuoso way of playing – then you have a special talent indeed. I could not replace him like-for-like and it sparked a slight change of direction I had been considering for a while. In addition to Milo leaving, I had to take the difficult decision to lose Helen Twomey on the violin as well. Helen was a big part of what has happened to date and I hope there is an opportunity to share a stage or recording studio with both of them again….

But time moves on and it has given me an opportunity to make a distinction between the first album and future material. From a writing perspective, I am a bit of a chameleon and I tend to write music for those around me. I am extremely pleased to bring in Henry Gilbert who, aside from being a nice guy, is a tremendous player of both the double bass and the bass guitar. He gives me the scope to write a wider range of material and alongside Jennifer and Pravin the band is sounding great as a 4-piece. I plan to add one more band member as soon as I find the right player but it is not an incomplete band at present and I am excited about the sound we are creating.

Q: Looking ahead, what are your plans for the near future – new songs, maybe a new album?
A: Well creatively I am really pleased with what is happening. I have introduced ‘The Liberation of the Female Kind’, ‘So Simple’ and ‘All In A Memory’ into the live set, I have ‘I Just Want to Be a Somebody’ and ‘The Prettiest Girl at The Dance’ pretty much good to go, I have about 4 ideas I am working on, I have the option of recording ‘Heart On My Sleeve’, ‘Soldier’s Song’ and ‘White Decay’ amongst others and I’m reworking some older material I love. So yes, I believe I am writing some of my best material and I have enough material of the calibre I would want in order to record a new album. I constantly consider how and if I can make that happen (we are approaching labels and other companies regarding a second album deal) but having been able to properly record a debut album I am reluctant to go down any budget route.

In addition to this, over the coming months I plan to digitally release ‘Songs from Soho’ – a live album that I recorded with Milo, Helen and Jen at Dean Street Studios on a special night a while back. Watch this space…

Q: What were your experiences with SellaBand, would you go for a second run to fund your next album?
A: Like most people, my experience with Sellaband …

Read the full article in issue # 09/2009 of 50K MUSIC MAG – pages 7/8.

www.danielwm.com

The Bill:-
Sherika Sherard
Dan Ward-Murphy
Holly Rubenstein
Kenny Bogan
Dave Gibson

Dan’s Set List:-
So Simple (w Jen)
The Sun Is In Your Eyes (f Jen)
White Decay
Act Of Defiance

You all know I love The Bedford, so much so that on at least one occasion when I couldn’t make it I fired up the old PC and watch the live webcast – the picture isn’t great but the sound was pretty good and well worth a try!
This is one of the regular The Bedford evenings with a bunch of artists all singing a couple of songs in the first half, then with often an order swap, singing a couple more in the second half. This breaks the night up a bit and allows them to put on 5 or so artists.

First up, a mention for the other Artists. Sherika Sherard is quite young but definitely has something, not least of which is her voice and demeanour. Holly Rubenstein sang very nicely, but not in a genre I’m particularly fond of, though she’s having some success apparently, while Kenny Bogan had a lovely soft lilting Irish accent to really set off his songs. Lastly, Dave Gibson is apparently a bit of a coup for The Bedford in that he’s recently signed to Sony and has not been allowed to gig for the last 6 months or so because of it (?). Perhaps more fun for those “OK Magazine” readers amongst you is that he had David Sneddon playing keys for him. He’s off to the US to record an album or something now … so let’s see if he can become a household name eh!

After the cancelled DWM gig I’m still waiting to hear the full line up but I’m still not going to pass up an opportunity to see Dan and Jen singing and as always I’m not disappointed – So Simple starts the (Dan & Jen) night off nicely. This is a new one and a cracker – if you’ve not heard it you could have heard it last night on the webcast but you missed it! HA! Jen takes the lead for The Sun Is In Your Eyes which is as beautiful as ever. I don’t think there were many DWM fans in the hizzouse but the full room still gave a rousing ovation with a number of cheers and whoops – THIS is what Dan needs to do more of to build his fanbase and he’s out there doing it!
The second half sees Dan on his lonesome on stage as Jen joins us to watch. Was it something he said … To be fair, it was funny, but oh so unrepeatable! Dan opens his second half with White Decay and finishes with the usual Act Of Defiance, though this time suggesting people click their fingers instead of clap and I’m not sure that works so well as it’s not loud enough to get quorum and it soon peters out – still a good song and still got an enthusiastic round of applause (and cheers and whoops) from the crowd!

Definitely looking forward to seeing the full band on Nov 17^th back at The Bedford, and on a PC near you if you’ve got broadband …

Utt

The Bill:-
Dan Ward-Murphy
Rebecca Hope
Ben Goddard
Paul Claxton
Matt Rivers

Dan’s Set List:-
She’s A Knockout (w Jen)
White Decay
The Sun Is In Your Eyes (f Jen)
The Liberation Of The Female Kind (w Jen)
(New Track)
So Simple (w Jen, Prav)
Act Of Defiance

First off, what a nice pub! I sure wish there was a place like this in Kingston – a proper old-style pub! Magic!

Dan’s first on tonight and was hoping it’d be “downstairs” to be heard by more people – the main thrust of ‘gigs like this’ is to be heard, to spread the word, so it is with a little disappointment at being in the less crowded upstairs that Dan takes to the stage. This was billed as a “solo” session but Jen Delany rocked up (on her birthday no less) and it appeared as though she became an unplanned accessory as Dan got a second mike setup.

Whilst I totally love the DWM sound-of-old (Jen, Milo, Helen, Prav) it is great every now and then to get back to basics and this was an excellent reminder of where Dan started his “solo” sessions – albeit with some backing vox (which, to be fair, he often had from the V. early days). She’s A Knockout has always been a good track to start a set with and tonight’s no different. Stripped back it’s a reminder of what a great track this is. Jen steps down to let Dan do his thang on White Decay. I think the first time I heard this was possibly at the “Songs From Soho” recordings and it’s great for it to have an outing again.
Jen returns for The Sun Is In Your Eyes which is definitely one of my favourites with the haunting “All of my winters …” verse ringing in my ears. Following Liberation is a new, as yet unnamed, track Dan throws in for its first public performance. With such a large number of songs it must always be difficult to pick what to play and I’m always more than happy to hear a few new ones – I look forward to this one being named and hearing it again!

Pravin also turned up and was dragged kicking and screaming onstage to play a “shaker” of some sort – minimal percussion – to accompany the excellent So Simple and Dan finished solo with the rabble rouser Act Of Defiance, which is always a great way to end a set.

So all done and looking forward to seeing, and hearing, the new lineup on Thursday at The Den …