So first gig of the year, and first visit to the eclectic Electrowertz by the Angel tube station in Islington. Great location to get home from. Not a great start to the gig as it appeared that the backing group turned up late and were therefore a good 30 minutes late in starting their set. Then after they had cleared the stage both keyboards and a violin could not be amplified. Much scurrying around, leads changes, Meilyr looking not particularly amused. Then some 30 minutes after he was due to start everything was finally working.
Looking at the audience, aware of the slight resentment that had built up, Meilyr spoke into the mike. “I always wondered if I could change an atmosphere with the click of a finger” and the band burst into a tremendous version of his single ‘How To Appreciate A Work Of Art’. Energy aplenty
Suddenly, the entire room, which is only 200 cap, are completely locked in astonishment as to just how good this band really are - even though it’s a fully amped gig, people are silent during songs, mouths slightly ajar.
We had caught him by sheer accident at last years EOTR festival, playing a secret set on the piano stage in the woods, The link is the video they made, but annoyingly I cant see us, back in the gloom of the night, but a shot I took and that is on the EOTR entry made back in September shows him singing with the Dutch master's mirror on the rear wall.
YouTube End of the Road Secret Set link
So when an opportunity came up that he was playing in London we jumped up the opportunity to see him again. But the transition from the acoustic set back in the autumn to this rock gig was the difference between chalk and cheese. This was pure energy but with such an engaging personality.
Other than the three singles released all was from the forthcoming album which none of us had heard. The set dipped a little when he sung solo backing himself up on keyboards but then sprang back into life for the last couple of songs to the final one. Referring back to the announcement only three days earlier the passing David Bowie.
"This song is dedicated to a Jones. Usually either me, or that Jones there, he says whilst pointing to his keyboard player. But tonight it’s dedicated to another Jones," he says, with sorrow, as the crowd show him strong support as they celebrate a thin white Jones who has 2016 ready for the taking.
This is the link to the video I managed to make of that song. He goes walkabout into the audience to return back to stage. And that was that, we all filed out and was fortunate to follow Meilyr out and roundly congratulated him.
A fine gig and a rare pleasure especially when you dont know an artists work to be then absolutely bowled over by them. A great start to the year.
Vimeo video link.
